Casual & Yanayacu Pucate Rivers
We are in the Amazon! Yesterday we traveled from Lima with a lot of expectations. We arrived to the ship late in the evening and went to bed after dinner dreaming on our first full day of our expedition on the mysterious, magical, and amazingly bio-diverse Amazon region of our planet.
We started the day off with an early skiff ride along the Marañon River. Our ship the Delfin II was tied, for in rivers an anchor is not used, close to the San Jose community. We explored this area at a relaxed pace with the skiffs looking for wildlife. This pre-breakfast outing was of great success for we spotted several bird species including Ringed kingfishers, Black collared hawks, tanagers, and several flycatchers.
We came back to the ship at around 7:30 a.m. for breakfast. Just after, and once equipped with rubber boots and enthusiasm we went for an introductory walk in the rain forest. After a short skiff ride we visited a “terra firme” forest of a place known locally as “Casual.” “Terra firme” is a term used in tropical Ecology to describe a terrain that never gets flooded. In the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, the largest flooded protected area in South America, most of the surface area is underwater therefore this kind of relatively dry ecosystem is of great interest for our expedition. Along the walk our naturalists explained some aspects of the fascinating ecology of the rain forest of the Neotropics and shared with us anecdotes about the uses of several plant species. We had the company of a couple of local scouts who used their eagle eyes to locate some of the forest’s creatures. Several frog species were spotted including the colorful poison arrow frogs and the leaf frogs, the latter resemble dead brown leaves in amazing detail. We also saw giant snails and even a snake! A colorful velvety swamp green snake was spotted by Euclides, one of locals, who detected the reptile on a tree. ! In the middle of the walk we all had the thrill to observe a giant strangle fig that was admired and photographed.
For me, a bat enthusiast who studied them for a long time, the best sighting of the morning was the opportunity to see with detail and a close range one of these fascinating mammals. A Short-tailed fruit bat (Carollia perspicillata) was spotted by the amazing locals who accompanied us on the walk. Bats need friends and understanding. They played a key ecological role not only in the Neotropics but all over the world dispersing seeds and eating bugs among many other crucial roles that keep many the ecosystems of our planet going on.
As the day was getting hotter and humid, we were sweating a lot as a proof of it, we came back to the ship to have cold drinks and to cool down with a well-deserved shower and to participate in a couple of presentations. One was my introduction to the Amazon including details about its geological formation and its overwhelming facts and biodiversity. The second talk was one about the Pacaya Samiria Reserve. While we were having these talks the ship was repositioned to the confluence of the Marañon River and the Yanayacu River. After lunch we had the joy of observing several pink river dolphins fishing and frolicking around the ship.
In the afternoon we explored the Yanayacu and Pucate Rivers by skiff. This outing was very successful for we spotted several Three- toed Sloths, some at a fairly short distance. We observed several bird species as well including Yellow billed terns, Ringed and Amazon kingfishers, Red-bellied macaws, and several birds of prey like Black collared hawks and Yellow headed caracaras.
Reluctantly we came back on board to share our impressions during cocktail hour and dinner. After dinner some talented members of the Delfin II crew gave us a grateful surprise! They beautifully played Latin-American folk music that was a golden finale for an extraordinary day in this magical place, the Upper Amazon in Peru.
