Rios Pacaya & Zapote
The intention for today was to spend the full day exploring the Rio Pacaya – one of the two rivers that give their name to the reserve. So we boarded skiffs at dawn and headed up the river to see what we could find. It proved to be a rich hunting ground for fish-eating birds with a diversity of kingfishers, terns ospreys and seven species of heron.
We then headed for breakfast, served by white-gloved waiters, in the skiffs! The dining room and wait staff had moved afloat to give us the chance to take an al fresco breakfast, which was greatly appreciated as we sat moored to the riverbank with Amazon river dolphins swimming past and parrots flying overhead.
Further up the Pacaya we were stopped in our tracks by and island of floating vegetation that had drifted into the channel and completely blocked our passage. It did give us a good chance to get a look at one of the largest birds in the region, the horned screamer. These birds were breeding on the floating mats of vegetation, and as they walked over the tangles wattled jacanas followed their footsteps and picked up the bugs disturbed by the passage of these large birds.
Unable to move further up the Pacaya, it was time to move on to ‘Plan B.’ Returning down the Rio Ucayali we stopped at a small tributary called Rio Zapote. Boarding skiffs we headed out to see what our backup plan would produce. And how it produced! Before entering the tributary we were watching both grey dolphins and Amazon river dolphins. Then we found our first green iguana, soon followed three-toed sloths – a mother with a small baby and then more sloths and more iguanas and then squirrel monkeys and then a glimpse of the rare monk saki. Staying out until after dark produced another encounter with Amazon nightlife, and we were lucky with further caiman sightings and a good look at a tree boa. Not bad for a second choice!
