Today is our last full day of exploring the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve in Peru, and it was filled with great memories, a lot of animal sightings, cultural experiences with the local inhabitants of the area, and excellent ice cream with regional flavors. We had an incredible morning to start with…a cool breeze and the perfect light for photos. We wanted to practice our photography skills, and we did it! On our early morning, pre-breakfast skiff ride, we shared the river waters with pink dolphins. The first hours of the morning are the best for wildlife as everybody is active while the sun’s heat is yet to reach its full power. So with our cool breeze we enjoyed monkeys, many species of birds, and the company of Amazon cormorants all along the river.
Some guests chose to explore the Zapote River by kayak, and they had the pleasure of close encounters with the famous wood stork. This unique experience let our guests really enjoy the animals in their natural hidden world. We also had a great sighting of monk saki monkeys. These reddish primates were observed feeding on the fruits of a tree. As we turned off the skiffs’ engines, we had another very nice experience with nature spotting a “mono volador,” one of the common Spanish names for a flying monkey.
After breakfast we strolled downriver again to continue exploring. This narrow water channel, locally known as “caño” is covered with thick vegetation, many bromeliads, and huge ficus trees. Several species of colorful birds like macaws and toucans were seen as well as other monkey troops. It was a very special moment in the rain forest; then, on our way back to the ship, we made a stop in a very small native community where Lindblad is planning to develop a help project, to give back some of the wealth that we enjoy in the river every day. We also had the opportunity to admire their handicraft work and their kids, still untouched by urban civilization. Soon after we started our ship’s motors to reach our next destination. Before lunch we learned how to fold towels in the very original way of the Delfin II, by our master folders: the cabin boys.
In the afternoon we had a skiff ride at Supay Caño. We explored some narrow lagoons, which are formed at this time of the year. All of them were covered with water lilies and many other aquatic plants. Our goal was to see one of the smallest monkeys in the world, the pigmy marmoset monkey. The area is full of many small creeks that connect to other lagoons, and the exploration of this place is based on the deep knowledge of our local naturalists. As we were returning to the ship, the river was so low that we could walk in some areas. Fortunately, our drivers knew every corner of the way and we made it for our ship, the Delfin II.
Before dinner we watched a slideshow with a few of everyone’s photos from the week, and we had a great barbeque farewell dinner with music. It was a golden finale for a spectacular and memorable expedition.
This was our last day in the Amazon paradise…our last day, with memories that will last for a very long time in our hearts.
