Casual Forest, Piranha Creek, & the Amazon River, 4/9/2022, Delfin II
Aboard the
Delfin II
Amazon
On our last day, we went to a forest to hike. The area has a system of trails that allows visitors to feel immersed in the jungle. We found many poisonous frogs and invertebrates. Spotting a big tarantula offered many guests the opportunity to cross off an item on their bucket lists.
After lunch, we had our last outing. We began with a toast to the Amazon River. We explored Piranha Creek, where monkeys and many birds regaled us with displays of color and action.
Ramiro is Ecuadorian, born in the highlands and raised by the sea. Growing up in the Galapagos was for him an opportunity to learn from up close the importance of understanding and respecting all forms of life. He started his studies in biology and e...
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Today we had the great opportunity to start exploring the riverbank of the Ucayali River. We loaded the skiffs right after sunrise. As we cruised along the riverbank, different species of birds were seen. A highlight of that early exploration was the sighting of a tayra, a small omnivorous creature in the weasel family, that didn’t stay long in our view. After breakfast, we walked through Yanallpa flooded forest. Here our naturalist explained to us the importance of the floods for the Amazon forest. They also pointed out the effect of climate change over the area and how it has changed the use of the soils after the floods. It was a morning of learning about how the forest has manage to adapt to the seasonal floods and how fish and other animals depends on those events. Our late afternoon activities were held on Dorado River. Our naturalists brought out spotlights after sunset. Black caimans and spectacled caimans were the major attraction for our guests. Other night dwellers were also spotted by our naturalists, such as fishing bats, boat-billed night herons, night jars, and many other animals were seen by our guests. It was another awesome day exploring the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.
This morning, we learned all about oxbow lakes with our visit to Clavero Lake, which was formed when the river changed its course. The communities around the lake fish, so we stopped at a fishing canoe and spoke with a fisherman about the techniques they use and the type of fish they’ve been catching. The barracuda caught everyone’s eye given the very large teeth it has! The fisherman also talked about the birds that follow along, catching any fish they throw away, such as the great black hawk we saw. On our way back to Delfin II , we stopped along the way to have a nice refreshing swim. In the afternoon, we went exploring Supay Creek, and as always, the scenery was stunning with some lovely reflections in the water. To add to our growing mammal list, we saw a group of four coppery titi monkeys. For birds, we had an unusual sighting of the bright blue plum-throated cotinga. We’re getting used to a nice variety of birds, including some of our favorites like the yellow-headed caracara, which allowed us to get quite close before flying away.
Today was packed with activities. We started early, heading out in the skiffs to explore Pahuachiro Creek. In addition to an abundance of birds, our eagle-eyed skiff driver spotted a green iguana, camouflaged in the greenery. On the bird front, we enjoyed watching a pair of black-capped donacobius engage in a courtship display. Later, a great kiskadee allowed us to get close enough to capture some great photographs. After a hearty breakfast, we took a walk in the Casual Forest with the help of locals to search for the smaller insects and reptiles, such as poison dart frogs and bird-eating tarantulas. After the walk, there was an opportunity to help the local economy by buying some hand-made crafts. Javier, one of our naturalists, gave a fascinating participatory presentation on the fruits of the Amazon, and then we were off again in the skiffs to Yarapa Creek. We experienced our first rain shower, a reminder that we’re in the rainforest! But it was over quickly, and the provided ponchos kept us all dry. To end the day, we had a stunning sunset as we rode the skiffs back to Delfin II .