Today was our last day in the Peruvian Upper Amazon Basin and so we chose to make the most of it and started early again with the knock-knock at 0530 followed by a skiff ride departure at 0600. Supay River is wide and muddy and if you follow it for many miles and for several days it will take you to Brazil! We just wanted to see and hear the rainforest birds and animals however, so we explored slowly along the riverbanks.
A group of seven (including naturalist Sandro) took to the kayaks instead of the skiffs and paddled the Supay. We are now able to recognize many of the more common birds: the black-collared hawk, white-winged swallows, and red-capped cardinals. We have heard the slow, loud whistling call of the undulated tinamou every time we go out in the skiffs and the chattering of various parrots and parakeets. We saw squirrel monkeys again, and the coppery titi monkeys for the first time this morning.
Back on board we enjoyed the hearty breakfast buffet and then headed out to explore the narrow, vegetation choked Iricahua Creek. The ficus trees with long hanging and hairy roots, the masked crimson tanagers and another brush-tailed rat where some of the highlights. Naturalist Sandro saw a rare king vulture soaring far above. Before lunch I showed a presentation to review the eight species of primates that we have seen this week.
In the afternoon we took a short walk to view giant lily pads that grow naturally in still blackwater lakes in the area. To our surprise Javier spotted a fer-de lance! This is one of the region’s most dangerous poisonous snake so we very carefully viewed it, but kept our distance. We then visited the village of Puerto Miguel and admired and bought their handicrafts. On our final short skiff ride we had an excellent look at some very healthy semi-tame wooly monkeys. The three young females were confiscated by the eco-police—they had been captured for the pet trade—and are now free to roam on an island. Returning to Delfin II, we had another spectacular sunset. We are sad to see this wonderful voyage at its end; what magical memories and pictures we are taking hone with us!
