Our first day on the Maranon River, in the Peruvian Amazon, started with a wakeup knock on the door at 5:30 a.m. We had just enough time to grab a quick cup of coffee and put gear together before boarding the skiffs at 6:00 a.m. for the early morning exploration of Pahuachiro Cano, a narrow waterway across the river from where the Delfin II was tied up along the bank. It was a lovely morning, with a beautiful sunrise, after a strong rain throughout most of the night. Our guides found a multitude of wildlife species for our viewing pleasure, a monk saki monkey and a large variety of birds, from parrots to vultures to jacanas and much more, even a three-toed sloth!
Finally, it was time to head back to the Delfin II, have breakfast, and get fitted with rubber boots for the next adventure, a walk through the Amazon rainforest on a nearby trail that had been cleared by one of the local communities. So, at 8:30 a.m. it was back to the skiffs, and an eight minute ride to the trailhead, where we divided into two groups with our naturalists and local guides that would scour the forest to find interesting wildlife for us to enjoy.
It was a wonderful and educational walk through this amazing habitat, with a variety of sightings along the way! There were two different kinds of snakes, an anaconda and a red-tailed boa, a beautiful owl butterfly and two different poison-dart frogs, but the highlight was finding a two-toed sloth low in a tree right next to the trail – amazing!
Again we returned to the boat for lunch, a short siesta, a mandatory safety drill, and an introduction by the naturalists to this amazing area that we would be exploring for the next six days.
Around 3:30 p.m. we boarded the skiffs again for a late afternoon/early evening cruise of the Yanayacu-Pucate River, where we were treated to many different species of birds, as well as several good looks at three-toed sloths in trees.
Soon it was time to return to the ship and enjoy another marvelous dinner, but first we were treated to beautiful late evening light, along with a rainbow. But it wasn’t over yet – that beautiful light slowly transitioned into a spectacular sunset as we started on our way further up river toward another exciting day tomorrow! Another full and excellent day on the headwaters of the “Mighty Amazon!”
