Supay Caño and Yarapa River
Our guests, after being in the Amazon rain forest for several days already, are getting deeply connected with the marvelous dynamics of this enchanting ecosystem.
After breakfast we went on a long skiff ride along a small but beautiful black tributary of the Ucayali River, the Supay, gave us some wonderful rewards, Woodpeckers, Orange- backed Troupials, Silver beaked Tanagers, Kiskadees, Canary- winged Parakeets, Black collared Hawks, Large billed Terns, and Mealy Parrots.
Along this creek it is still possible to observe one of the fruits that have become very popular on this expedition. We tasted the “camu camu” fruits (Myrciria dubia) in juices, ice cream and even mixed with Pisco liqueur in a sour. The fruit, round in shape vaguely resembles a big grape and has a smooth, shiny and delicate surface that is purplish red. Camu camu’s main fact is that contains an incredible amount of vitamin C, thirty times as much as in a citrus. The latter quality makes this fruit to hold the record of having more vitamin C than any other known plant. Camu camu is in the Myrtle family and is indigenous to the Amazon Basin where it is extraordinarily abundant and can be seen growing at the edges of oxbow lakes.
Another great sighting was the chance to see the smallest monkey species of the world, the Pigmy Marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea). This tiny mammal is so small that it is aptly nicknamed “pocket monkey.” It was a great sighting, for a couple of days ago during my talk on the monkeys of the reserve our guests became fascinated by the ecology and habits of this monkey.
Once onboard we had a couple of amusing demonstrations. One of our crew members, cabin boy Xavier Arbildo gave us an amazing demonstration of how they use origami methods to fold our towels that they place on our cabins every night. This demonstration provided lots of fun for several guests participating as volunteers in the towel origami-folding. This demonstration was followed by another amusing one on how to prepare the most emblematic drink of Peru, the famous Pisco Sour by our barman Mario Alban.
In the afternoon we explored another small tributary of the Ucayali River, the Yarapa. We had a long skiff ride exploration. We observed one again all the wonderful biodiversity of the region. To date an estimated number of 100 bird species have been seen during the week. Later in the evening we enjoyed the slideshow of the best pictures I have taken during the week and had a sumptuous barbeque farewell dinner with local music included that was a golden finale for a spectacular expedition in the enigmatic Upper Amazon of Peru.
