This morning we departed aboard skiffs early as always to explore an area called Atun Poza. But there was a different twist today—we had breakfast out in the jungle and not on the ship. It was a totally new experience and fun; we took everything with us including some of the ships waiters. About an hour after departure we stopped in a shaded part of the river, joined together all three skiffs, the naturalists, boat drivers, and waiters put on white gloves…. yes, white gloves! And started passing around beautifully decorated (as it is always here) plates of fruit, different fruit juices, coffee or tea, sandwiches of different kinds, made with different kinds of bread, and chocolate cake for dessert. There were even different alternatives for our guests with special requirements, no dairy, no red meat, skimmed milk, etc. etc.
During our morning explorations we had more interesting sightings of squirrel monkeys jumping through the forest, macaws, great-black hawks, and a great view of one of the larges birds here—the jabiru stork, elegantly moving at the waters edge with its conspicuous bright red patch of skin on the throat. Lunch was enjoyed on the ship upon our return, and later in the afternoon we departed again to explore a different waterway of the vast Amazon, called the Pacaya River, which gives its name to the huge protected area called the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve.
The afternoon was a little rainy but nevertheless the skiffs took off, relentless to explore some more and find more interesting things to observe and photograph. Also this afternoon there was an opportunity to jump into the Amazon waters and swim a little. The extra effort was rewarded with beautiful views of the very elusive red howler monkeys, quite large mammals for a practically exclusive arboreal life.
We spent the rest of the evening comfortably on the Delfin II enjoying an incredibly beautiful sunset as we navigated to our next destination.
