As the morning light broke through the sky, it revealed a beautiful scene. Hundreds, if not thousands, of tree and plant species surrounded us. The overwhelming sound of birds, mostly parakeets, created an ambient-sound that was perfect to begin our day.
Our ship, the Delfin II, was already “tied up” to a strong tree, as there is no possibility to anchor anywhere in the river due the lack of rocks at the bottom.
As soon as breakfast was over, we boarded the skiffs and headed to our landing site, the Amazon Natural Park. This private reserve is located at the eastern side of the Marañon River, which is not considered within the Pacaya and Samiria Reserve. This location is a private reserve completely dedicated to species studies and to tourism. This prevents trespassing and exploitation of the timber or any of the plant species within this area. The advantage to visiting a location like this was to explore a pristine, beautiful forest full of primary vegetation. As we strolled in the forest, we observed not only the giant trees, but also the medicinal plants that local people have used for centuries in the Amazon.
Since the park conserves a large amount of pristine forest, it is naturally expected that we find some species distinctively associated with the environment. Part of our morning treat was to encounter the smallest of the primate species in Peru, the pigmy marmoset. Known as “leoncito” (little lion), this primate is barely 5.5 inches tall with a tail no more than 8 inches in length, and due its size, it was not only a challenge to find it, but to also make sure that our guests were able to observe them!
The rest of our forest walk was full of great adventures, as we even walked over a series of suspension bridges connecting some of the tree canopies.
Our afternoon brought us down the Marañon River to a location known as Nauta Caño. The weather presented ideal for some water sports, so in addition to our skiff ride, guests were able to choose to go on one of the canoe-type kayaks on board Delfin II, and enjoy a relaxed afternoon riding and paddling down the creek.
A day like today’s is brochure-like and we hope to enjoy many more, as it is only the beginning of our week-long adventure in the Upper Amazon!
