Day three of our expedition started early again, before sunrise, with a 5:30 a.m. wake-up knock on the cabin doors. A quick cup of coffee later, and we were on the skiffs heading for an area called the Marayali River, a backwater tributary of the Maranon River. It was an overcast morning, but luckily the rain held off until we returned to the Delfin II about an hour and a half later!
The cooler conditions gave us the opportunity to see a variety of birdlife that remained active for a longer period of time, as the morning progressed. The highlight of the skiff ride was seeing the prehistoric looking Hoatzin, a large native Amazon species that looks like the missing-link between dinosaurs and modern birds. The young of this particular bird even have claws on their wings for climbing around in the trees! Besides the Hoatzin, there were also a number of colorful species, like tanagers and cardinals for our viewing pleasure.
After breakfast we visited a local village called Amazonas, where we learned about how the native people of the area survived and thrived in this semi-isolated area of Peru. There was a demonstration of dying and weaving of native rainforest materials into beautiful baskets, bags and a variety of other crafts! The highlight of our short stay was visiting the schools, and getting to interact with the children of the community and their teachers, truly a wonderful experience! We also had the opportunity to hear from several resident women about the program that was started several years ago to help empower females in the Amazon region, it seems to be having a very positive effect on them, and the communities as a whole!
Of course, there was a chance to do some shopping before heading back to the boat for lunch. A number of women and their households had lovely artisan handy-crafts for sale in a central area of the village. I purchased a nice woven tray and a beautiful woven bag.
Soon we were on our way to the mouth of the Maranon River where the proper Amazon starts, and made a turn south into the other main tributary of this mighty river, the Ucacyali River. Once again, the Delfin II tied-up along the riverbank, at the mouth of Yarapa River, where we were greeted by a large number of two species of river dolphin, both the pink and gray. It was a wonderful way to enjoy the end of another incredibly tasty lunch!
After a short siesta, there was a chance to see a very well done film about the Amazon, and then a short presentation about the local fruits that we were getting to enjoy along our navigation of the Upper Amazon. Right after that it was time to do more exploring, so back into the skiffs and off we went up the Yarapa River. Within a matter of moments our driver spotted a three-toed sloth in a tree right on the river’s edge, this time with very nice light illuminating it, a wonderful photographic opportunity! Our incredible guide and driver spotted things in the forest, leaving us wondering how they did it: monkeys, a wood-rat and a large assortment of birds! Another full and incredible day!
