The Marañon is the westernmost large tributary of the Amazon River. The Amazon River (or Amazonas, as it is called in Peru) is usually considered to begin after the confluence of the Marañon and Ucayali Rivers. Flowing for approximately 850 miles, the Marañon is the 11th longest tributary of the Amazon River. Today, after navigating its waters for the past three days, we came to its confluence with the Ucayali and saw with our own eyes the Amazon River being formed.
Near where the Amazon is “born” a community known as San Francisco village is the place where 420 people, dedicated mostly to fishing and farming, called it their home. The people from the village hosted us this morning as we walked their muddy streets and got to know how the ribereños, or people from the river, live their daily lives.
After visiting the local school and seeing the children in some of their classes, we contributed to the local economy by purchasing some of the detailed nice work of the local artisans.
As the morning progressed, the sun became stronger and returned to the ship for a well-deserved rest and lunch.
Soon after our siesta, we headed out for our afternoon activities at Yarapa River. It was here, as we navigated the black waters of the Yarapa River on our comfortable skiffs, that we encountered many species of monkeys such as the pigmy marmoset, dusky titi monkey, squirrel monkey, and brown capuchin monkey. We were also very succesful with our bird sightings, as lots of colorful birds were observed, such as macaws and tucans.
Some of us opted to kayak instead of ride the skiffs, and we paddled effortlessly downriver, enjoying the magnificence of the forest and the dozens of species of birds that we were able to observe along the way.
As we returned to the ship, kayakers and skiff riders were able to appreciate a sunset that will be hard to forget. It was a great way to end a day in the mighty Amazon!
