The Pacaya Samiria Reserve becomes bigger and more unexplored as soon as you move farther away from the towns and villages found along the rivers in the Upper Amazon. Last night we motored a few hour to get to this remote and virgin jungle. Early in the morning we went to explore the Pacaya River and many surrounding creeks in our skiffs. We brought our breakfast to have while drifting on a black water lagoon, otherwise known as our “jungle café”. But first we encountered along our way many types of creatures such as the hauler monkeys, egrets, herons, king fishers, cardinals, hoatzins, horn screamers, aracaris, and more. The jungle has plenty of wildlife and you never know what you are going to see—every day is a surprise and Mother Nature offers different gifts to us.
After our breakfast we continued our explorations. One of my favorite birds, and probably the rarest one I have seen is the great potoo. It is hard to see because its camouflage is the same color of the bark of a tree, they look like a part of the branch. Later we stopped the skiffs in the middle of the lagoon to plunge-dive and swim in the warm black waters of the Amazon. It was a fantastic experience! Floating surrounded by pink dolphins and drinking a local beer.
In the afternoon our experienced captain of the Delfin II motored to reach the Dorado River, and at 4:00 p.m. we went to explore it. The afternoon was sunny and rainy. Here it is very common that it rains for a bit, then stops for few minutes, and then rains again. Nothing can stop our adventurous spirits though, and the early birds got their worms. We found many kind of birds, monkeys, a mother sloth hanging with it baby in its arms, and at the end we saw a flock of blue and yellow macaws perching on the branches and flying around.
Here, when you think that noting is going to happen the surprises appear in moments. And as always at the end of the journey we feel pleased and happy to be having fun, admiring and appreciating one of the most beautiful places on earth, the Amazon, the jungle! On our way back the sun disappeared below the horizon, the sky turned dark and orange, and thunder and lightning gave welcome to a rainy night.
