Yanayacu River
Last night we arrived in the Peruvian Amazon, touching down in the city of Iquitos after a flight over the Andes from Lima. This city of some half a million souls is perhaps the most isolated city in the world. The only way in or out is by air or by water; there are no roads that connect Iquitos with the outside world. We took one of the few roads that go anywhere from Iquitos and drove to Nauta on the River Maranon where we boarded the Delfin II, our home for the next week.
We had little time to rest before we awoke pre-dawn with early morning mist over the river, boarded skiffs and set out to explore. Wildlife in the tropics has very distinct cycles of activity, with dawn and dusk being the most active times of day. Since one of the goals in our being here is to see wildlife, we have to tailor the timing of our cycle of activity to that of the wildlife. Hence we will be out searching for wildlife early and late, with lazy siestas through the heat of the day. Thus we begin to get into the pace of life on the river.
Birdlife was everywhere, squawking parrots overhead, herons and kingfishers patiently waiting for their catch. On the river, the traffic of local boats was a reminder that the river is the road here. We caught glimpses of dolphins as the grey dolphin, also known as tucuxi, surfaced nearby but this species is not as playful as some dolphin species and kept its distance. In the tree-tops several large green iguanas lazed in the high branches of riverside trees, waiting for the sun to rise higher and warm their reptilian bodies.
The day continued with hikes, informal presentations and another skiff ride. We caught glimpses of high hanging sloths, puffing pink dolphins and a remarkable diversity of birds. Our day on the river finished with the intensity of a tropical torrential downpour — and so our naturalists introduced us to the rain forest: the river and the jungle. Tomorrow our initiation will continue.
