Amazon Natural Park & Yanahurquillo Caño
This morning when I woke up I had the feeling that today it was going to be a good one. The sky looked clear and it was relatively cool and calm. After breakfast we went to explore a private reserve, the Amazon Natural Park. This protected area, authorized by the Peruvian Government in June 2011, is located on the riverbanks of the Marañon River just outside the boundaries of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve.
After breakfast, at around 7:30, we started the exploration. A couple of catamarans made out of two tied-up dugout canoes helped us to cross a beautiful and peaceful lagoon. The only sounds we had were the marvelous symphony of the rain forest and the occasional clicks of cameras and the sweet aquatic sound of the paddles that gave us propulsion. After the catamaran ride we landed on started our walk covered by a well-preserved primary forest.
A well-marked trail leads to a very long suspension bridge that is approximately half a mile in length! The bridge is a state-of-the art piece of engineering that was designed using the know-how of an American company that builds these kind of bridges in the tropics. The bridge led us to a heart pounding experience in the middle strata of the rain forest.
We had an extraordinary surprise on the bridge. For the very first time in my life I had the chance to see a rare Southern Two-toed Sloth (Choloepus didactylus) at an incredibly close range. The animal was seen hanging down by its claws in one of the resting platforms of the suspension bridge. Two toed-sloths are eminently nocturnal, solitary and arboreal favoring high trees covered with many vines therefore are extremely difficult to see. These species of sloth do not attain such high numbers as the commonly seen three-toed sloths in secondary and disturbed habitats, but when seen as often in primary Amazon Basin forests. In the field it is very difficult and near impossible to distinguish it from the Hoffmans´ two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni). The Southern Two-toed sloths have the same color in the throat and upper chest. Today the animal was so close that I could identify with certainty its right species following this hard-to see at the distance slight difference. I do remember spotting one of these sloth species with great difficulty at dusk many years ago in the Ecuadorian rain forest. Today´s sighting was for me and for all here, including our lucky guests, a noteworthy and memorable event.
After the walk, all smiles and satisfied, we made our way back to the ship. Refreshed with a cooling shower and a delicious Amazon fruit drink we had our lunch.
In the afternoon we explored Yanayaquillo Caño. We had a beautiful sunny afternoon in this small creek. This narrow black water stream is covered with high walls of thick vegetation. Our expert team of Delfin II naturalists spotted many species of colorful birds that included tanagers, parrots, macaws, and toucans as well as a couple of Black-mantle Tamarin monkey troops and some and caiman lizards.
At the end of this day I can just tell you that days like the one we spent today in the Amazon make you say that life is good. What a privilege to have such a feeling.
