Nauta Caño & San Francisco
Today, since very early in the morning a beautiful choir of marvelous sounds was heard all over. At 6:30am we headed to explore with our fleet of skiffs or by kayaking a nearby black water creek. It was a successful pre-breakfast outing for we spotted a very large number of bird species that included several highlights: raucous Festive and Mealy parrots, White-eared Jacamars, Black-fronted Nunbirds, and many more.
We came back to the ship at around 8:00 to have a great breakfast. During this time we enjoyed through the dining room windows the overwhelmingly beautiful curtain of vegetation while navigating on the Marañon River. At around 9:00 we were ready again for our next activity; we went in a wildlife skiff exploration into “Nauta Caño.” Many diverse animal species were seen as well including several raptors at fairly close range and a couple of monkey troops.
At 11:30, once aboard we had a fruit exhibition, with our naturalist Renny Coquinche. Renny delighted our senses while explaining and serving the most delicate and delicious Amazon fruits. During lunchtime, from the dining room or from the upper deck, we observed many pink river dolphins. Some dolphins were unusually jumping out of the water causing the joy of all of us.
In the afternoon, we all went for a hike on a rain forest trail in the vicinity of San Francisco community. This year, just like last year, we have had one of the highest-ever water levels historically recorded in the reserve in the last decades. This trail in San Francisco is one of the few places this season in the area of the Marañon River where we can still see some “Terra firme.” The latter term is used all over the Amazon Basin when talking about dry land. Our naturalists had the chance to explain some more important aspects of the fascinating ecology of the rain forest of the Neotropics. We all had a great time!
Later in the afternoon, we went to the community where we spent some time admiring and/or buying the local handicrafts. The fun was not over yet for after dinner we went for a night walk that allowed us to enjoy the darkness while covered by the magical sounds of the night dwelling creatures.
We came back onboard once again a little tired but with our hearts and minds fulfilled with new feelings, memories and impressions, so strong that will stay with us forever.
