Our day started very early today with a visit to a very small but beautiful tributary of the Marañon River, the Maruyali. During the early skiff ride and just at the entrance of this location we saw several birds feeding on the marshes and grasses seeds. Oriole blackbirds, wattled Jacanas, seedeaters and white-headed marsh tyrants, were seen having the first meal of the day. We came back to the ship to have our well-deserved breakfast and right after it we visited a lively human settlement, Amazonas community. In this location we witnessed and experienced how people live nowadays in most of the Amazon region in Peru. We observed the houses and the normal lives of their inhabitants. Some villagers were cultivating cassava, some were extracting sugar cane juice while others were preparing vegetable fibers to use them in the manufacturing of handicrafts. Some children were seen at the local school and around playing as well. In a nutshell we were privileged to be part of a normal morning in the community.
We listened carefully to some local representatives speaking proudly about “Minga Peru” as well. The latter is a local nonprofit organization founded in 1998 whose mission is to promote social justice and human dignity, primarily for women and families in rural communities of the Peruvian Amazon. Leadership training, radio programming, natural resources management are some of their main projects in the area. Before coming back to the ship we admired and bought some of the beautiful handcrafts made in the community.
Once onboard at around 1100 in the morning we had a very special celebration. The ship was located in the famous confluence of the Marañon and Ucayali Rivers, geographical place where the Amazon River takes its name. With an Amazon toast in hand we commemorate this especial geographical event.
We spent the afternoon exploring Clavero Lake. Some guests went swimming in the early afternoon. They experienced the warm and placid waters of this remote oxbow lake. Later on we went to explore the area either by skiff rides or by kayaking. Our guests observed many birds´ species and a couple of Squirrel monkey troops.
Once onboard, refreshed with a shower and with drinks in hand we shared our impressions of the day at recap time. After dinner we watched a nature documentary entitled “Amazon, River of the Sun” that gave us a broader idea of the drastic changes between the dry and wet seasons in the Amazon Basin and also showing us interesting details about the Amazon Ictiofauna including the huge “paiche” also known in Brazil as “pirarucu” (Arapaima gigas) and some other famous Amazon fish species like the “tamabaqui” and the “arawana”.
