The sounds of nature woke us early this morning at the living paradise of the Amazon basin. A pre-breakfast skiff ride gave us the perfect opportunity to explore Marañón River. Yellow rumped caciques were the first birds to receive us along the riverside. Farther up the stream, the presence of saddleback tanmarin monkeys made an appearance as the sun was rising behind the trees.
A magical concert of bird calls enveloped us as we made our way through this natural sanctuary. On our way back to the Delfin II, we had one last surprise before breakfast: a very shy caiman lizard basking on top of a tree trunk.
The morning activities continued with a visit to Casual Reserve. Local villagers that had everything prepared in order to bring part of nature to us received us. During our exploration, we were fortunate to have many incredible encounters with different species, including poison dart frogs, a juvenile boa constrictor, and a young anaconda.
In the afternoon, our expedition continued to Yanayacu River. A skiff ride brought us deep into one of the most awe-inspiring sections of the upper Amazon. Black-collared hawks perching on trees, caped herons, lesser kiskadees, and great egrets, beautifully decorated the scene.
The final surprise, at the end of the stream, was a pair of hoatzins that were spotted in the tree branches. They were feeding on Secropia leaves, and once they saw us, they started moving all the way up the tree. On our way back to the Delfin II, the sky was painted by magical purple and orange colors displayed by a gorgeous Amazonian sunset. Our journey at Yanayacu demonstrated that exploration at the Amazon basin has more surprises in store for us.
