We had a full day dedicated to exploring two remote locations, Yanalpa Caño in the morning and El Dorado River in the afternoon.
We disembarked in direction to Yanalpa Caño at 6:30 a.m. Our goal was to explore the nearby shores of the Ucayali River where our ship was located. In a section of this river in the vicinities of Yanalpa Caño there is an area where many dead palm trees can be seen. It is a swampy area covered with dozens of the tall palm tree’s stems. These hollow palm trees are favorite nesting and roosting places for macaws. We were lucky for we observed many blue and yellow macaws coming out from the dead trees they inhabit. We spotted several smaller chestnut-fronted macaws doing the same as well.
Once inside Yanalpa Caño we saw several colorful bird species and four monkey species: monk saki monkeys, squirrel monkeys, saddle-backed tamarins and the fantastic noisy owl monkeys. The latter one is the only nocturnal monkey species in the world. This relatively unknown monkey species has an eminently interesting natural history and an uncertain taxonomic status as well. On the way back to the ship after a late breakfast I had the pleasure to give a talk on one of my favorite subjects, the Morphology, Ecology and Behavior Notes of the Primates found in the Pacaya Samiria Reserve.
Before lunch we had an Origami towel folding demonstration by our skilled and hard-working cabin crew Santos and Jackson. In the early afternoon naturalist Renny had a fruit exhibition prepared for us. Our guests avidly tasted, tried, smelled and learned about the many fruits found in this area of the world.
In the late afternoon, after a short tropical shower that helped to cool down the intense heat, we had plenty of time to go far and beyond El Dorado River. We experienced firsthand the extraordinary biodiversity that inhabits the rainforests and the sudden climate changes typical of this ecosystem. We observed many bird species like flycatchers, horned screamers, wattled jacanas, some birds of prey and a couple of three-toed sloths.
Late in the evening at around 7:00 p.m. we finally arrived back to the Delfin II after experiencing the comfort of a night ride in the skiffs on the way back.
After dinner we went to bed with the wonderful feeling that we spent a great day in one of the most intriguing and fascinating ecosystems on earth, the enigmatic Amazon.
