Flor de Castaña & Yana Allpa, Rio Ucayali
The expedition to the terra firme after dinner yesterday evening proved to be highly successful. Amphibians and reptiles stole the show, with at least four frog species and two species of snakes, of which one group of three animals appeared to be in the midst of courtship or mating. Back on board we navigated downstream from San Francisco and past the confluence of the Rios Marañon and Ucayali. This is the point from which the Rio Amazonas starts.
This morning we were out on the water early to continue exploring the flooded forest by skiff or kayak, followed by a visit to the small village of Flor de Castaña at the head of a narrow winding channel. Here we walked through the village and enjoyed informal interactions with the locals, with our guides proving their value and skills in the village as much as they have already proven their worth in the jungle. Before returning to the Delfin II we stopped at a small black water lake for a refreshing swim.
During the heat of the day our navigation up the Rio Ucayali continued to a small creek called Yana Allpa. Here skiffs took us in search of macaws and night monkeys, among others. In both endeavors we were successful. The area has an excellent reputation for macaw sightings and we were not to be disappointed. At the start of the cruise we passed the area of Aguaje palms where these birds sometimes congregate and were lucky to find two scarlet macaws perched high on a dead snag. After this great start the ride continued into the varzea where a small group of night monkeys were found at their regular roosting site in a hole in a dead tree trunk where they spend the day. At the end of the skiff ride we once again returned to the Aguaje palms hoping for more macaw sightings and could not believe our luck – now there were two blue-and-yellow macaws perched on the same snag earlier occupied by the scarlet macaws. As our guide commented with some understatement: “That is Mother Nature.” Who knows what she will send our way tomorrow?
