We started exploring early this morning as we were going far and deep into the Pacaya Samiria Reserve. With blue skies above, we zoomed upstream. Highlights included a flock of comical looking hoatzins and a flock of six blue-and-yellow macaws. High in the treetops, we came across several troops of red howler monkeys. After a stop for lunch, we headed downriver for what was called the “piranha plunge.” No piranhas were to be found as we cooled off in the river, and we all left with our fingers and toes intact. True to rainforest cycles, the clouds built during the morning and early afternoon and then dumped their moisture on us by the bucketful as we made our way back to the Delfin II. We filled out the afternoon with origami towel folding lessons, a talk on creative ideas with our images, and a lesson in making the perfect pisco sour. It was a delicious and refreshing way to end our day in the Upper Peruvian Amazon.
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!
