We started our day with an early outing before breakfast. With a slight tropical rain we boarded the skiffs to explore Belluda Caño and the surrounding forest. It is difficult to have a realistic idea of how much wildlife there is all across this Amazon flooded forest. We can certainly say that it is abundant! This is the rainy season and the level of the river is high, much higher the last week. The forest is entirely flooded and it will continue to be for months to come.
It is here where the great diversity of plant and animal life exist at all. Some animals are seen on the shore of the river and on the low growing vegetation, others are higher on the canopy. As we explored the flooded forest on the skiffs we had several sightings of monkeys, iguanas, caiman lizards, and birds everywhere. We also met the local fishermen coming back home on their little canoes with the catch of the day, these people were very kind and showed us the different types of fish they had in their canoes. The fish of the Amazon are of excellent quality and taste.
Later on once on board we had a great presentation given by our naturalist guides. It was the show of the Amazon food plants, they explained to us the economic and nutritious values of the fruits locally produced. This was a very interesting show because we had the opportunity to taste fruits and nuts that happen to be staple food for all of the people that live in this remote region.
In the late afternoon we boarded skiffs bound for El Dorado Caño. This is a wildlife rich place. Close to the river we spotted macaws, monkeys, and reptiles such as iguanas and caiman lizards. As we returned to the Delfin II in the darkness of the night, we spotted baby caimans! We also spotted many fishing bats skimming the water and at least one of them has a fish in its mouth!
It was an amazing day of discoveries in heart of the Amazon basin!
