Pacaya River and Carocurahuite Rivers
This morning the majority of our guests joined us for an early excursion that included breakfast en route! We took off up the Pacaya River under clear skies with a low bank of light fog that with the bends in the river, occasionally cooled us down more than expected...one could almost call it chilly...for the Amazon!
But the experience was different from the afternoon, with few monkeys seen, but excellent birding and a chance to see the Amazonian water-lilies floating in open areas in the middle of large grassy fields. These fields were accessible because the level of the river had risen sufficiently that we could skiff into virtually any area we wanted to explore. Just before we reached the decision to stop for breakfast, a call came over the radio to the three skiffs announcing the sighting of a snake – and not just any snake. The naturalist on one of the skiffs had spotted a “fer-de-lance”, the most deadly of all Amazonian vipers, swimming across the river. They had followed it until it reached the other side and climbed a low-hanging branch where it stopped. The three skiffs converged on the branch, and with utmost care, one-by-one we all got to see this snake of terrible reputation. It was about four feet long, beautiful in earthtone colorations, and very laid back, as one might expect.
Breakfast was held under an Inga tree (not the same one as the snake) what the locals call “guava” but what we know as a legume. It produces pods of beans surrounded by rich white coatings which monkeys - and humans – love to eat. And we loved our breakfast! Real plates, real napkins, knives and forks, fresh tropical juices and coffee...it was just about right.
Afterwards, one skiff head back to the ship, while the two others went exploring just a tad more, and added even more unique experiences to our week. While stopping to observe and photograph the famous “hoatzin” (I mentioned seeing some a couple days ago), Barney started searching the low branches near the water where the large birds had been perched before our arrival caused them to fly deeper into the shrubby tree. Lo and behold, he spotted a hoatzin chick! But not where one would expect a chick – in a nest, say – but bedraggled and scruffy wet clinging onto this low branch. As chicks, they live in nests overhanging calm water lagoons. In case of emergency, they perform their own specialized abandon-nest and drop into the water. They are then able to swim to a low branch nearby (no, they do not have webbed feet), and CLIMB out of the water to where the parents can find them. That last feat is due to a claw on their elbows which will drop off as they fledge into adults. This young chick had just climbed out of the water! After a short while we backed off enough for the parent to come out and stand above the chick, peering anxiously at the chick, and nervously at us. We remained quiet, engine off, and soon the parent calmed down. In time, the little chick worked his way up to the parent's perch, then under the parent until it was on the parent's foot, grasped tightly to the leg (and covered with feathers by now) In this fashion, the parent can now take the chick back to the nest, slowly, but safely. We didn't wait to see the final return, but left the pair to decide in their own time when to make the move back home.
This afternoon, we thought for sure the rain clouds would catch us for one last Amazonian drenching. What happened instead was we left in sultry heat, and within a half-hour the clouds and wind had made it a pleasant journey up the Carocurahuite River. The name comes from “caro”, meaning expensive, “cura” as in healer, “huite”, a proper name. The place of an expensive healer, in other words! Rather in keeping with the name, as we passed the village, we called out briefly to ask how the young man was doing who had been bitten by a Fer-de-lance last December. On the 25th of December we had dropped off our paramedic to attend to a young man bitten while working the fields, and today he ran down to the shoreline in perfect health on strong limbs. The visit was fun, with a sighting of peregrine falcon, egrets galore, dusky titi monkeys, gray-headed kite and a nest of horned screamers.
This evening we scrolled through photos by our travelers before dinner, and at dessert heard the Amazonian legend and myths about the pink river dolphins. The music tonight had many up and dancing...a delightful finale to a week of travel with friends I hope to travel with again...next stop...?
