Right before breakfast we had a spectacular sunrise. Delfin II had spent the night on the riverside of the Ucayali River in an area called Llanalpa. We loaded the skiffs to explore this section of the river.
Camaras, binoculars, big smiles and anxiousness to explore were spotted on every guest! The cool morning breeze was felt as we began to approach the river bank. Several aguaje palms were easily seen. Suddenly, blue and yellow colors were identified among the green of the forest. Immediately the sounds of clicking cameras filled the air! A big flock of blue and yellow macaws were painting the blue sky. These were not the only macaws seen here. A small group of scarlet macaws also flew by together with red bellied macaws. The smile of joy and delight was seen on each of the guests.
Back on board Delfin II, we recharged our energy with the local breakfast prepared by our galley. Once done, we loaded the skiff and landed on a varzea forest. This forest remains flooded for almost four months. Its trees have developed interesting survivor techniques that consist of a specialized root system that allow them to have enough oxygen during this period.
Back on board we cruised to the next destination of the day, a place known as Dorado. We loaded into skiffs and explored the river. The water had developed an algae and the level was lower. Little by little, the river was running out of oxygen. Along the shore, we spotted some dead fish. Our naturalists explained that this was because of the lack of oxygen in the water. The black vultures were having a feast by cleaning the riverbank.
We returned by dusk to Delfin II and on our way back, we began to look for black caiman and spectacle caiman. Their red eyes were easily seen each time we scanned the shore with a big spotlight. Not only caimans were seen, boat billed night herons, black crown night herons, fishing bats and many other night creatures showed up as we made our way back to Delfin II.
It was a great adventure!
