Mother Nature granted us a spectacular sunrise at the black waters of Yanayacu River. At the distance, white eyed parakeets were getting ready to take off from their evening perch. The river banks were covered with the white silhouette of the great egrets.
We loaded the skiffs and started our early morning exploration. The nearby villages were also up and already in their daily activities. Some little kids were having fun in the river while their parents were washing clothes. Others were loading their small dugout boats and heading to their plantation field.
Capped herons were not distracted by our presence. They were concentrated in their morning meal. Striated herons were also fishing and next to them the green kingfisher, amazon kingfisher and the ringed kingfishers. It was impressive to see them fishing, with each strike a fish they caught.
We kept exploring the Pucate River for the rest of the morning. One of the high lights was seeing the rare Black hawk eagle. All majestically perched up high in the canopy and looking for a prey. Black caracaras were at the river edge just being the observers of the morning events.
As we got hungry we pulled aside and tied all skiff together. A small little bout with an outboard motor approached us. It was our captain and the bartender bringing our breakfast. What a great surprise, having breakfast in the “selva de los espejos” (the mirror jungle, as this park is known), while pink dolphins and gray dolphins were playing and fishing in front of our skiffs.
After breakfast, we continued our exploration along the Pucate River and return back to the Delfin II. We needed to navigate to our afternoon destination.
We shortly arrived to San Regis and here we visited a Cocama Shaman. She shared with us her knowledge on the different plants she uses to treat ill persons. After giving us the healing Amazonian blessing we departed to the Amazon Natural Park.
Once in the property, we loaded artisanal catamaran and made our way to the entrance of a trail. We hiked and our naturalist gave us the natural history of this private reserve. From reptiles to amphibians were the small creatures spotted in the trail. And finally we got to the hanging bridges. These bridges goes parallels to the canopy of several trees.
By dusk we had finish our walks through the forest and we loaded one more time the catamarans. The moon in spite of not being full was bright and guided our intensions. The reflection of the moon in the water was our farewell to the property. There is no better way to finish your activities than with the bright moon.
