We had our wake-up knock early in the morning so we could rise at the same time the birds would begin to stir. Soon after we were boarding our skiffs to visit the Amazon basin! We wanted to take advantage of the good weather and favorable conditions to look for wildlife. We spent one-and-a-half hours navigating the Atun Poza River. We saw a sloth, in the most relaxing position imaginable, and we succeeded in our goal of seeing a monk saki monkey!
Our crewmembers back on the ship navigated their skiffs a mile upriver to meet us, and they served us a typical local breakfast on our skiffs! We had rain forest fruit juices, cassava bread sandwiches, and a bacon-and-cheese salad on sweet potato bread. Having breakfast outdoors allowed us to enjoy further this charming world.
After breakfast, we continued our search and saw a great troop of squirrel monkeys pass right in front of us. One of the female monkeys was carrying a baby on her back! This was a breathtaking sighting for everybody, including our seasoned naturalist guides.
On our way back to the ship, we made a quick stop to visit a small settlement, which at this time of the year is getting drier by the minute; soon they have to move to lower grounds, and closer to the river. We learned from our guides that the people in this community are very accustomed to this annual migration when the river level changes.
In the afternoon, our outing started earlier because we wanted to arrive to a black water lagoon to swim with dolphins, piranhas, caimans, and electric eels and then have beer afterwards. This place is well known for the presence of pink river dolphins, which are the only present freshwater mammals. These dolphin species are protected by the superstition of the locals, as they believe that a demon is within them, and their meat is poisonous for that reason.
On our returning skiff ride, we looked for red howler monkeys, and we found several troops! The beautiful reflections in the water added beauty to our navigation back, plus egrets, which were flying all along the river.
It was a perfect day in this Amazon paradise!
