Casual & Pucate River
Our first full day of adventure in the amazing Upper Amazon of Peru started with an early pre-breakfast skiff ride along the Marañon River. We explored a place known locally as “Casual.” We explored this area with our fleet of skiffs looking for wildlife, and we were successful! For we spotted several tropical bird species that included, Yellow headed Caracaras, Ringed Kingfishers, Yellow-rumped Caciques, Herons and many more.
After breakfast we explored Casual by walking on a trail that proved to be a great introduction to the rain forests of the Neotropics. Our natural history staff pointed out several important plant species and explained and talked about their own experiences in the forest. We saw several species reptiles, including frogs and lizards. We had the joy to observe today a gecko as well. We saw one of the most beautiful gecko species found in this side of the Amazon, a Gecko (Gonatodes humeralis). Please take a look of one of the pictures of the day.
At the middle of the trail there is a giant strangle fig. Its huge frame was admired and photographed for a long time. There is an amusing activity in this place; there is a liana that can be used for swinging some feet above the ground. Once aboard the ship with some cooling drinks, we had a couple of introductory talks, one on the Amazon region and its peculiarities and one on the reserve.
In the afternoon, after lunch, we went to the Pucate River. As this area is an important point to go inside the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, there is a Ranger Station at the entrance. We stopped there briefly to register our group and then went ahead. He whole afternoon was filled with all the required ingredients to make a great outing. We had a beautiful weather, it was very calm, there were lots of birds flying and calling. We spotted our first monkey troops of the week as well. We saw a couple of active troops of Squirrel monkeys and Black-mantle Tamarins.
Once onboard we continued chatting about the sightings of the day while having a drink. The naturalists had an informal yet amusing introduction on how they became guides, their families, etc. that helped our visitors see more about their lives. A gorgeous sunset marked the end of the day and told us to be prepared for tomorrow and the new discoveries that it will bring to our lives.
