As we continue to travel through the Ucayali River, we keep exploring smaller tributaries or caños, as they are known locally. Atun Poza is the name of the black water river that we checked out this morning. Black water contains a lower load of sediments, but considerably higher concentration of tannins from the abundant vegetation that stains the water as if it was black tea.
On the shorelines we could find a good amount of wildlife. The waters have began their seasonal rise, and the forests are starting to flood at the base in some lowlands. As the rains increase here and in the highlands, we can notice changes almost day after day.
We had an excellent day in regards of weather, wildlife sightings, and even great light for enjoying and for photographing. Red howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys, a huge black cayman, three-toed sloths, parrots, macaws, and many other animals were seen after enjoying a very special breakfast. Today we visited what we call the jungle cafe. We find a nice spot to tie the skiffs ashore, and like magic, our guides serve a breakfast as we enjoy the outdoors.
One highlight for most of us was to swim at the…lake. Not many people think about coming to the Amazon to take a swim, but it is sure worth it. The black water lagoon does not have almost any visibility, but the temperature is very pleasant, and pink river dolphins are quite curious about us. The dolphins surface in every direction a few meters away from us, most likely echolocating and knowing exactly what we are. They stay around for as long as they share the lagoon with us.
We had another wonderful day at the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve!
