After a quiet and restful night, we set out even earlier this morning to explore the Yanalpa Caño onboard our reliable skiffs. Soon after daybreak, we where already speeding into the forest, under the lead of our knowledgeable naturalists, to look for wildlife. This is the ideal time of the day to be out, and today it was a bit overcast, with very comfortable temperatures.
Soon we arrived to an area with several dead palms, where we found several red-bellied macaws, building nests and actively socializing. The dead palms are the macaws’ favorite place to nest, so we had a great time watching and photographing these active and noisy parrots.
After having some fun with the macaws, we continued exploring deeper into the narrowing canal, where we found several other birds, such as the iconic white-throated toucans, and the little but very colorful red-capped cardinals. Also we ran into a couple of large troops of squirrel monkeys, and the little saddle-backed tamarins, which were really fun to watch because they were also watching us, with their distinctive white muzzles that give them their Spanish name: “Milk drinkers”.
Upon our return to Delfin II, we had our usual delicious breakfast, followed by a little well-earned rest, and then more sailing to our location for the afternoon, at El Dorado River.
The first outing of the day was just after sunrise, and this second one was just a little before sunset, so we could return when it was already dark, in time for dinner. Our afternoon excursion was decorated by a beautiful sunset, and we sat back to watch the shift of the day, as birds left to head back to their roosting sites, replaced by the nocturnal creatures, such as the bats, who were just waking up. Also, under the aid of strong spotlights, our naturalist found several caimans hidden in the vegetation.
After a great dinner, we had another restful night, dreaming of what the Amazon has in store for us tomorrow.
