San Francisco Village & Cedro Caño
An early pre-breakfast skiff ride along the Maruyali Caño gave us some wonderful rewards. Several Amazon bird species were seen. Herons, jacanas, toucans, orioles, cormorants, flycatchers, and even a small Squirrel monkey troop was spotted.
After breakfast we went to ¬San Francisco community. In this location we had the chance to witness and experience how people live on this side of the Amazon. We observed several houses and the normal lives of their inhabitants. A man digging out a huge trunk making his dugout canoe, a family who shared a fruit with us, a boa snake that was spotted minutes earlier near the river bank, and many children following us were just some few of the highlights of this visit. The main highlight of this cultural visit was for many the stop at the local school. Children are not in classes at this time of the year but many of them gathered there to share their smiles and joy with us. We sang songs to each other, gave mutual presents. Before coming back to the ship we admired and bought some of the beautiful handcrafts the locals made in this community. A local band played some music making this visit a memorable one.
Soon after we started to navigate the Delfin II reached the famous confluence of the Marañon and Ucayali Rivers, the geographical place where the Amazon River takes its name. With a toast of a Peruvian Amazon drink “Chugchuhuazo” in hand we commemorated this very special event. At around 11:15 after leaving the Amazon River behind us we had a fruit exhibition, with naturalist Renny Coquinche. We learned about and tasted many of the regional Amazon fruits that Renny skillfully opened and sliced for us.
In the early afternoon we had a Recap session with questions and answers before going for an outing in Cedro Caño. Several topics were covered, especially those related to how the local inhabitants make a living in the forests.
The sun was shining with its entire splendor, proving to us how unpredictable and variable the weather can be in the Amazon region. Besides the many spectacular bird species and some monkey troops, the most spectacular sightings were in fact the astonishing landscapes that were a delight to our eyes. A full group of guests explored the area by kayaking instead of riding on the skiffs.
Once back aboard, refreshed with a hot shower and with drinks in hand, we shared our impressions of the day. After dinner we watched a nature documentary entitled Amazon, River of the Sun that gave us a broader idea of the drastic changes that occur between the dry and wet seasons in the Amazon Basin and also gives information about the fascinating fish life of the Amazon region.
