Rio Pacaya & Rio Zapote, Rio Ucayali
The Rio Pacaya is one of two rivers that give their name to the large reserve area we have been exploring. It also marks the furthest point of our navigation up the Rio Ucayali. Once more out in the skiffs as the sun rose, we dodged rain showers to find wildlife and a beautiful spot in which to enjoy breakfast afloat.
Breakfast in the skiffs also allowed for a longer exploration of this tributary and we were lucky in finding some sought after wildlife species we had not previously seen. We had another classic Amazon wildlife moment, when, while watching a red howler monkey a scarlet macaw flies over. Where to look?
Back on board the Delfin II we turned our bow downstream and sped along with the additional four knots provided by the flow of the river. During this time we enjoyed a local cuisine demonstration. The quality of the food, the local sourcing, and the high standard of presentation has been an important part of our time on board Delfin II and today we enjoyed the chance to meet and work with some of the galley crew as we assisted them in preparing our lunch.
Our afternoon outing took us to the Rio Zapote. Here we found more monkeys, sloths and birds as we slowly cruised the flooded forest. Since our nocturnal outing was curtailed by rain yesterday, we decided to try again today and continued the skiff ride until after sunset. At this time we began to find the creatures of the night venturing out – large numbers of bats over the river, birds represented by nighthawks and boat-billed herons and reptiles in the form of spectacled caiman and finally a beautiful Amazon tree boa. And we stayed dry!
