What a joy! What a thrill!
We had a wonderful day exploring two of my favorite locations in the Peruvian Upper Amazon! Every time we come to the Pacaya River, we have great expectations of this remote area of the Pacaya Samiria Reserve. Wrapped with the first rays of sunlight, early in the morning, at 5:30am, we went as deep and far as we could into the river, to the farthest and most pristine destination we will visit on our expedition. Hundreds of egrets, cormorants and herons accompanied us along the way. We had great wildlife sightings, including red howler, squirrel and black capuchin monkey troops. Spectacular blue and yellow macaws, parrots and hoatzins were admired as well. At around 8:00am we served our breakfast outdoors! The three skiffs were tied up together under a shade. We had our first meal of the day surrounded by the beauty of this location.
On our way back to the ship we stopped at Yanacocha Lake to swim. It was a lot of fun! Several pink river dolphins were seen at a close distance by the many swimmers. It was a long but rewarding adventure with all the ingredients of a memorable expedition.
In the afternoon we explored a large tributary of the Ucayali River, Magdalena River. The late golden hours of the day are prime time to search and observe the extraordinary biodiversity that inhabits the rainforest. During the skiff ride we had excellent rainforest bird sightings, including birds of prey, toucans and barbets. All day long we enjoyed a beautiful atmosphere, a product of a delightful and successful day of exploration in the Upper Amazon of Peru.
