Dorado River and the Zapote River
Sunrise and sunset. Fiery skies. Cooler temperatures. More active wildlife. Incredible noises. Our excursions today were organized to take advantage of these times, and to view the wildlife of two small river tributaries that are both spectacular places.
Leaving just after sunrise, we entered the Dorado River. Easier said than done. Our expert boat handlers forced the skiffs through an incredible narrow channel to reach the wonderful small channel. From here, wildlife was abundant, mostly centered around the abundant fish that are here in the low water season. Various hawks, egrets, cormorants, and kingfishers were everywhere. Raising more excitement were certainly some of the monkeys we saw. Squirrel monkeys were numerous, noisily searching through the forest for insects and other small creatures to feast on. A few colorful birds were spotted including trogons, cardinals and tanagers.
We also saw a few sloths. Many were wrapped up in a ball, behaving like typical sloths. Usually, a round object occasionally morphed into a moving sloth as they would lift their heads slowly to eat leaves surrounding them. One skiff was very lucky and even saw a mother with young, hanging under a branch and quickly moving along (ok, quickly for a sloth!). As the heat came up, we made our way back to Delfin II and much deserved breakfast.
After breakfast we twisted and turned our way further up the Ucayali River, enjoying the expansive forest. Just before lunch, Renny gave a presentation on many of the local fruits. For most of us it was nice being able to touch the actual fruit or vegetable that we have eaten, drank, or talked about throughout the trip thus far. But even more importantly, we got to try them!
As the sun started to sink, we again boarded the skiffs and had another exciting entrance to a smaller stream, this time the Zapote River. We were shaded by the massive trees and were quickly rewarded with great wildlife sightings. Many green iguanas were sunning themselves high in the trees. As we got closer and closer to darkness the activity increased. Bands of Squirrel Monkeys were quite active feeding and fighting and birdlife was abundant. A stunning Sunbittern perched in the open and then flashed its multicolored wings.
We started back down in twilight to search for nocturnal creatures. Birds were active including many Boat-billed Herons fishing. Common Pauraques were calling all around us while a few nighthawks flew overhead. Some folks spotted an opossum, but the real targets were caimans. Spectacled caimans reach a length of around eight feet, but we spotted quite a few young ones. Their eyes reflect in our lights and with a slow approach allow for close inspection. Distant lightning lit the sky as we enjoyed our final time in these tributaries at the best times.
