Rios Yanayacu and Pucate, and Nauta Caño
We travelled only 12 miles last night on the Marañon River and tied up at the mouth of the black water Yanayacu; we spent a peaceful night here. After an early breakfast we had options of a skiff or kayak outing, but first we all had to register at the Reserve’s Park Guard station. We were glad to learn that we have all paid an entry fee into the Reserve and this money helps maintain the 15 Park Guard stations within the protected area. Outside the ranger station we admired a very active yellow-rumped cacique colony. They are weaver birds and colonial nesters and usually nest in a tree with wasps as they have a symbiotic relationship with these aggressive insects. The insects keep predators away from the caciques and the caciques keep the monkeys away from the wasps!
This morning was sunny and hot so we motored along close to the shoreline and tucked into the cool shade where possible. We passed a small village – 20th of January – probably named for the day it was founded, where a young man was working on a small dugout canoe. He told us he had been working already for five days and hoped to have the rough canoe done by that afternoon.
The kayakers paddled easily with the current this morning and enjoyed passing a couple villages where clothes were being washed, little boys played with balsa canoes tied to strings on long sticks so they could be maneuvered in the current, and a young puppy frolicked and fought with a cecropia leaf. It is interesting to catch a glimpse of life in the rainforest and to note the happiness among these riverine people.
This morning’s best birds seen with naturalist Jesus were the chestnut-fronted macaws, a tiny long-tailed swift (fork-tailed palm swift) and two species of jacamars which perched in the bright sunlight and shone like emerald jewels when we turned off the outboard and sat quietly up the Pucate River. Another great sighting of the morning was a yellow-crowned brush-tailed rat that was spotted inside its burrow on a tree hole. Small mammal species are not easy to see in the rain forest, most of them are nocturnal, therefore this sighting was sensational. We found two large lizards as well – a big male green iguana and a red-faced caiman lizard, both basking on horizontal branches.
Before lunch we had several interesting programs on board the Delfin II: naturalist Jesus told us about the various human groups that live in the Amazon. He explained about the lifestyles and customs of those who live in villages that have assimilated the Spanish way of life and Catholicism, and the groups that maintain a more traditional way of life and are hence considered natives, and finally he spoke of the aboriginals who have scarcely even been contacted by the modern world. We enjoyed his insights and explanations especially since he himself came from one of the native groups.
Our cheerful barmen, Mario and Denny, gave us a pisco sour demonstration and then we had fun making and drinking our own piscos. And just before lunch, expedition leader Carlos Romero provided us with details about tomorrow’s last skiff outing and our disembarkation to return to Iquitos and Lima.
In the afternoon we explored the beautiful and protected Nauta Caño where we found a half dozen three-toed sloths (two juveniles sharing a cecropia tree were particularly cute!), some of us spied saddle-backed tamarins, we all heard howler monkeys and we added a few new birds to our ever-growing lists.
Back on board the boat and after showers we shared stories and drinks and watched a magnificent set of photos put together by our expedition leader Carlos Romero of all we have seen this week. The barbecue dinner buffet was fabulous and fun, as was the final musical performance by the Delfin’s own group, “The Teenagers,” and the spirited dancing that followed! We have shared an amazing week in the Peruvian Amazon and I am certain that none of us will ever forget this adventure!
