Our group of explorers arrived yesterday after traveling from Lima to join a once in a lifetime expedition in the Upper Peruvian Amazon. A new adventure begins!
We started the day, after breakfast, with an introductory walk in the rainforest. After a short skiff ride, we visited a “terra firme” forest of a place known locally as “Casual.” “Terra firme” is a term used in tropical ecology to describe a terrain that never gets flooded. In the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, the largest protected flooded area in South America, most of the surface area is underwater year-round and, therefore, this kind of relatively dry ecosystem is of great interest for our expedition. Along the trail, our naturalists explained some aspects of the fascinating ecology of the rainforest of the Neotropics. A couple of native scouts from a nearby village came with us as well. Several rainforest creatures were spotted, including colorful poison arrow frogs, tarantulas and even a green anaconda!
In the afternoon, we explored the Yanayacu River by skiffs. This outing was very successful as well. We spotted several three-toed sloths, several bird species including yellow-billed terns, ringed and Amazon kingfishers, and several birds of prey like black-collared hawks and yellow-headed caracaras. It was an extraordinary first day of our expedition in the beautiful Upper Amazon in Peru.
