Last night we arrived to the Yanalpa Caño, which is our exploration site for this early morning activity. Here in the tropics, we must adapt to the rhythm of the forest, so we try schedule our excursions for early in the morning and later in the afternoon, when the sun and the temperatures are lower, and the wildlife is more active. Today our goal is also to be able to go even farther up the river, and we are hoping to find macaws. At this time of the year, these large, colorful parrots start to look for holes in which to nest, and they especially love a particular area of the forest where there are several dead palms that provide the conditions that they require for nesting. Sure enough, we encounter many species of Amazonian birds on this skiff ride, and we soon spot several pairs of active red-bellied macaws, and also a few of the large and unmistakable blue-and-yellow macaws. The weather was great this morning and the low golden light from the sun rising provided us with great views and photo opportunities. As we continue further into the narrower canals, we find the home of the Spix’s night monkeys (another of our goals for the morning). Monkeys are always so much fun and interesting to watch! And we all seem to be entertained by this encounter—we watch them, and they watch us!
The mid-afternoon is spent onboard the Delfin II, as usual, for lunch and some rest, and later, before dusk, we get back into the skiff again to explore the El Dorado River, where we stay until dark. Dusk is another very interesting part of the day, when many of the animals are hurrying to back to the places where they can hide safely for the night, while other animals wake up and become very active. Some of these animals that we are hoping to see include bats, nighthawks, frogs, owls and spectacled caimans.
We return to the Delfin II, our home in this very remote part of the world, for a hot shower, a delicious dinner, some live music, followed by a restful night.
