Casual Trail and Yanayacu River, 10/16/2017, Delfin II
Aboard the
Delfin II
Amazon
Our first day of exploration began with a visit to an interesting trail in Tierra Firme. This trail is close to a small village called Casual. Welcomed and guided by locals, we enjoyed everything the trail had to offer. In the afternoon, we explored the Yanayacu River by skiff and kayak.
Nicknamed “Indio” (Indian) because of his powers of observation and quiet nature, José has almost two decades of experience working as a naturalist and photography guide; as well as being recognized as an expert birder and nature photographer in Cost...
Tamandua! The cry went out from our naturalist Jorge early this morning on our skiff ride on Belluda Creek. We craned our necks and adjusted our viewpoints to see this arboreal anteater as it quietly went about the business of gathering its breakfast. Finally, it stepped into a clearing on a branch right over our heads! He seemed to be posing for our cameras, so we quickly took many images for posterity. Tamandua paparazzi! After being delayed for a short time due to a torrential downpour, we set out in our skiffs once again to explore the Dorado River — this time into the darkness of night! Our intended quarries were the wily caimans on the river; their positions in the complete darkness were revealed by the shining of their eyes under our strong spotlights. These youngsters allowed us to get right next to them as they floated on vegetation, just waiting to strike at a fish or other prey!
Today we had an exciting pre-breakfast excursion, just next to our ship at the entrance of Clavero Lake. Squirrel monkeys by the dozens were feeding in the cecropia trees, and during our skiff ride we encountered more than 50 species of birds! Later we crossed the lake and entered a passageway which, after many good wildlife encounters, deposited us upstream in the Ucayali River, where Delfin II was waiting for us. In the afternoon we explored again, this time by both kayaks and skiffs.
What a beautiful morning! It had rained for most of the night, but amazingly we didn’t experience a drop of water falling from the sky all day! Birds of all shapes and colors greeted us on our skiff ride this morning, with monkeys adding to the cacophony of sounds. After breakfast we hiked on Terra Firma, one of just a few places that we can walk on relatively dry ground. We met with Shaman Carola, who taught us about the plants and herbs she uses to treat everything from arthritis to diabetes to hair loss. Carola has served 9 communities along the Marañon River, treating young and old alike. Our afternoon skiff ride gave us good looks at saddle-back tamarin monkeys, chirping and playing among the dense foliage. Again the birds were on display, showing off their opulent plumage. Our skiff encountered a parrot snake just as the sun was setting, though how our driver Primo was able to spot it in the water hyacinths is beyond me!
