Our first morning of the trip started early, to take advantage of the best time of the day to observe wildlife. We ventured out on our skiffs to the Pahuachiro, a small tributary of the Marañón River. The temperature was pleasant and the light was very nice. Here we had our first introduction to the várzea floodplain environment, which consists of a forest that becomes an aquatic environment as the level of the river rises. We saw our first birds and sloths of the trip.
Later in the morning, we took our first jungle walk on a trail known as the Casual Trail. It takes us through the terra firme, or land that does not get flooded during high water season. A couple locals found interesting animals for us to see. One of the highlights was a green anaconda that was submerged in a small creek. We also saw a couple of poison dart frogs, which are tiny and extremely ornate, but potentially deadly. Delfin II then sailed up towards the Yanayacu-Pucate, another tributary that we explored for the afternoon. The sky started to darken and massive clouds moved in. Although the rain was not extremely strong, at 4 p.m. it seemed like nightfall. We had a very pleasant skiff ride, with a little rain, and very cool weather. We could find three-toed sloths, black-collared hawks, and had good views of both gray and pink river dolphins.
After dinner, we were treated to a wonderful surprise. The crew members of Delfin II turned out to be fantastic musicians! They delighted us with Peruvian music. The traditional South American instruments, like the sampoña, charango, and bombo, emitted melodies from the past that transported us from the jungles of the Amazon to the highlands of the Peruvian Andes.
