It is day four of our Amazon Exploration, and Expedition Leader Carlos Romero has packed our day full of exciting opportunities to see and photograph a new area. We have left terra firma behind, there are no more places to hike old growth rain forest, as we are now in that part of the Pacaya-Samiria Preserve where dry land floods in the rainy season, so we will explore by kayak and skiff from here on out.
Up before dawn and out by 6:30AM, we are headed to a part of the Ucayali River where there are many dead palm trees along the riverbank. We are always on the look out for any number of myriad species of animals, but this area is known to be rich in macaws and it is the chance to see these ornately-colored birds that shakes the sleep out of our eyes. As promised, the macaws are also just waking up and leaving their nesting and roosting places inside the hollow palm trees. Blue-and-yellow macaws fly in pair overhead, and even tussle a bit with each other over favorite palm perches, while chestnut-fronted macaws proudly display their bright feathers. Our ears are filled with macaw cacophony, what a lovely way to start our morning!
We then leave the main Ucayali River to follow a small caño upstream into a very tight waterway. The rain forest presses in close and towers above us. Common squirrel monkeys peer at us from their lofty canopy positions. Birds of all sizes and colors flit to and fro across the small stream. Raptors of many types patiently watch the scene, eerily waiting for their next meal. Long-nosed bats line the trunks of several trees, so well camouflaged that they look like part of their host tree. Blue morpho butterflies became metallic splashes of color as we vainly try to capture their movement on our memory cards. The humidity and temperature finally catch up to us, and we return to the Delfin II for a little rest and rehydration.
A surprise trip to the banks of the Ucayali River allow Adonay Rodriguez, one of our expert naturalists who also specializes in native uses of plants and animals, to show us how to properly apply mud packs to help exfoliate and smooth our skin with river mud. How can you not revert to child-like behavior when coating yourself and your shipmates with gooey mud? A good time was had by all, and of course everyone remarked how much softer their skin felt to the touch after applying Ucayali mud.
Late in the afternoon, we took to the skiffs once again in order to probe deep into the rain forest via the El Dorado River. Our eyes are finally starting to adjust to movement along the river, and we find many of the usual suspects, like kingfishers, hawks, caracaras, and an assortment of herons and egrets. We leave the main river to follow a small caño that ends in a flooded forest, creating a swampy area where we are hemmed in by the forest on all sides. Many species of birds new to us are spotted and photographed, but none as unique as the hoatzin. This prehistoric-looking crested bird seems more like a pterodactyl than a modern day bird.
As the sun sets, we continue our search along this little lake, stopping to inspect the life along its edge. Our attentions are drawn to the minute as we marvel at the spiders, grasshoppers, dragonflies, and even frogs we find hidden amongst the aquatic plant life. As darkness descends upon the forest, we pull out our spotlights in hopes of finding caimans, the Amazon cousin to alligators and crocodiles. Our efforts are rewarded as the light reflecting back to us from caiman eyes is an eerie red, caused by the dilation of the caiman’s pupil. These red spots shining in our torches give away the position of the reptile, and the ambush hunter is now brought right alongside the skiff for close inspection. We are lucky enough to see and photograph both spectacled (white) and black caimans, and even to catch one to bring into the skiff for all to see and appreciate.
As true blackness falls, fat water droplets begin to pelt us and the skies open up completely to remind us that we are traveling in a rain forest. Lightening dances in the clouds, the wind suddenly springs up, and the thunder can be heard over all other sounds. Truly we are in a tropical storm, soaked to the skin, but alive with an adrenaline rush that only Mother Nature can provide!
