The sounds of nature woke us up early this morning at the living paradise of the Amazon Basin. A pre-breakfast skiff ride gave us the perfect opportunity to explore Marañón River. Great and snowy egrets were the first birds to receive us along the riverside. Farther up the stream, the presence of two three-toed sloths made us feel very lucky as the sun was rising behind the trees. A magical concert of bird callings made us feel like we were in a nature sanctuary. On our way back to Delfin II, we had a surprise before breakfast: a very shy green iguana basking on top of a tree trunk.
The morning activities continued with a visit to Casual. Local villagers had everything prepared to bring a part of nature to us. During exploration, surprises of different kinds brought splendorous sightings. Poison dart frogs, a juvenile boa constrictor, and a young anaconda were only some of the wonderful animals that appeared in front of our eyes. The biggest excitement was a young three-toed sloth that was found very low hanging on the tree branches.
In the afternoon our expedition continued to Yanayacu River. A marvelous skiff ride brought us deep into one of the most awe-inspiring sections of the Upper Amazon. Black collared hawks perching on trees, caped herons, lesser kiskadees, and great egrets, were the perfect decoration of nature.
The final surprise at the end of the stream was provided by a black cara cara. It was found feeding on a catfish, but somehow it felt very comfortable with our presence for the first five minutes. On our way back to Delfin II, the sky was painted magical purple and orange colors due to a charming Amazonian sunset. Our journey at Yanayacu demonstrated that exploration at the Amazon Basin has more surprises to show.
