We continued our expedition today with a full day of exploration in two remote locations of the Pacaya Samiria Reserve in the Upper Amazon of Peru: Belluda Caño in the morning, and the Pacaya River in the afternoon.

We started the day with a beautifully calm and relatively cool morning. Very early, at around 0600, we were already out on the skiffs. The early hours of the day are the best for spotting wildlife, and we were fortunate for we saw a lot! We observed many bird species, including the beautifully colored oriole blackbirds, macaws, herons, and other birds of prey. We were lucky to find a large troop of squirrel monkeys as well. After breakfast, we had a talk about one of my favorite subjects — the primates of the reserve.

In the afternoon we had a presentation on Amazon fruits, and then we explored the Pacaya River. We had plenty of time to go far into this beautiful River. Just like the early hours of the day, the late hours are another prime time to observe the extraordinary biodiversity that inhabits the rainforests. During this expedition we had a lot of amazing sightings — including black and spectacled caimans on the way back to the ship as the night was falling in the rainforest. We even had a glimpse of the largest rodent species in the world, the capybara.

It was a long day, but it was full of great sights and exploration.