Casual & San Francisco
Our first full day of our expedition on the mysterious, magical, and amazingly bio-diverse Amazon started with an early skiff ride along the Marañon River. Our ship the Delfin II was ¨tied,¨ in rivers an anchor is not used, close to a place known locally as “Casual.” We explored this area at a low speed with the skiffs looking for wildlife. This pre-breakfast outing was of great success for we spotted a large number of bird species including Yellow- rumped Caciques, Ringed Kingfishers, Silver beaked Tanagers, Herons, and many more.
We came back at around 8:00 a.m. to the ship for breakfast. Just after we went to the skiffs once again, this time to explore Casual by walking on one of the few areas in this season where we can still see some “Terra firme” or areas that never flood. Along the walk we spotted several plant species, some with stunning flowers and had the chance to explain some aspects of the fascinating ecology of the rain forest of the Neotropics as well. Some species of frogs were seen as well including the world famous and colorful poison arrow frogs and the leaf frogs, the latter resemble dead brown leaves. Some adventurous guests had the thrill to go farther in the trail to observe a giant strangle fig that was admired and photographed for a long time.
In the afternoon we explored the surroundings of San Francisco by skiff in the search of wildlife. It was once again a very successful ride for we spotted some monkeys and a fairly large Brown three toed Sloth male. Later in the afternoon, we all ended at San Francisco community where we spent some time admiring the local handicrafts and how people carry on their lives in this remote location.
Once onboard, refreshed with a quick hot shower and with drinks in hand we had an informal but very informative and rather amusing introduction of the background and personal lives of our excellent Peruvian naturalists. This time passed with many of our guests’ praising comments, a true delight for them for they were marveled to know how they became naturalists and how they have achieved such strong passion and love for what they do in the Amazon. After dinner this long but fascinating day was finally over. When we were in our cozy beds we could not avoid but thinking on what exciting new adventures the Amazon will have for us tomorrow.
