We started our second full day of our expedition and the last of this year on the amazing Upper Amazon after breakfast exploring the Amazon Natural Park. The latter is a privately owned, well-protected area that was declared a natural park by the Peruvian Government as recently as 2009.
We had the choice of a long walk and a shorter version. In both cases we had the joy to spot several plant species and listen to our expert Delfin II naturalists explaining some fascinating aspects of the ecology and the natural history of the Neotropical rain forests.
The long walkers went farther in the trail. They had the thrill to cross a fairly long suspension bridge which is approximately a quarter of a mile in length. The bridge allowed us to have an exciting walk in the middle strata of the rain forest. We were above the ground, the highest point about 90 feet, watching the rain forest from a completely different perspective and feeling in some way how the inhabitants of the rain forest see the world in a dimension that is completely new for us.
In the afternoon, after lunch, we had an introductory talk about photography with our photo instructor Steve Morello. While listening to the talk we had the surreal thrill to be accompanied by many terns and pink river dolphins that were around the place we were tied, by the way on rivers ships do not use anchors.
A torrential tropical rain fell postponing our departure for a while. When the clouds went away we explored Nauta Caño by skiff riding or by kayaking. We truly enjoyed this outing. This narrow stream is covered with thick vegetation where our naturalists spotted several species of colorful birds from the skiffs as well as a couple of monkey troops. A handful of our guests paddled quietly along in our comfortable double river kayaks; they poked under the riverside vegetation and explored just as much as the locals will do in their dugout canoes.
Late in the evening, after a special New Year’s Eve dinner I had the pleasure, at a very unusual time a t 1100 pm, to talk a about the New Year’s Eve traditions in South America. I put emphasis on the superstitions and beliefs in Ecuador and Peru. As an example, in Mexico and in some South American countries including Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela, it's customary to ring in the New Year by sporting special underpants: red if you're looking for love and yellow if you're after money. Being Ecuadorian it is rewarding to realize how close we are with Peruvians in many aspects of our cultures, especially those in the rain forest.
After the talk we waited for midnight to follow the most amusing tradition, the burning of a puppet that symbolizes the “old year”. We burnt everything bad that happened leaving the puppet in the river sitting in a wooden barge in flames while detonating fireworks from one of the skiffs. A soft misty rain accompanied us making this moment a magical one. We all embraced each other wishing the best for the New Year that just started.
After this experience, a new one for all our guests this week, we went to bed with many unforgettable feelings and memories in our hearts and minds of this full day of our expedition in the Peruvian Upper Amazon onboard the Delfin II.
