Pacaya River
The day that just ended has been one of my favorites of our expedition. We had the chance to explore in detail a remote and vast area. We started our day very early with a long skiff ride that brought a lot of surprises. Just at the mouth of the Pacaya River, in the confluence with Ucayali River, we had a great sighting. A large amount of Jabirus (Jabiru mycteria) have finally arrived at the Reserve. As the high levels of the flooded rivers are coming down this elegant-looking, huge bird made its comeback to the area. This stork-related bird is immense (43 inches) and unmistakable. It is mainly an all-white bird with a bare black head and neck. It has a characteristic bare reddish lower neck that is brightly red in males, paler in females and absent in juveniles.
After a while we arrived at a vast lagoon where we observed with awe the Amazon Giant water lilies (Victoria regia) and their beautiful flowers. At one point we tied the three exploring skiffs and had breakfast in the middle of the rain forest. This experience by itself made our day. We enjoyed our first meal of the day in the splendor of the surroundings. Hundreds of different species of herons and Neotropical cormorants accompanied us on our way back.
Once aboard and after a deserved rest I invited everybody to join me on the upper deck for one of my favorite talks, “Bats Need Friends and Your Understanding.”
After lunch we headed once again to the Pacaya River. This time we went as far as we could with the objective of reaching the beautiful Yanayacu Lagoon. Here we swam in the company of Pink river dolphins that were seen and heard in the distance. The experience of swimming in the Amazon is unique and should be done at least once in a lifetime. Today most of us had the delight of immersing ourselves in these mythical waters. One of the most interesting large Neotropical monkey species was spotted as well. Three troops of Red Howler Monkeys (Allouta seniculus) were observed.
After witnessing a surreal sunset that brought tears to eyes of many, we made our way back home. With the aid of spotlights we navigated the Pacaya River with our highly skillful drivers and Naturalists.
