Today was a three-river day and so much more. From the town of Nauta last night, we navigated a short way up the Maranon River and “anchored.” Here along the muddy river with the water rising this time of year, you don’t throw in an anchor, you shimmy up next to the riverbank and tie your lines to a stout looking tree.
Our first visit of the day was along a trail in a place called Casual. Here, two of the folks that live along the river became our forest investigators. As our well experience guides introduced the rainforest plants, and the local ethnobotany, the local folks from Casual scoured the rainforest looking for critters of interest. They found a plethora of critters that we were certainly interested in viewing, photographing and learning of their lifestyles and adaptations to rainforest life. The brown-throated three-toed sloth that sat in a tree at eye level was our first spoiler. Aren’t you supposed to have to look way up to see a sloth? Not this morning. Next up was a mata mata turtle. It has wonderful appendages sticking out all over its face neck and legs to facilitate its blending into the leaf litter of a shallow drainage or stream. Don’t worry little frogs and fish; I’m just a pile of leaves. The red-tailed boa constrictor was impressive, as was the fruit bat, but not to be outdone by the profusely hairy legged bird-eating tarantula and a pink-toed tarantula.
At the end of the walk was our first opportunity to spend our newly acquired Peruvian soles. Wares made from sustainable forest materials were offered in a makeshift market at the forest edge. Tagua nut, or vegetable ivory carvings, wooden platters and dolphin statuary, woven bags and insect theme ornaments were amongst our choices.
For our afternoon, after a hearty lunch and short siesta, we took off up the Rio Pucate and launched our skiffs in the Rio Yanayacu. We started with mammals, specifically gray and pink river dolphins. These animals like to hunt fish along the edge of the mixing of black and white (sediment laden) waters. They would surface sporadically for the briefest of moments only to come up randomly in another area for another exhalation, inhalation and back down again. Navigating up the Rio Yanayacu, we experienced a plethora of birds along the edge of the forest. Large-billed terns and yellow terns, black-fronted nun birds, striated herons, sand-colored nighthawks, Anhinga, Ringed, Amazon and Green kingfishers, chestnut-fronted macaw, orange-winged parrot and white-winged swallow, just to name a few.
We returned to the mother ship Delfin II, washed up and reveled in the productivity of the rainforest from just our first day of exploration. What an incredible place, introduction and first full day experience in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve and the tributary rivers feeding and sustaining life along the mighty Amazon.
