Yanayacu area of the Rio Marañon
At the end of our first day of exploration in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve we were left with a number of impressions of the river and the jungle. Perhaps the first and most important is how closely and inextricably linked the river and the jungle are, especially at this time of year when the river is bursting out of its banks and flooding the jungle.
Another striking impression was just how many ways there are to make a living out of fishing. Aside from the riverside communities for whom the river provides an invaluable source of protein, we encountered a remarkable diversity of wildlife making a living from the same protein source: the abundant fish life found in the Amazon. On our first full day on the river we found four species of kingfisher; of a possible five that we might see. We have a realistic prospect of seeing ten species of heron this week, and we have already had good views of the two species of dolphin and the two species of tern that occur here.
Our day of skiff rides and hikes also provided a sense of what can be a significant part of the reason for travel: the discovery of the unexpected. And when travel is combined with wildlife then surprises almost become normal. Today a yellow-crowned brush-tailed rat provided the element of surprise, as the badger-striped-head was spotted peering out from a cavity on a tree close to the skiff. It is safe to say that most people do not come to the Amazon with a sighting of this species in mind, but there is a certain satisfaction in finding and identifying an obscure and little known species.
