Today we visited the National Reserve in the area of the Pacaya River. We started with an exotic breakfast with juices made of local fruits, plus sweet potato and manioc breads, some sweet pastries, coffee, and tea. The most amazing aspect of this breakfast was that it was served aboard our skiffs in the middle of the Reserve. What an experience! We tied our three skiffs together and enjoyed of this unique moment!
Then we continued with our exploration along the river. Birds came to us. We spotted the colorful festive parrots, and some blue-and-yellow macaws flying. The highlight was a very unusual pygmy-owl that was resting on a branch. Neo-tropical cormorants posed for our lenses and finally we spotted some capuchin and squirrel monkeys troops for our delight! Jumping from one branch to the next they kept at their journey along the forest while we enjoyed watching their acrobatic movements.
We learned how to cook our lunch for today with a Peruvian cuisine lesson and then got some information about the Amazonian cultures.
In the afternoon we followed the Pacaya River until we reached an amazing area known as Yanayacu Lake. With our swimming noodles we jumped in the water and enjoyed of a calm swim with the best companions you can find in the area: the pink river dolphins! What a gift! We found on our way two new species of monkeys for this week´s expedition as well. A couple of saki monkeys and red howler monkeys were seen. The Amazon is always a box of surprises for we do not know what we will find. Our reward for exploring the area by skiff for several hours during the day was the sighting of many monkeys and birds in addition to unforgettable landscapes.
