This morning we woke up at anchor in front of the tiny little village of San Francisco, for a cultural experience visit. Since we are currently in the low water season, we had to disembark our skiffs at the river’s edge and then climb up wooden steps to reach San Francisco.
In the immensely vast Amazon basin, the density of people living here is really very low. The forest is harsh and impenetrable, so most people live by the river’s edge. The people of San Francisco are among the few fortunate who are able live high enough above the water that they do not have to worry about it get into their homes.
The small village consisting of one single cemented sidewalk, with little wooden thatched-roofed homes on both sides, was very welcoming. It rained during our visit, but the friendly San Franciscan people invited us into their homes to see how people make a living with what the forest and the river gives them. We were really impressed with the generosity of these people that have so little in material possessions.
For the afternoon we returned to the Delfin II, to reposition to a different section of the river, and to get ready to explore Clavero Lake by skiff.
Clavero Lake always offers us great wildlife sightings, and today was no exception. The pink river dolphins particularly, were a highlight for our guests. It almost seemed as if they were teasing us, as they surfaced all around us without any pattern whatsoever, breathing noisily and causing us to whip our gaze back and forth, trying to catch a glimpse of them or take a photo.
It was another very fun and educational day at the upper Amazon of Peru.
