Pacaya Samiria Reserve Creek, 10/30/2019, Delfin II
Aboard the
Delfin II
Amazon
Today Delfin II went to the heart of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve. We had an early departure and enjoyed breakfast in the forest aboard our skiffs, catered by the Delfin II crew as we floated on the mirror-like waters of the Pacaya River.
This afternoon we went farther and deeper into the reserve, swimming in a large black water lagoon while some pink river dolphins surfaced and approached our skiffs.
Socrates was raised on Santa Cruz Island located in the heart of Galapagos Archipelago. After a childhood filled with swimming, scuba diving, rock climbing and volunteering in conservation projects, he grew very passionate about the outdoors and the...
Enter travel details to receive reports from a single expedition
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Send Daily Expedition Reports to friends and family
*By clicking the submit button, I authorize Lindblad Expeditions to email me; however, I am able to unsubscribe at any time. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.
Please note: All Daily Expedition Reports (DERs) are posted Monday-Friday,
during normal business hours. DERs are written onboard the ship only and do
not apply to land-based portions of expeditions.
We spent the night close to Iricahua, a small tributary, allowing us an early morning opportunity to explore its surroundings and the riverbanks of the Ucayali River. Our last day exploring the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve began with an early prebreakfast skiff exploration. Our naturalist identified various species of parakeets along the way, but the morning highlight was the unmistakable scarlet macaws perched on a distant tree. Back on board, we continued our journey to reach the community of Amazonas. Our bartender, Isaac, shared his knowledge of how to prepare the best pisco sour. We soon reached the confluence where the Maranon and Ucayali River give birth to the Amazon River. We toasted to this event for the excellent voyage we experienced. For the afternoon activity, we visited Amazonas. Our guests had the opportunity to visit homes and learn about daily life. Women leaders discussed with us the community’s positive outcomes as a result of implementing family projects. Learning about the community’s sustainable social changes was the best way to end our journey.
We had an early breakfast aboard Delfin II, and we were eagerly anticipating the day. Our plan was to venture deep into the heart of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve. The scenery of the flooded forest was spectacular. We saw flocks of cormorants swimming and diving for their meals. Jabirus and wood storks gathered near small ponds, searching for food as well. All the guests enjoyed those unique moments. As we began to look for more wildlife, several black caimans and spectacle caimans appeared on the surface of the Pacaya River. Red howler monkeys were up in the canopy of emergent layers, and we spotted brown capuchins collecting the fruit of the canon ball tree. A family of giant river otters emerged to inspect our guests and swam away. We finished our expedition in the refreshing black waters of Yanayacu Lagoon while pink dolphins swam around us. It was the great finale of our day exploring the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.
From the smallest insects to the largest reptiles and mammals, the upper Amazon River basin is a plethora of diverse species. This point was driven home today on our walk in the verzea Yanallpa Forest, where we encountered insects of all sizes and shapes. Our exploration of the Rio El Dorado yielded many delights, including fishing for piranha and watching common squirrel monkeys. The highlight of the night was our grand caiman adventure. In total darkness, we found and photographed caimans suspended at the river’s surface as they searched for food. They were easy to spot with our search light, as their eyes glow red and can be seen from several yards away. To top off the evening, we came home under an absolutely magical Southern Cross and the constellation of Scorpio!