This morning we woke up on Ucayali River. Delfin II was tied to a stump near a small community called Nuevo Progresso. From the bow of the ship, we heard a fabulous dawn chorus of birds, including tropical kingbirds, bluish-gray saltators, and undulated tinamous, as well as various flycatchers and tanagers. After a wonderful breakfast, we headed out via skiff to explore the Yanallpa Creek, a protected area of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve.
With incredible skill, our local expert guides and skiff drivers found windows in the dense foliage through which we could observe a long list of primates and birds. One particularly outstanding sighting was a close encounter with a group of saddle-back tamarins eating fruits from a tree near the shoreline. We also observed long-nosed bats resting on tree trunks.
At one point in the morning, we turned off the motors and listened to the sounds of the forest, including nearby red howler monkeys. It was a truly amazing experience.
Back on board, we enjoyed an inspiring presentation by National Geographic expert Kike Cavo. Naturalist Jorge shared a hands-on presentation on a variety of local fruits. We enjoyed tasting the different fruits. The zapote was a highlight. It tastes like a cross between a pumpkin and a mango. The Pijuayo was also highlighted. The fruit was cooked, and we sampled it with a nice salsa also made from a local fruit called cocona.
In the afternoon, we explored the Dorado River by skiff. We had many exciting encounters with birds, including hoatzins, ringed kingfishers, wattled jacanas, and yellow-rumped caciques. We observed brown capuchin and squirrel monkeys. After observing an abundance of giant lilies and a fantastic sunset in a black lagoon, we lingered until after sunset. We were able to observe some caimans, which we spotted via artificial light.
It was a memorable, enjoyable, and very productive day here in the Amazon. We are all looking forward to another day tomorrow.
