The Amazon

I write this on Tuesday afternoon sitting next to the big picture window in our cabin looking out at a large banana tree and other jungle vegetation.  The river ship is currently moored along the Marañón River.  We have learned that all boats moor by tying up to trees- no anchors as the rivers here have no rocks.  It is siesta time.  Because the animals come out early in the morning and in the evening our schedule follows theirs.  We rise at 5:30, take a skiff ride before breakfast and a hike after, then have lunch and rest time until 4, when we’ll take another skiff ride.

Getting here was, in itself, an adventure.  We left the Galapagos from the island of San Cristobal and flew to Guayaquil.  As we were waiting for our flight to Lima, my name was called to report to the counter, where I was then asked to follow an employee to the depths of the airport where the baggage comes & goes.  I had to wait while a customs employee took his sweet time to go through my checked suitcase, then wait for another officer took me to go back to the police area where, after another wait, a policeman also went thru my suitcase.  Finally it was cleared to be loaded on the flight.  Dan said he was told I was picked for a random search.  After an overnight in Lima it was back to the airport for the flight to Iquitos which is over the Andes in northeastern Peru.  Our guides picked us up at the airport and took us to a lovely restaurant called Frio y Fuego which is on an island.  We traveled there by a boat similar in appearance to a Sampan.  After lunch we boarded small Mercedes buses and hit the road to Nauta, which took over 90 minutes.  Part of the reason was that the road was rough, the other because of all the little “tuk tuks” also on the road.  Finally, in Nauta, we boarded our home for the next week.

Amazonia with its diversity of wildlife is amazing.  We’ve already seen pink dolphins, sloths, two types of monkeys, an anaconda, a boa constrictor, a poison dart frog & countless types of birds. Dan is having a field day with his regular camera and the new GoPro. 

We go out on the skiffs around 4, when the heat is less intense & the animals start to come back out.  Tonight we saw another sloth, many more types of birds, and a large troop of squirrel monkeys crossing the stream above us.  There had to be 30 – 50 of them jumping from branch to branch, then running across the branch that reached to the other side.  We saw several mothers with babies on their backs.  A real show, but wait, there was more!  As the sun was setting we reached an island where thousands of parakeets flew overhead, flocking and circling and making a lot of noise.  This reminded me of the bats that come out at dusk from a couple of bridges in Houston, only there were many more.  Against the crimson setting sun it was spectacular.

Wednesday:  again we rose early for a 6am skiff ride.  Lots of birds and I love listening to all their calls.  After breakfast we visited a village and learned how Manga Peru is helping these people be self-sufficient.  They demonstrated how they press sugar cane by hand, obtain & dye palm fibers for their beautiful baskets, and how they wrap & steam fish.  Of course there was a handicrafts market.  The people are very warm & welcoming and the children are adorable.  This afternoon’s skiff ride was to an oxbow lake of the Yucalayi River and our quest was for the smallest mammals – the Pygmy marmoset.  We found them in the tree that is their favorite food.  The are only 5 1/2” long with an 8” tail,very dark and extremely fast.  We were very lucky to spot a small troop of them running through the tree and eating.  Mission accomplished!  We also had a small celebration (Pisco Sour) when we reached the point where the Marañón and Ucayali Rivers meet to form the Amazon River.

Thursday:  Early morning skiff ride to find macaws, and we did!  Blue & yellow macaws and red-bellied macaws.  We also saw two kinds of parrots, several kinds of kingfishers and a peregrine falcon catching and eating a smaller bird, among many other things.  Tragedy – Dan’s good camera developed a problem and quit working.  This afternoon our skiff ride lasted until after dark so we could search for caimans.  Not only did we see several but also saw three types of monkeys on the way- capuchin, squirrel & howler.  The demographics on this trip are very different- we are in the younger third and there are not children.  We’ve all found that we enjoy the skiff rides much more than hiking through the muddy jungle in high rubber boots.  The activities are paced so we are out of the heat of mid-day.  Meals have been excellent, although overly generous. They say travel broadens the horizons but it’s also broadening our hips.  Camera working again.  It seems the humidity really bothers it.

Friday:  This morning we monkeyed around.  We spent some time watching Monk Saki and Squirrel monkeys jumping from tree to tree and eating the small fruit on the trees.  At the same spot we also saw a Roadside Hawk eating a frog.  Breakfast was at the Jungle Cafe – a surprise to all of us.  The three skiffs were roped together in the middle of the stream and the crew served us a fancy picnic breakfast, white gloves and all, right there in the jungle!  This was a moment that made this trip special.  Our afternoon skiff ride was up the Rio Pacaya.  We didn’t see a lot of wildlife but .. the “shortcut” to the lake area required going through a very large area of floating vegetation.  The engines of the skiffs kept getting clogged and had to be cleaned out.  We made it back to the main part of the river, though, and watched pink dolphins swimming around us (and, no, I didn’t have any Pisco Sours).  Our boat explored a bit more before joining back up with the other 2 at the swimming area.  Dan and I both went for a short swim so we can say we swam in the Amazon.  The current was quite strong and I had trouble staying near the boat, so I didn’t stay in long.  On the way back down the river, we again had to cross the large vegetation area and one of the skiffs got stuck.  I got a bit worried because our guide seemed unsure of the path through it.  I don’t know how they can tell which way to go as every direction looked the same to me.  Our boat towed the other to a more open space then both had to have the engines cleared in order to make it back.

Saturday:  Our last full day here.  We were both up early for the pre-breakfast skiff ride and saw another type of monkey- the Dusky Titi monkey as well as another Pygmy Marmoset.  We have been quite fortunate with weather considering it’s the rainy season.  Two nights there were storms but they didn’t impact us.  Yesterday we had some rain on the way back to the ship, but not until we were fairly close.  Today is going to be a mostly rainy day.  We had heavy rain & got fairly wet near the end of our morning ride and now it’s raining again & our next outing has been delayed.

Our exploration after the rain was worthwhile as the birds were happy to come out. We saw several species that were new to us. We went again later in the afternoon, starting with a shopping trip to the local “mall” ( covered patio where the women set up their handicrafts). Our final exploration yeilded another type of monkey – the Woolley monkey. These were great to watch as they have prehensile tails and were swinging from tree to tree.

We had a final cocktail party, then dinner followed by Peruvian music and dancing. Our cabin steward and our favorite bartender were the guitarists and singers. Sunday we returned to Lima, and then today, Monday, was our travel day back home, bringing with us so many memories of the people, scenery and animals we have enjoyed.