Our group of guests this week arrived yesterday after flying from Lima, to join a once in a lifetime expedition in the Upper Peruvian Amazon. 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” in the Marañon River. 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 the whole year around, therefore this kind of relatively dry ecosystem is of great interest for our expedition.
Along the trail, our expert naturalists explained some aspects of the fascinating ecology of the rainforest of the neotropics. Three native scouts from a nearby village came with us as well. Several rainforest creatures were spotted under a constant drizzle rain that accompanied us during the whole walk. We saw colorful poison-arrow frogs, tarantulas, and a green anaconda. We also saw one of the most beautiful rainforest snake species as well, the extraordinarily colored rainbow boa!
In the afternoon, we explored the Yanayacu River by skiffs. This outing was very successful as well, for we spotted several three-toed sloths, several bird species as well including yellow-billed terns, ringed and Amazon kingfishers, and several birds of prey like black-collared hawks and yellow-headed caracaras. It was an extraordinary first day of our expedition on the beautiful Upper Amazon in Peru.
