Early this morning, while the Amazonia woke up, we embarked our skiffs to explore the rivers for the first time. We traveled up the Marañón River, not too far from Nauta, where we embarked Delfin II. We had an outing to explore by foot the "highlands" or terra firme, which simply means, the land that is not flooded during high water season. This higher elevation is maybe just over ten meters higher than the "lowlands", technically called varzea.
We learned of the many different palm species. Some which are used for their valuable fibers, like "Chambira", and others better known as the one harvested to obtain the "hearts of palm". We also saw two species of poison dart frogs, tarantulas, and even an adult red-tailed boa and an anaconda.
The highlight of the day was to find a two-toed sloth at almost eye level! It is quite a rarity to find one of these animals, since they have nocturnal habits. They are usually found on terra firme, and they hide during the day. Everyone had a great opportunity to spend some time in the close proximity of this rare creature.
On the way back, at the end of our first jungle walk, we had our first opportunity to shop for wonderful handmade crafts. Here in the Amazon, we do not find anything mass-produced or imported. All the colorful and creative crafts are 100% local and made out of natural products from the jungle.
Delfin II took us further up into the Marañón River. We went out on the skiffs to one of the many black water tributaries of the Marañón, where we found an excellent place to see pink river dolphins, several species of parrots and raptors, and to look for iguanas and three-toed sloths.
