Today we left the Marañón River to head into the Ucayali. Our morning outing went as usual, with an early skiff ride before breakfast. At 8:30 am, we disembarked at a riverside community called “Amazonas”. Here we learned about the ways that people live here in the remoteness of the Peruvian Amazon. We visited a school and interacted with the wonderful children and their teachers.
The purpose of visiting Amazonas included attending a meeting with the community representatives of Minga Peru, a local non-governmental organization that has been supported by Lindblad and National Geographic Expeditions for several years. With the help of one of our guides as a translator, we heard the testimonies of women which have benefitted from the education and conservation efforts of Minga Peru in their community.
On our return to the ship, Delfin II sailed downriver, towards the Amazon proper. On our arrival, we celebrated with a pisco sour toast, and we headed up into the Ucayali River.
Upon our arrival to Clavero Lake, our afternoon destination, we had the opportunity to go for a swim in the middle of the lake. Our skiff drivers brought us sodas and beer, which we enjoyed as we relaxed on the tannic waters of the Amazon basin.
After the swimming outing, we explored deep into Clavero lake, to reach a small tributary. Here we continued our search for wildlife. We got to see the world’s smallest primate, the pygmy marmoset. These tiny monkeys live in a restricted home range, and we know the places where we are likely to find them. They tend to prefer specific trees, that provide them with the sap which the tiny monkeys feed on.
