Pacaya Samiria reserve is over 5 million acres and it is the second largest protected area in Peru. The Pacaya River is part of this reserve and it is a place with a great diversity of birds, mammals and fish. Today we visited this iconic river as part of our itinerary in order to reach the furthest point in our journey. Most of this region is a Varzea Forest, which means this land is flooded for up to six months in the year and right now this place is an ocean of fresh water with trees and floating vegetation.
This morning we had a beautiful weather again, on the skiffs we explored the jungle of the mirrors as it is known because of the black water that carry the rivers and flood the forest. Most of the times this water is still and it is just like a mirror for the trees and clouds above. This ecosystem is home to giant kapok trees, water lettuce and many types of vines including morning glories with beautiful blossoms. This place is home for large creatures such as the honed screamer, great egrets, squirrel monkeys and howler monkeys.
In the afternoon we boarded the skiffs to explore Zapote River, another tributary of the Ucayali River. This place is part of the Zapote community which is made of around eighty people. There are oriole blackbirds and horned screamers on the grasslands and forests on the sides of the river. This black water is nutrient rich and harbors a diversity of fish and also many types of fish eating birds such as herons and hawks.
