Our visit today is one of the few we will have on dry land, as most the forest in this part of the world is flooded. As we started our morning at 5:30, along the bank of the Marañon River, we rode the shores of a narrow stream packed with wildlife. We saw our first sloth and then another, and then another… we also saw iguanas and colorful caiman lizards. We came across different species of monkeys, including the tiny saddleback tamarin. They are locally known as “milk drinkers” due to the white of their faces, and we enjoyed our first photo challenges. There was a lot of bird activity along the shores, including caciques and egrets. All of this before breakfast!
After returning to the ship and eating breakfast, we went for a walk. We visited the “terra firma” forest at Casual. This beautiful location had giant thick trees, and our local guides emerged from the forest several times with wonderful creatures like boas, anacondas, and deadly poisonous frogs. Some of the dwellers of this particular forest are tarantulas, millipedes, and scorpions, a nice set to start our trip to the Amazon.
After lunch and the Peruvian “siesta,” we explored the black water of the Yanayacu River. Many dolphins surrounded the ship, and challenged us photographically once again. A nesting area of Yellow-rumped Caciques was the welcome to our afternoon exploration. We saw squirrel monkeys and saddleback tamarins, and we did not miss the sloths and the long nose bats sleeping on a tree. As the sun began to set, we entered a lake that contained two incredible birds. The end of the afternoon broke into a thousand colors of the sunset! Our first day in the Amazon Paradise!
