Our last day in the Amazon started with a visit to a remote area within the Ucayali River known as Cedro Creek. This narrow, black water tributary offered us excellent opportunities to once again enjoy the amazing wildlife of the Amazon. Even though this was our last day, we were all amazed to find species that we had not seen yet, such is the case of the titi monkey. This small primate lives within the forest and is rarely seen in the open foliage, making our sighting even more special. For a while, a troop of perhaps five individuals just perched on the tree branch, observing us, perhaps even more puzzled with us than we were with them. Unfortunately, we were just sitting and observing, and perhaps that was a little too boring for the monkeys, who decided to depart after a little while. We then continued our ride, exploring the inner section of the creek, encountering squirrel monkeys and several species of colorful birds, such as the crimson-crested and paradise tanagers.
Since we left the ship early today, it was getting to be time for breakfast, which in an unexpected change of routine was offered right at the forest edge! We were joined by our Delfin II dinning staff, who, were wearing white gloves, delighted us with a breakfast feast right from the skiffs! After we were all well fed, we returned to the ship to continue our navigation down the river, this time heading to Puerto Miguel village.
The afternoon was divided between visiting the village and admiring and buying their beautiful and elaborate handicrafts. We then continued our exploration within a nearby river known as Yarapa. It was here that we encountered several species of monkeys in an isolated little parch of forest, which practically performed pirouettes as they climbed up and down through the trees.
As we returned to the ship, we were stopped several times by continued sightings of blue and yellow macaws, woodpeckers, toucans and even the brief and rather rare encounter of scarlet macaws cruising the blue skies. It was definitely a memorable way to end our expedition in the Upper Amazon!
