The Delfin crew rolls up the plastic sheeting after the rain.
After lunch, the ten folks who signed up for it went kayaking. The staff loaded the humans in one skiff, and the five two-person kayaks, placed crossways athwart the gunwales, in a second skiff. The pair of skiffs departed upstream to a creek inlet and disappeared behind the foliage. Jonathan and I stayed onboard the Delfin where it was moored to a half submerged tree at the mouth of Río Dorado and watched grey and pink dolphins frolic where El Dorado emptied into the Ucayali. The water from the El Dorado carried less sediment and could be seen mixing with the heavy sediment of the Rio Ucayali.
I spent time with Rudy, another naturalist, to identify the various birds, critters, and plants.
At 1630 we embarked on a skiff for an evening/nighttime expedition. We headed up El Dorado and eventually turned right into vegetation where the color of the water, which had been light brown with sediment, turned black – the result of less sediment and tannins from decaying vegetation.
Wending our way through the vegetation (in dry season, we would’ve been in the canopy of the forest) we spotted more hoatzin and kingfishers. We eventually emerged in another channel – this one was simply black water and reflecting in the late afternoon/evening – where we looked for critters until dark.
At nightfall, Chino tied the skiff to a handy bush (i.e. a tree whose canopy just cleared the water) and handed out fishing poles – not rod and reel, but stick + line + hook. Period. Even if the poles were primitive, our bait was pieces of beef tenderloin. I guess the fish have expensive taste around here! Each pole had 5 to 6 feet of line and Chino instructed us to only submerge about half of it while fishing (or feeding the fish). The nibbles started right away and caught (and released) about a dozen fish among the eight of us on the skiff. I caught a single red-bellied piranha. Kathy Bautista caught at least four fish while Mr. Lubin and Melissa came up empty.
After dark, Chino brought out the spotlight to look for caiman along the bank as Mario guided the boat up and down the channel. At Chino’s direction, Mario eased the skiff into a patch of floating vegetation (mostly water lettuce) where Chino reached over the side and pulled a two-foot long spectacled caiman from it’s hiding place. The critter seemed rather composed for being hauled out of its shelter so unceremoniously. Both Kathy and Melissa asked to hold the caiman (and did) – none of the guys seemed interested in the activity.
After tossing the caiman back into the channel, Mario gunned the motor and we went flying down the channel. Chino had passed around goggles/safety glasses prior to protect our eyes from the numerous bugs that were visible in the beam of the spotlight as Chino looked for more caiman. Frequently he’d catch a fishing bat in the beam of the spotlight and follow its flight. Returning to the Delfin we changed out of our bug-repelling togs for dinner immediately preceded by a Pisco Sour.
The Delfin crew rolls up the plastic sheeting after the rain.
The silt-laden brown water of Río Ucayali mixing with the lighter sediment of Río Dorado.
Red flower - passionfruit related?
Grey river dolphins a/k/a bufeo gris (Sotalia fluviatilis) - this is the only shot where you can see an eye.
The open stairwell on the Delfin. The grating on the first level was lowered when the boat was moving.
Relaxing on the top deck after lunch.
Another shot of the Amazon sky.
The kayakers (and the kayaks) head out for their adventure.
Heading around the bend.
More Amazon sky.
This tangle is a female sloth and offspring. The three toes (claws) are quite evident however.
The bow of the Delfin nosed into the bank and secured to a tree trunk.
Jonathan in the skiff for the afternoon/evening excursion.
The Delfin astern: top, library; middle, dining room; bottom and below,the mechanicals.
A youngster in the door of a village house.
Chino points out the nests of the yellow-rumped cacique (Cacicus cela).
One of them was even home at the time.
Heading up El Dorado.
The 'black water' in this side channel, as compared to the sediment-laden main river.
Hoatzin - I think this and the next few shots are clearer than yesterday's photos.
Hoatzin.
Hoatzin.
A slew of light yellow-green bromeliad epiphytes.
Horned screamer (Anhima cornuta), complete with horn.
Horned screamer in flight.
The sun has set (and we're still out in the skiffs!).
The flower of the kapok tree with insect pollinators.
Water lettuce - it was ubiquitous, but we were always flying down the channel for me to get a decent photo.
The red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) I hooked. We threw back all the fish we caught.
A river catfish that Kathy caught.
More towel origami.
Dinner table placesettings.
Evidence, appetizer: pumpkin soup.
Evidence, entrée: beef tenderloin (bait!) served with vegetables over Brazilian guaba sauce.
Evidence, dessert: Happy Birthday Terry!
