This morning, at 5:30, we were getting ready for an early outing. We went in a pre-breakfast excursion to explore the entrance of a tributary, the Pahuachiro Creek, next to our marooning tree. The idea of our expedition leader, Lucho, was to take advantage of the early morning to observe nature at its best. Within the first hour, we found everything! All major groups of fauna in the Amazon were ready to meet our cameras. Then we returned on board to have our breakfast, and we got ready for the second visit of the morning: a hike in the forest in the Casual area: we found a couple of tarantulas, boa constrictor, the famous anaconda, and a number of poison dart frogs, among other cute creatures. At the end of the walk, we had the opportunity to learn about local culture through the handicrafts made on wood and plants by the local community, in team with our Minga Peru development project, to turn local populations into the guardians of the forest.
Upon returning, we had our well-deserved lunch, with incredible garnishing and sweet desserts, and after that, we had a wonderful introduction to National Geographic assignments by our on board Photographer Jonathan Irish. We learned the tricks and trades of NatGeo photography! Our final activity: we boarded our skiffs to visit the Pukate-Yanayacu Rivers, in search of the elusive tree toe sloth! We were very successful with six sightings in a row! Herons, kingfishers and screamers complimented the outing. Our evening, with the introduction of all our crew members, was supplemented with a universal invitation for free Pisco sour cocktails by our expedition leader Lucho, for the rest of the week! This has been an incredible first day in our adventure in the Amazon!
