Our group of guests this week aboard the Delfin II arrived yesterday, after traveling from Lima to Iquitos to join a once in a lifetime expedition in the upper Peruvian Amazon. On a personal level, I am so happy to find that practically half of the group has previously travelled with me in the Galapagos Islands in the last years. It is so rewarding to reencounter friends in a different ecosystem. Our guests arrived to the ship in the late afternoon and went to bed after dinner, dreaming of the adventures and surprises that await us in the amazing bio-diverse Amazon region.
Today after breakfast, we started the day off with an introductory walk in the rainforest. After a short skiff ride we visited a terra firme forest of a place known locally as Casual. Terra firme is a term used in tropical ecology to describe a terrain that never gets flooded. In the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, the largest flooded protected area in South America, most of the surface area is under water throughout the year, therefore this kind of relatively dry ecosystem is of great interest for our expedition. Along the trail, our naturalists explained some aspects of the fascinating ecology of the neotropical rainforest.
Three eagle-eyed native scouts from a nearby village came with us as well. With their aid, several rainforest creatures were spotted, including colorful poison arrow and leaf frogs, and a couple of pink-toed tarantulas. The icing on the cake was a rare sighting of an Amazonion red-tailed boa, and also a young anaconda! We were all thrilled to have the opportunity to observe these large snakes that were admired and photographed with amazement. Another creature that was found was a young brown three-toed Sloth, one of the iconic Amazonian species. Its natural history is eminently unusual, and was described in detail by our talented naturalists.
As the day became hotter and more humid, we returned to the ship to cool down with cold drinks and a well-deserved shower, and to participate in a couple of presentations. One was my introduction to the Amazon, including details about its geological formation and its beautiful overwhelming biodiversity. The second talk was one about the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve given by Renny Coquinche, one of the most experienced Delfin II naturalists.
After our mandatory emergency drill, the ship was repositioned to the confluence of the Marañon River and the Yanayacu River. In the afternoon, we explored this area by skiffs. This outing was very successful as well, for we spotted several bird species including yellow-billed terns, ringed kingfishers, Amazon kingfishers, and several birds of prey like black-collared hawks and yellow-headed caracaras.
After a spectacular sunset in the early evening, we were gathered around the bar and lounge area with drinks in hand, sharing our impressions of our first full day in the mighty Amazon. Our adventure continues tomorrow!
