San Francisco, Amazon River & Yarapa River
We woke up to “warmi lluvia,” a woman’s rain as the say in the region. Fine rain droplets that keep on coming, long-lasting (relatively speaking). As opposed to what we had yesterday, a brief, hard, and fast rain that blew over quickly, a man’s rain, “runa lluvia.”
However for us, it ended conveniently just after breakfast, and so we made our way over to shore in the skiff (all of 30 feet), up a set of nice wooden steps, up a dirt trail and up more steps, and found ourselves in the village of San Francisco. A significant settlement on “terra firme,” it has about 400 families or homes, and seems quite well organized. We walked down “main street,” which by Amazonian standards is very high-end, being a concrete sidewalk. This is huge, because when it rains, the mud can be very messy and difficult to deal with in the homes.
After our stroll through town, we ended up at the community building where both men and women had arrived from throughout the community to display and (hopefully) sell their wares. Over the years I have stopped by here, I have seen how the artisans have improved their skills, their taste in colors and design, and know it has everything to do with the owners of the Delfin II. They have encouraged especially the women, to diversify their handicrafts and improve the quality, and the results are outstanding! It has added greatly to their family budgets, and many now have enough for a few luxuries, including T.V. (whether that is good or bad is not for us to decide).
Our final stop in the town was a visit to the school. One forgiving teacher allowed us into his classroom where Luis, our naturalist, acted as translator for when he asked many of the children what they would like to do when they grow up. The answers varied from fireman to dentist to teacher to doctor, boys and girls alike.
By 10:30 a.m. we were underway once more, heading downriver in preparation for leaving the Maranon River and starting up the Ucayali River. However something very important had to take place before crossing over…we had to celebrate the confluence of the two rivers that create the mighty Amazon! And this took the form of inviting any intrepid traveller to join me in an Amazon swim! To my delight, we were half the complement of guests on board the Delfin II—14!
In two skiffs, with swimming noodles and towels, we drove to the confluence and hopped in the water. Brown with sediments, the Amazon is known for its cleanliness overall (pH of around 7.0). It was delicious, and to our joy, where no dolphins had been earlier, they showed up in a group to inspect these strange beings in their world. Never too close, they broke the surface a few dozen yards away, enough to show the amazing pink of their backs. The occasional beak also came up, and by some miracle I managed to press the shutter at the right time!
We got back on board the ship just in time to participate in a Pisco Sour-making demonstration at the bar…and those that arrived late got another demonstration, and when that was drank, another demonstration would start…
After lunch the ship started up the Ucayali River. This will be our road for the next few days. We didn’t go far, just an hour upriver to the Yarapa River. For the first time this trip we got out the kayaks as well, so both by skiff and kayak we explored the Yarapa and searched for wildlife. Or simply let the gentle current carry us down.
A pink and blue and green and orange sky appeared for sunset, and the tall trees reflected in the smooth surface of the Ucayali River, until a small dugout passed by with a lone paddler and broke it into long ripples.
After dinner, a small group of adventurous souls went walking into the rain forest armed with flashlights only. The lightning bugs flashed all the way into the canopy, and a few frogs were found. A different world comes alive in the dark, but still secretive and elusive for the most part.
The mysteries of the Amazon are not easy to unveil in the short time we have here. But we keep on looking! Expect the unexpected!
