Pacaya River & Atun Posa
We rose early this morning and left in the skiffs at 6:00 a.m. to spend as much time as possible in the heart of the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, the largest national reserve in Peru. We had spent the night tied up to a tree near Ranger Station #1, which has been at the entrance to the Pacaya River for many years. To my surprise, the Pacaya no longer merged with the Puinahua Canal here, but instead had abandoned its channel in the historic floods that occurred this past high water season and had cut through to another channel farther upriver. The Amazon rivers are continually meandering over the floodplain, abandoning channels in the flooding and making new ones, and leaving behind numerous oxbow lakes. Truly amazing, however, for me to personally see the river move so far in one season!
Soon we were headed up the Pacaya, a black water river because it drains the surrounding nutrient-poor Amazonian lowlands and is loaded with tannins from the forest plants. Everywhere the dawn chorus of the birds was in full song as the rain forest was waking up with us. This is my favorite time to be on the river. As we puttered along, we encountered a large troop of squirrel monkeys feeding on fruits in some trees on the river bank. They sat relatively still while eating so we were able to really observe them closely. Eventually the troop started to move again and its members put on a great aerial display for us as they jumped from tree to tree. Farther up in the low overhanging vegetation, we found a group of very strange looking birds indeed called Hoatzins. These pheasant-size birds have beautiful blue skin around their eyes and sport wonderful crests.
Our next stop was a fig tree where we tied up all three skiffs. Our special treat this morning was to have breakfast on the river on the skiffs! Complete with ceramic plates, cloth napkins, and white gloves, we were served native fresh squeezed juices, coffee and a sumptuous meal of many courses by our drivers and dining staff. Quite an impressive undertaking!
After breakfast our journey took us farther into the preserve where we saw many birds including the large jabirus, as well as more monkeys including red howler monkeys and monk sakis. Our final destination was a large lagoon. Several pink river dolphins were feeding in it. This was our swimming spot! A group of intrepid swimmers ventured out to try the waters. Soon we were relaxing on the floating noodles and feeling very refreshed. It was a tremendous relief from the heat of the day which was building up. We slowly returned to the ship exploring and stopping for wildlife along the way. It was an incredible morning indeed, full of so many amazing things to see.
In the afternoon, we ventured on shore to visit the town of Atun Posa and walk through the flooded forest to a beautiful Ceiba or Kapok tree that was towering above the rest of the forest. The villagers were in the process of moving the school away from the river bank. The flooding this year took several houses and threatened the school so the village was being rebuilt farther into the forest. It was very hot as we made our way through the village learning from our guide Reni how the people lived. He even demonstrated to us how the people grind the rice they grow along the river to remove the husks. A huge group of kids were fascinated by us, gathering around and following us throughout the village and into the forest. Our now large and noisy group paraded through the forest to the Ceiba amazing tree. Its buttressed roots were huge and taller than any of us. Unfortunately, this tree is close to the bank and may not survive too many more floods!
As we exited the forest there was a handicraft market of course where a few of us bought some of the local handicrafts and visited with the locals. The heat of the day was oppressive so we retreated to the boat and our showers ending another amazing day exploring the Amazon.
