Last night as we slept, our ship arrived to the location for our morning activities—the Amazon Natural Park, a privately own reserve at the edge of the upper Amazon River. We had a slightly earlier breakfast this morning (a super breakfast I should say) and then we jumped into our skiff for a short ride ashore. Here at Amazon Park, we had another short ride on wooden boats, and then a walk through the tropical rainforest.
As we approached the entrance of the trail, a thick wall of green made the forest look impenetrable, but we quickly found that we could easily follow the lead of our naturalist, who pointed out and explained the many interesting things that we were running into as we hiked deeper into the jungle. Here, just like yesterday, we had the aid of some local scouts that helped us to find specimens. Aside from finding many different kinds of trees, plants, fruits, flowers and learning about their roles in this intricate and very important ecosystem, we also saw colorful poison dart-frogs up-close, as well as insects and a fairly large pilot snake.
Part of our adventure this morning consisted of viewing the forest from a different perspective, by walking on suspension bridges through the mid canopy of the forest. It was fascinating to have the opportunity to look down through the dense foliage, and to experience the intricate world that exists above the rainforest floor.
We returned to the Delfin II for lunch and some rest, and also to reposition to a different location for the late afternoon activities at Nauta Caño. At Nauta we explored the narrow canals and waterways by skiffs and kayaks. The scenery was spectacular, with a million reflections in the black, tannin-rich water of Nauta. Here at Nauta, we had great views of many birds, such as the loud and large horned-screamers, also large white-throated toucans, striated herons nicely reflected on the water, and a large troop of squirrel monkeys, actively chirping and jumping through the vegetation.
It was a great day indeed, full of activities and great sightings!
