The Pacaya River, in the heart of the reserve, is one of the most pristine areas in the Upper Amazon. 379 kilometers in length, it is home to such diverse kinds of wildlife as howler monkeys, caimans, and capybaras. To come to the rainforest and have no rain, it is like having not been here! But indeed, we experienced it! Today it rained cats and dogs, and it was a magnificent experience. In addition to seeing wildlife, we had a terrific and fun experience along the river — jungle plunge-swimming, surrounded by pink dolphins in the middle of a blackwater lagoon. The afternoon was very different, as we motored a few hours to visit the Magdalena River; it was sunny, warm, and full of wildlife.
7/25/2024
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Delfin II
Ucayali and Dorado Rivers
Today we had the great opportunity to start exploring the riverbank of the Ucayali River. We loaded the skiffs right after sunrise. As we cruised along the riverbank, different species of birds were seen. A highlight of that early exploration was the sighting of a tayra, a small omnivorous creature in the weasel family, that didn’t stay long in our view. After breakfast, we walked through Yanallpa flooded forest. Here our naturalist explained to us the importance of the floods for the Amazon forest. They also pointed out the effect of climate change over the area and how it has changed the use of the soils after the floods. It was a morning of learning about how the forest has manage to adapt to the seasonal floods and how fish and other animals depends on those events. Our late afternoon activities were held on Dorado River. Our naturalists brought out spotlights after sunset. Black caimans and spectacled caimans were the major attraction for our guests. Other night dwellers were also spotted by our naturalists, such as fishing bats, boat-billed night herons, night jars, and many other animals were seen by our guests. It was another awesome day exploring the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.