We woke early on our second day exploring the Pacaya Samiria Reserve. We gathered up in the open lounge to enjoy the chatters of the short tailed parrots that were perched on a nearby tree. The sun began to rise behind the forest. Suddenly, all the parrots agreed that it was time to move from their perch and fly to their feeding ground. The sky got painted with this huge shadow of short tailed parrots flying off. What a scenery!
After breakfast we geared and loaded the skiffs. A group decided to go on kayak while the rest went of skiff to explore de Pucate River. Along the river bank, great egrets were concentrated in fishing for their breakfast that they ignored our presence as we passed next to them. Different species of king fishers were in alert to catch small catch fish that were distracted by our skiffs. Pink and gray dolphins would fish as well next to the kayaks as they broke the peace of the surface.
The lush green forest along the river had evidence in their trunks of high the water level can get in the high water season. The wildlife in these areas has adapted and developed different strategies to survive. On this time of the year several trees are blooming providing a lot of food to birds and primates. We were granted with the view of several mix flocks of birds feeding on these fruits. From masked crimson tanagers to blue and yellow macaws. Red throated caracaras were spotted feeding on termites as they teared apart their nests. It was a very active morning.
Back on board, Delfin II, cruised to our afternoon destination, Amazon Natural Park. We gather up in the lounge to listen to our naturalist Reni. We paid attention to some tales and legends of the area. It is so interesting to learn about the folklore of the locals.
It was late in the afternoon when we arrived to the private park. On our way to load to skiff we saw that there were flash light available for us. We understood then that we were going to return by night. It was our opportunity to experience a night walk in the Amazon forest. We were all excited!
To get to the entrance of the trail we had to cross a small manmade lake. Loaded on an artisanal catamaran we paddled through the lake looking for wildlife as well. Beautiful black tailed trogons and white tailed trogons posed for our cameras. One of the great sightings was a small group of dusky titi monkeys. These shy primates were getting ready to sleep. So didn’t want to disturb them so we enjoyed their presence and moved on to the trail.
A dense forest with very mature trees covered the areas. Majestic rubber trees stood as evidence of why in the past time, the Amazon was threaten by rubber fever. We walked over some hanging bridges. Bullet ants were spotted in the entrance of the first bridge as guarding the pass.
Different sounds began to be heard as the sun began to set. Frogs, crickets, beetles and many other night creatures began to show up. Even though we had flashlights, the bright moonlight would pass through the canopy and light our pass. A different way to see the forest too.
Back for dinner, we all commented in how awesome had been our second day exploring the Upper Amazon.
