Early in the morning Delfin II arrived to the mouth of Pacaya River. It’s a lovely area protected by law and by the remoteness of its location. We were very eager to load the skiffs and explore this paradise of the Pacaya and Samiria Natural Reserve.

The black waters of the Pacaya seem like a mirror. The entrance was guarded by two yellow headed caracaras. We had advanced in the river and we had to stop. A troop of squirrel monkeys and saddle back tamarins were jumping from branch to branch. What a good way to begin the morning!

Flocks of birds passed over our heads. Blue and yellow macaws, festive parrots, cocoi herons, ringed king fishers, horned screamers and many other species of parakeets delighted us. Just as we got hungry, to our surprise, our galley was waiting for us with a floating jungle café! So, under the shade of a mighty fig tree, we had our delicious breakfast.

After breakfast, we continued exploring the Pacaya River. One of the best sightings was a group of hoatzins. This bird is unique and is considered the “cow bird” due to his diet. We stayed for a while and after taking all the pictures possible, we returned to the Delfin II for lunch.

We rested for a while and departed once more to explore deeper in the river to get to an amazing lagoon called Yanayacu. Pink dolphins were foraging and came to the surface, which made our afternoon even more enjoyable. Soon we joined them by having a tropical plunge in the middle of the lagoon. What a refreshing activity!

On our way back to the Delfin II, Mother Nature gave us a fond farewell and granted us a spectacular rainbow. There was no better way to end this day!