Our early outing this morning ended with sightings of a great variety of birds, and the beginning of a massive rainfall — which we managed to avoid entirely by the time we finished breakfast and were ready to go out again. We crossed Clavero Lake and entered a “shortcut” to the upper Ucayali that was exceedingly rich in birds and other wildlife. Delfin II was expecting us at the end of it, just when the morning was getting very hot. We sailed during lunch; in the afternoon we kayaked and explored another beautiful caño, to witness an even more spectacular concentration of wildlife and a terrific sunset.
5/24/2025
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Delfin II
Yarapa River, Amazonas Village, Peru
Leaving Delfin II at 06:00 for our morning skiff ride, we explored the Yarapa River and monkeys were everywhere! We saw common wooly monkeys, monk saki monkeys, and common squirrel monkeys. We weren’t monkeying around! In addition to the monkeys there were woodpeckers galore! We photographed crimson-crested, yellow-tufted, and cream-colored woodpeckers as they were busily hammering away at trees and termite nests. Our afternoon was spent at Amazonas Village getting an introduction to life along the river. We enjoyed demonstrations of food preparation, basketmaking with palm fibers, and hand-dying with local plants to give the baskets vibrant colors. We also had an introduction to Minga Peru, a group serving 40 different communities in this area. Our evening was topped off with a toast to the beginning of the actual Amazon River, where the Marañon and Ucayali Rivers converge. Salud!