On our first full day in the Peruvian Amazon, we boarded skiffs early in the morning and explored the Caño Pahuachiro, a small tributary of the larger Marañón River. Surrounding Pahuachiro on both sides is a solid wall of green vegetation that many creatures call home. By getting out at that time we were able to see firsthand the reasoning behind the old saying, “The early bird gets the worm.” Most birds are most active during those few hours after sunrise as they move around looking for their breakfast. We watched a number of feathered inhabitants of the tropical rainforest including ringed and green kingfishers, wattled jacanas, horned screamers and raptors such as yellow-headed caracaras, slate-colored, black-collared and great black hawks.
After breakfast we went ashore at a site known as Casual, on the northern shore of the Marañón River, to hike along the terra firma (the name given to those areas of slightly higher land that never gets covered by the yearly flooding of the river). We followed a trail that allowed us to get into the forest and learn about the many wonderful plant species and how they are used by the local people as food, medicine and materials for tools. We also got the chance to photograph several species of poison-arrow frogs, tarantulas and reptiles like the red-tailed boa and the green anaconda, the world’s biggest snake.
During the late morning the Delfín II motored upriver to the entrance of the Yanayacu-Pucate river complex and later we again boarded skiffs to explore it. We watched numerous gray and pink river dolphins actively pursuing fish in the area where the sediment-loaded white waters of the Marañón meet the darker tannin-rich black waters of the Yanayacu-Pucate. As we continued exploring the shoreline we observed a large group of gorgeous red-bellied macaws, plus many other birds. We also saw a brown-throated three-toed sloth and even a troop of squirrel monkeys that delighted us with their agility and amazing jumps from tree to tree, a grand finale to a great day in Amazonia.
