Today was a special day of exploration. We dedicated most of the day to explore the magnificent Pacaya River, which is the heart of the reserve. Its remoteness makes it special, since wildlife is more diverse and abundant than in other places. We had an early start to enjoy the early morning hours. Our skiffs took us a long distance through the river. We started out just before sunrise. Our skiffs dashed through the glassy waters of the Pacaya, and suddenly we were surrounded by thousands of great egrets, snowy egrets, cormorants and cocoi herons! The spectacle kept on going for a very long time. The amount of fish in the Pacaya River is tremendous. In order to feed so many large birds, it is clear that a healthy and pristine habitat is necessary.
Some of our rare wildlife sightings were scarlet macaws. A pair of very close blue and yellow macaws, several troops of red howler monkeys, and several other species.
We stopped in the middle of the day to turn our skiffs into a jungle cafe. The crew from Delfin II followed us to a point where we tied up to a large fig tree. Under the shadow of the tree we had an amazing breakfast with juices, sandwiches, fresh fruit and muffins. As we had breakfast, we could continue to observe wildlife in an uninterrupted way.
One of the highlights was Yanayacu Lake. Here we could see lots of pink river dolphins and gray river dolphins. We had the chance to go for a very refreshing swim. As we were in the water, we could see sporadic splashes of very active dolphins of both species. Some of the sightings were fairly close to us. It was a unique experience to be submerged in the same Amazonian waters as those mythical creatures.
