Rio Ucayali: Iricahua & Flor de Castaña
It can’t be a rain forest without rain. All night, the clouds shook loose, and when we woke up there were still a few drops coming down from the patchy clouds, but we didn’t let that deter us. We grabbed ponchos and headed out to explore Iricahua, a little creek that flows into the Ucayali. This was the site of both our before-breakfast and after-breakfast adventures.
Last night’s rain must have been significant, because the Iricahua was flowing into the Ucayali, rather than the other way around. The trees leaned in over the black water, birds flitted, and when we got further in, the trees actually bridged the river. A large group of saddleback tamarin monkeys were taking advantage of the arboreal overpass. We sat quietly in the skiffs, watching monkey after death-defying monkey make the leap. Chirps and whistles rang in the air as the monkeys assessed us, assessed the forest, and went on their way.
Our progress upstream was eventually blocked by a large mat of floating vegetation that had drifted out of the lake beyond, no doubt prodded by the recent rainfall. It was time to go back to the Delfin II, to dry off, and to move to our next destination, Flor de Castaña.
By the time we set out again, the rain had done its job and worn itself out. The air was cool and perfect. It’s surprising that after so long in this area, we are still encountering new species, but we are. Today, a blue-winged parrotlet announced itself, the first of the trip. Other birds did the same. When we were floating among the arbor de los muertos, a pond studded with silver-gray, leafless trees, our surprise and reward was a collection of orchids in bloom.
First, we saw the bell-like yellow bloom; then a red-and-yellow cascade of strange, spider-like flowers; next, a delicate butter-yellow star. Orchids were everywhere! Perhaps we’d just not been tuning our eye quite right until now, but it seems impossible to believe that we could have overlooked such beauty all week. Yet here it was. We gawked. Nothing could be more appropriate.
A bittersweet farewell dinner and celebration followed. Reviewing the photos taken over the course of the week, we all were doubly amazed by the richness of our voyage. Could it be that we’d seen all that? In just a week? Yes, and of course we’d only scratched the surface. Tomorrow, we’ll delve a bit further, and then we’ll take our memories home with us to deepen and find their place in our lives elsewhere.
