Conservation requires commitment of different sectors: government, private and international organizations, and off course the people of the area. Today we visited a private area that was owned by a Peruvian man, Roberto Rotondo, who used to work in the government as Ministry of Fisheries. His love for nature made him buy this huge extension of forest, and protect it. He understood the only way of having people care deeply about a place, is to have access to it, so he opened it to tourism and welcomed the local villagers to work here and sell their handcrafts. In order to make the experience of the visitors even better he made an impressive bridge to explore the canopy, and have a feeling of being immersed in the forest. This place, known as Amazon National Park, was our first visit of the day.
In order to get there, first we explored a swamp with some native catamarans, meaning two wooden boats tied together. We arrived to the forest and started walking in areas that are considered “terra firme,” meaning that they don’t flood during the rainy season. We have impressive tall trees here, vegetation competes for light with huge leaves, for pollination with colorful flowers, and the forest is home of hundreds of different animals, from insects to monkeys. We experienced the bird’s point of view by crossing the forest on the bridge; the day was hot and humid so after this extended walk we were ready to come back to our home for the week, Delfin II.
In the afternoon we went to explore Nauta Caño from our skiffs. Monkeys, birds, dolphins, everybody came out! We had a blast trying to photograph these subjects. Pink dolphins toyed with us by appearing and disappearing around our skiffs. These emblematic animals had been protected by legends. The locals never hunted them because they think that the pink dolphins or “bufeos colorados” have magical powers and rule the magical world beneath the water of the rivers.
After this beautiful ride we came back, but the day was not over, or should I say the night! We had dinner and then we got our boots and flashlights and went for a night walk! The forest is a concert at night, you can hear the most gorgeous sounds. Once you turn off your flashlights it’s hard to see, but not for the inhabitants of the forest. The area has the active, the mysterious and the beautiful.
