In the tropics life starts early and we know it, that is why we usually go out exploring shortly after sunrise; today was no exception and we departed the beautiful Delfín II and looked for the abundant birdlife from the skiffs. We were in the vicinity of the small village of San Jorge, on the Marañón River, and got the chance to watch numerous bird species that we have not seen before during the trip. The more open habitat near the cultivated rice fields offered new opportunities and we delighted watching such interesting species like the pied lapwing, the oriole blackbird, the lesser yellow-headed vulture and the white-headed marsh tyrant. Other species were particularly abundant, like the wattled jacana and the white-ringed parakeet.
After breakfast we went ashore to visit the people at San Jorge; San Jorge is a small community of about three hundred souls that make a living by fishing and cultivating a few crops like rice and cassava and exploiting the fruits of numerous jungle species like the aguaje palm tree. It is a typical Amazonian village with a few modern commodities like electricity, satellite TV and cellular phone connection, but still with strong genre differences and machismo practices; San Jorge is a community where the local non-profit organization Minga Perú has been working trying to empower the local women by means of sexual education, self-esteem talks, and helping them to create their own business. We had the opportunity to learn about all that first-hand from several women who told us how their lives have changed for the good. They also showed us a pond where they are raising tambaqui and other fish for sale and gave us the chance to buy some of the handicrafts that they make. We even became the main attraction for a group of kindergarten kids that brought their seats and pillows out of the classroom to watch us!
During the late morning we sailed downriver along the Marañón and shortly after noon we arrived to the area were it meets the Ucayali River, officially entering the Amazon River. At least according to the Peruvians, because the Brazilians consider it the place where the Solimoes River starts; it is where the Solimoes and the Negro River merge where the Brazilians call it the Amazon. Name it as they want, we celebrated the moment toasting with Pisco, before turning around to start navigating upriver along the Ucayali. During the afternoon we boarded the skiffs again to explore another beautiful area, the Clavero Lake. An oxbow lake that used to be part of the original looping course of the Ucayali River until the waters decided to make a shortcut, Clavero is now a quieter place and the small tributaries that still flow into it are full of wildlife. We found a large troop of squirrel monkeys and many bird species, although the highlight for many was a male Amazonian umbrella bird; nicknamed the “Elvis Presley bird” because of its long tufted hairdo, the umbrella bird is a species not very easily seen, but today we all got great views of it perched in plain view!
Another highlight of the day was a truly spectacular sunset and lighting storm coupled with a no-less magnificent full moon rising over the jungle, making for a most impressive end of another wonderful day in the Peruvian Amazon!
