Very early in the morning, at around 5:30 a.m., we went deep and far into the Pacaya River, the farthest destination we will be on our expedition this week. Our three skiffs went exploring this remote and paradisiacal river together. Along the way we had great wildlife sightings. Thousands of egrets and neotropical cormorants were seen and several red howler monkey troops and the beautiful hoatzin birds were observed as well.
At around 8:30 a.m., we arrived at a Rangers Station PV2, stopping to stretch our legs, use the facilities, and have breakfast in this location. Delfin II hotel manager, bartender, and one of the chefs brought everything we needed to have a wonderful meal in the middle of nowhere, after which we continued with our exploration. We saw several macaws, hoatzins, egrets, and parrots. It was a long adventure with all the ingredients of a memorable expedition.
In the afternoon, we explored the El Dorado River. We planned to make this visit yesterday, but the unceasing rain the whole afternoon served as a reminder that we are, in fact, visiting one of the wettest ecosystems on Earth. Today all went according to plan: it did not rain, and we had a great time.
As a tributary of the river Ucayali, El Dorado is one of the Amazon’s most important tributaries. The late hours are also prime time to observe the extraordinary biodiversity that inhabits the rainforests. On our way back to the ship, we spotted some juvenile spectacled caiman crocodiles as night fell in the rainforest, making for a great ending to a wonderful day in this paradise.
