Today we explored the Pacaya River in depth. We boarded the skiffs and went looking for all the incredible wildlife of the Amazon. We found monkeys, caimans, hoatzins and even anacondas!
Anahí grew up in a small house by the beach in the Galápagos Islands. Along with her best friend, she used to wander during the days around mangrove trees, becoming a different animal every day. She used to camp on solitary beaches, snorkel with shar...
Our expedition started with great samples of what the Amazon has to offer. An early skiff ride brought us to a small tributary creek to see many colorful birds and a couple of species of monkeys. After breakfast we hiked on terra firma and spotted more wildlife. During lunch, dolphins surrounded the ship and stayed for a couple hours, giving us an incredible display. In the afternoon, we again explored by skiff and found the noisy squirrel monkey, the only nocturnal species in the area, and several interesting and photogenic birds. What a start to our expedition!
Our last full day exploring the Peruvian Amazon started with a delightful visit to Marayali, a shortcut during the high-water season between the Maranon and the Ucayali Rivers. Its open habitat is ideal for a great variety of small birds, and we had our fill of little feathered jewels. Later, we visited the Amazonas community where the local people showed us around and welcomed us in a very warm way. We ended our day exploring one last tributary, Piranha Creek, before meeting at the confluence of the two great rivers, where the almighty Amazon River starts receiving its name. We toasted the great time we’ve had together in the world’s biggest tropical rainforest.
Today we ventured into the heart of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve. This remote area is where we can find some of the most impressive extents of mature trees with majestic dimensions. This high canopy provides a healthy habitat for some of the animals which we don´t see frequently. Aside from the majesty of the rainforest itself, we saw many blue and yellow and red bellied macaws. Red howler monkeys, black caracaras, three-toed sloths, and pink river dolphins were also seen. One of the highlights of the day was a pod of gray river dolphins that were highly active and very close to our skiffs. We had an extraordinary opportunity to really see what these fascinating freshwater cetaceans really look like.
