This morning was cool and refreshing, and the entire landscape was inviting us to discover the secrets of the Amazon. We made our early visit to one of the small tributaries of the Ucayali River, the Piraña Caño. The water was black, soaking with tannic acid, as it has been collecting dead leaves and the level of the water has been dropping. More and more land is exposed, as rain fades away, and many trees are showing the high watermark of some weeks ago, other are falling and blocking navigation. We also saw a blue-and-yellow macaw along the riverside.
The goal of our breakfastless outing was to find the pigmy marmoset, the smallest monkey in the world, while riding our skiff boats for about one and a half hours. We followed one of the small river branches looking for wildlife, which is very active in the early hours of the day. Before the morning was over we came back for breakfast and later continued our jungle exploration. We then visited Puerto Miguel, a village that was completely moved from one side of the river to the other, as the Amazon is eating away the coast and the houses.
We had the opportunity to see how people live and build houses along the riverside. We talked to them, gave them some supplies for the local school, and even had an improvised mini-market! Before lunch we learned about the local culture from our local guides, and then we had a Peruvian dish for lunch. Afterwards we had a well-deserved Peruvian siesta.
In the afternoon, before we left the ship, we had a fair of tastes from our jungle fruit talk by Reny, our guide. Later, we explored the Cedeño caño, with its monkeys, birds, black waters and local fishers, that made our afternoon pleasant and relaxing. We enjoyed seeing a troop of squirrel monkeys. After that, we were ready for dinner! It was an incredible day in the Amazonian paradise...
