Amazon Natural Park & Nauta Caño
Today we had a day to remember! This day of exploration of the Peruvian Amazon took us to a brand new private reserve found in the outside boundaries of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, the Amazon Natural Park. The area that protects this reserve is so well managed, preserved and patrolled that the Peruvian Government recognized its conservation value, declaring it a national private protected area of the country as recently as in June last year.
We had several options and activities to explore this location. We started by rowing peacefully onboard three catamarans in a paradisiacal quite lagoon. After that, we disembarked on a rustic but beautiful little wooden dock. Once inside the forest we were immediately and gratefully impressed by the beauty of a primary forest where its Flora is still practically untouched. While walking in the forest we admired with awe and respect huge Ficus, Mahogany and Rubber trees found on the trails. We observed many lianas, vines and flowers as well. The trail leads to a very long suspension bridge which is approximately half a mile in length. This state-of-the-art engineering infrastructure allowed us to have a thrilling and exciting walk in the middle strata of the rainforest. We were above the ground watching the rainforest from a completely different perspective and feeling in some way how the inhabitants of the rainforest see the world in a dimension that is completely new for us.
After rowing back in the catamarans and once onboard, refreshed with a well-deserved shower we had a very interesting presentation. Renny Coquinche, one of our experienced Delfin II naturalists, had an exhibition on the Peruvian Upper Amazon fruits. Colors, textures and flavors that are new to our visitors were a delight to all senses.
The afternoon was spent exploring Nauta Caño and its surrounding. We truly enjoyed this outing. This narrow stream is covered with thick vegetation where our naturalists spotted several species of colorful birds, like macaws and toucans, as well as a couple of monkey troops.
The icing on the cake of the day was a musical performance by some crew members who are very talented musicians. They played live music in the dining room just after dinner, giving our guests a wonderful surprise.
Finally, late in the evening, we went to bed with many unforgettable feelings and memories in our hearts and minds of this full day of expedition in the Peruvian Amazon onboard the Delfin II.
