Today we were exploring the northern section of the Pacaya-Samiria reserve, located in the Upper Amazon. Our destination was a private area known as Amazon Natural Park, where we enjoyed a nice hike in a very healthy primary forest. This treat was only possible because we landed on the northern side of the Marañon River (across the reserve) where land is privately owned.
The family who owns this immense property has done a great job of keeping it safe from any type of timber exploitation, so part of the landscape includes giant trees that are no longer commonly found anywhere else near the river.
In order for us to access the trailhead, we had to canoe our way through one of the many man-made lakes on this property. This lake was full of exotic species of fish from the Amazon, which are sold commercially to aquariums in the big cities within Peru, and even exported to European cities. This business is completely legal here in the Amazon, and is part of the normal income for locals. These rare-looking, not so colorful species, have the tendency to produce thousands of eggs (sometimes millions in the case of species like the famous “paiche fish”, Arapaima gigas, which grows to be more than 80kg!)
Once at the trailhead, we explored this amazing piece of land for the rest of the morning. Part of the trail included a section of suspension bridges, which gave us all the opportunity to experience and appreciate the mid-story forest level.
Once back on board, we traveled with the ship to our next destination, located south, down the Marañon River. The location for the afternoon is called Nauta Creek, and it is one of the many tributaries that carries black water (full of tannins’ content).
This tributary was a great destination to explore, and our guests had the choice of going by skiff or by kayak, which allows us to experience the area in a different way. The sounds of the forest are even louder when there are no other sounds to compete with them, so birds and frogs were heard all the way along down the creek. The occasional encounters with squirrel monkeys broke the silence, and troops of more than a dozen were observed foraging throughout the dense vegetation.
Not a bad day in the mighty Amazon!
