This morning, we had our earliest start of the week, leaving the Delfin II even before sunrise. It was all worth it, as we had come to the most remote part of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve that we will visit this week: the Pacaya River, on the southwestern side of the park. It was a cloudy morning but beautiful all the same. We had some lovely bird sightings as we entered the reserve, including jabiru, festive parrots, and hoatzins. Near the hoatzins, three of our skiffs pulled alongside each other for a meal we won’t soon forget. Our naturalists donned white gloves and there, in the middle of the rainforest, we enjoyed our breakfast. Soon after we finished, we observed something incredible – a river otter making its way to the shore. After more exploration, we relocated to a more open, lake-like section of the river for our first swim in the Amazon, complete with colorful pool noodles, beers, and sodas. Pink river dolphins swam nearby as we soaked up the beauty of the moment. After lunch and a siesta on board, we got dropped off on the riverbank to walk a long section of beach that is only accessible in the low water season. At the end of our walk, we enjoyed fresh coconuts and some Amazon mud therapy. An after-dinner concert by an exceptional crew band was a wonderful way to end the day!
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!