Amazon-Day II

2-4-13 RÍO MARAÑÓN, PERÚ: Our LAN flight to Iquitos in eastern Peru on the Amazon river was an uneventful hop over the Andes to, probably, the only airport in the Peruvian jungle. Iquitos is a city of 600,000 that we did not see. We left the airport on the one road, two paved lanes, that goes to Nauta, a smaller city on the Río Marañón where our boat docks. People drive a vehicle that looks like a motorcycle with a passenger compartment, like a motorized pedicab.

We bused to Nauta, the sky was filled with a anvil shaped clouds and distant squalls, befitting the rainy season. Nauta showed up after dark and after a decent sunset. The last few miles were on unpaved road, a swamp of red mud. The bus actually got stuck in the mud for a few minutes. Embarkation on the Delfin II, finding our cabins, having dinner and an orientation followed before bed.

Every morning on the boat started with an early skiff ride because the animals and birds are active. At midday it’s too hot for anyone to do much, so there were late afternoon skiff rides also. Monday, the 6 AM skiff trip took us up a side river, at Casual, in moderately heavy rain, covered in ponchos and DEET. We saw tree sloths, a green iguana in a tree, a big lizard swimming toward us, lots of birds, and the rain forest itself. At 8, we were back to boat for breakfast.


The Río Marañón at dawn in the fog and rain. It is a big river with a discharge equal to both the Ohio and Missouri Rivers.

A side stream in the rain. The waterline on the trees indicates how deep the water will probably be in March at the height of the rainy season. The whole Amazon basin is flooded like a giant lake.

Tree with epiphytes and an ant nest.

Lizard, four feet long, speaks with forked tongue.

Wattled Jacanas walk, feed and nest on the floating vegetation.

After breakfast there was a walk in rain forest on a bit of dryish land with huge trees, lizards, frogs, a giant millipede, and then back for lunch when the crew were introduced. Lunch was disrupted by the appearance of pink dolphins who hung around boat for hours, perhaps six or eight, spotted first by keen eyed Judy.


Note that all-purpose tool. A Neapolitian in the backround.

The afternoon skiff ride went up a black water river to a lake. We saw an anaconda on the way at a small settlement, birds, a sloth, a toucan. The major rivers are turbulent and fast flowing, brown with a load of mud, and full of big debris, whole trees, big branches, hunks of floating land. The local folks refer to this water as white water and sometimes it looks whitish. The smaller tributaries have much slower flow and the water is called black water, probably because it’s black. Then back on boat for showers, beverages, and dinner while the crew took us further up Marañón.


This baby Anaconda was caught in a fish net. We got to see it before it was released.

Great Egret on the left and Snowy Egret.

Ringed Kingfisher.

Couvier's toucan from a distance-big schnoz.

Skiff adventure.

The mother ship.