Happy Halloween from the Amazon! While we didn’t have trick-or-treating in the traditional sense, we did have quite a festive day.
It began and ended with quite a lightshow. Most of the night, and then again after sunset we had two intense lightning storms. It felt like children were going by our windows for much of the night, with flashlights in hand enjoying the festivities. Luckily, it did not affect our day’s excursions.
Just after sunrise the lightshow and rain stopped and we boarded the skiffs. Right on cue, macaws of three species were spotted including numerous pairs of blue-and-yellow macaws inspecting nests. From here, some of us went for a hike in the varzea forest. With the cool temperatures, bird life was abundant and active. A huge fig tree allowed us to walk amongst its roots. A group of saddleback monkeys put on quite a show, as well, acrobatically moving between trees.
The rest of us explored a creek with a very fitting name for Halloween, “hairy creek” or Belluda Caño. Actually, it is a beautiful, narrow blackwater stream and today made for excellent photography. Birds were common and at eye level, but monkeys stole the show. A huge group of squirrel monkeys were joined by saddleback tamarins, and they were oblivious to our presence. What a treat to spend quality time with these monkeys.
In the afternoon, our plan was a sunset ride on the river of gold. A few sloths and monkeys were spotted, but the real goal was nocturnal creatures. The lightshow began, and soon the temperature began to drop. The race was on to spot a caiman before the storm came, and we were all successful. Many spectacled caiman were seen, and even a large black caiman was spotted. A few night birds as well, including a great potoo, added to the day. As we returned to the Delfin II, the sky was illuminated repeatedly with lightning.
As we went to sleep this evening, those children trick-or-treating were still outside our rooms shining their lights…
