This morning we woke up at the deepest part of the Pacaya- Samiria Reserve. Delfin II motored up against the current of the Ucayali River, and tied up close to the entrance of the Pacaya River. We ventured into the Pacaya River at six thirty in the morning to take advantage of the pleasant temperature and the higher wildlife activity. We started out by watching squirrel monkeys, chestnut-fronted macaws, black-collared hawks, and many other jungle-dwelling creatures. Once upriver, we turned our three skiffs into "the jungle café." We tied up to a tree and our local naturalists turned into our waiters, and served us breakfast on board! While we enjoyed our breakfast and our coffee, short-tailed parrots and howler monkeys could be heard a distance away.
We spent the afternoon exploring the Pacaya River, even deeper into the reserve. At the entrance of the river, we spent some time surrounded by very active pink river dolphins. These elusive creatures, although quite abundant, are quite challenging to photograph, due to their unpredictable behavior. From there we navigated upstream until we arrived Yanayacu Lake. Yanayacu is a common name in Quechua, which means "black water.' The water of many of the tributaries of the Ucayali is rich in tannins from the decaying vegetation, and contains very little sediment in suspension, reassembling black tea.
Once at the lake, some of us jumped off the skiffs for a refreshing swim. The upper layer of the lake was quite warm, but a few centimeters under the surface, the temperature was much lower, making the experience very pleasant.
On the way back we stopped several times to watch a few troops of red howler monkeys. At around five o’clock, the monkeys found the highest trees in the jungle, and became quit visible. We all got good looks at these red howlers, which were a new species for us during our Amazonian expedition.
