San Isidro & Pucate River
Early in the morning, we started off our expedition this week in the Peruvian Amazon with a wildlife watching skiff ride along one of the major tributaries of the mighty Amazon River, the Marañon River. Our home this week, the Delfin II, was tied at a close distance of the confluence of the Yanayacu River with the Marañon River. There was a lot of activity going on and in less than one hour we had a good list of animal species, mostly birds, identified. In fact, we did not cover a long distance for all over the river’s edge we had either a bird flying or perching on trees and shrubs.
After breakfast we went for an introductory hike in the rain forest. We had two options, a long hike and a short walk. In these walks we could admire the thick and fascinating vegetation of this famous ecosystem. We observed with amazement several huge kapok trees and many colorful Heliconia flowers. One of the most important sightings, not only in the morning but in this first day of our expedition was observing one of the most beautiful butterflies of the world. We saw a “Morpho butterfly” with its striking metallic blue coloration fluttering inside the forest. As the day was getting hotter and humid we came back to the ship to have a cold drink and to participate in a couple of presentations. One was an introduction to the Amazon including details about its formation, facts and overwhelming biodiversity. The second talk was one about the Pacaya Samiria Reserve. While having lunch we had the thrill to observe trough the dining room windows how pink river dolphins were fishing. How many people can say that they were having lunch while observing pink dolphins?
In the afternoon we explored by skiffs a big tributary to the Marañon River, the Yanayacu River. Just at the entrance of this black water river we observed a fairly large building over stilts, the PV 1. The latter is the name given to the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve wardens’ watching Station number one. We explored the area and the rewards were many for we heard and spotted several bird species that included macaws and toucans. In our way back a spectacular sunset was admired and photographed.
The day was over but left a big array of new feelings and memories to our lives. What a spectacular way to start off an expedition on one of the most fascinating places on Earth, the incomparable Amazon.
