It is the last full day of our expedition in this emerald world known as the jungle of the Upper Amazon. We are in the rainy season and it rained the very first day of our trip, but since then we have been blessed - no rain just a lot of sun and fun throughout the week.
Early in the morning we came out to explore Iricahua, a very narrow stream with many varieties of birds. In my opinion this morning has been one of the most productive of the week; we found toucans, aracaris, tanagers, swallows, cardinals, jacanas, jacamars, flycatchers and other migratory birds. One hour of exploration and we were very pleased and happy to come back to our ship for breakfast. Then we went to explore “flor de castaña.” Castaña is a type of Brazilian nut and Flor means flower, so the place is known as “the flower of the Brazilian Nut.” It is a big system of lagoons of black water. You see many dead trees that are shelter for many types of birds; the creatures we saw were woodpeckers, a huge flock of night hawks, a big osprey spreading its wings and warming up on the top of a dead tree, oropendolas, caracaras, and many bromeliads and epiphytes decorating the tree-barks. We finished our hot morning with an amazon-plunge right in the black water lagoon. Well! Here we are! In the water, floating, cooling off, relaxing and drinking a cold beer, yeah! This is a real, magical place.
In the afternoon we moved to Puerto Miguel. We took our skiffs for a ride to the Monkey Island. Here we found several kinds of monkeys that were once pets of some local people and now they live on this tiny island to adapt them back to the jungle. They are so playful! We enjoy this moment because in normal conditions, wild monkeys are seen so far away, which is exciting, but… here we got the close-ups!
Puerto Miguel is a small village, here you see how locals live and the activities they are doing during a normal day: fishing, agriculture, some school and a handicraft market to sell beautiful souvenirs.
The sun is setting quickly, it is time to go back to our ship. Tonight is the last night of this trip in the jungle. Good memories and moments will be remembered forever in our minds. It is a unique place on earth. If you are reading this report, and you don’t know the amazon - well! What are you waiting for?! We have had an excellent week in the Upper Amazon, it has changed the way we see the world in just a few days. We have learned so much about Mother Nature and the local people. Life is good and the jungle is too!
