Casual, Marayali Caño and San Francisco
Yesterday evening we traveled 10 miles upriver from the town of Nauta, on the Marañon River, where we boarded the Delfin II. Our river captain Remigio tied the boat up to a sturdy tree and we had a quiet, peaceful night’s sleep as the river waters washed beneath us, rushing, ever rushing eastwards nearly 3,000 miles to the Atlantic Ocean. The morning’s “knock knock” wake-up call came at 0600 and we eagerly boarded the skiffs for a wildlife search along the shores of the wide Marañon.
Bird life was plentiful this morning, and as birds are noisy, colorful and easy to find along the riverbanks, we were able to spot and identify many species with which we will become familiar in the days to come. Yellow-billed terns, russet-backed oropendolas, striated herons, canary winged parrots, and black-capped donacobious were but some of the species we saw this morning. Our naturalists also pointed out termite nests, ants nesting in the Cercropia trees, and lovely pale purple morning glories.
Back on the boat, we hungrily helped ourselves to a lavish breakfast buffet and soon afterwards headed out for our first rain forest walk in an area called Casual. It was both exciting and interesting to walk on a shaded, muddy trail beneath the forest trees, and we learned about wild fruits, medicinal plants, we saw a rubber tree and “jungle fire-starter,” looked at insects, and poison arrow frogs and swung on liana vines dangling from a huge ficus tree. The late morning became hot and humid as the sun climbed higher in the sky, but our knowledgeable naturalists kept our attention with the information they shared and the rain forest inhabitants that they identified for us.
When we returned to the skiffs we found a small handicraft market had been set up, so some of us enjoyed purchasing small items made of rain forest gourds, seeds, and fibers from the inhabitants of the nearby San Jose de Sarapanga community. On the Delfin II we had cool showers and then I gave a presentation about the mighty Amazon River and the world’s densest and most expansive forest—the Amazon Rain Forest. We took part in a short and mandatory safety drill and afterwards naturalist Reny showed us where we are on a large hand painted map, and introduced us to the 5-million-acre Pacaya-Samiri Reserve where we will be exploring during the next few days.
Both lunch and siesta were welcome; the afternoon was only beginning to cool off when we boarded the skiffs and motored to Marayali Caño where we spent the next hour-and-a-half searching for wildlife. Our efforts were well rewarded and between the different boats, guides and guests we saw: three-toed sloths, festive parrots, hoatzins, squirrel monkeys and much, much more!
Before returning to the Delfin II we had an optional cultural visit to San Francisco town. The women had many handicrafts on display for us to buy, and we were also interested in the chance to look at their homes and school and to catch a glimpse of what their lives are like, living here on the banks of the Marañon River. None of us would willingly swap our gourmet meals and cozy beds for those rustic homes, but it is important that we see and appreciate how others on our planet lead their lives. The kids were smiling and happy, they looked healthy and content, and we felt privileged for the opportunity to take a peek into their world.
