We are exploring yet another river today, this one the Maranon River. It is smaller and narrower than the other rivers we have explored. So the jungle seems closer.
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More of the Maranon River
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Because of its smaller size we also had stretches where the
water was extremely calm, and we had long stretches of river with great reflections.
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Reflections video
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We had good views of the flowers along the river. They look like morning glories but likely aren't the types we see in the US as these flowers are often partially submerged.
We also saw the nest of a Paper Wasp, with some wasps on the underside.
We went through one section of the river where the water lettuce was so dense that the boat's motor labored some when trying to get through.
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Water Lettuce video
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Some birds we saw include the Black Collared Hawk,
a Jacana,
a White-Throated Toucan
a Large-Billed Tern,
several Horned Screamers
and a Black-Capped Donacobus.
Besides the many birds we saw a squirrel monkey (buried among the limbs of a tree…almost impossible to photograph and with its butt to us)
and a night owl monkey in the hole of a tree.
We also saw a couple of pretty big insects.
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| Red Spotted Grasshopper |
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| Scarlet Dragonfly |
We were back on board for lunch and and a big surprise when we entered our room. Almost all cruise ships do some sort of folded towel art on the beds each day and the Delfin was no exception. However, we weren't prepared for what met us. True genius.
a demonstration on how to make a Pisco Sour, one of the most popular drinks in South America. The bar tenders really performed for the crowd and there was lots of audience participation.
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Pisco Sour demonstration video
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In the late afternoon we sailed past the town of Nauta...
before boarding the skiffs for another ride…this one out onto the Amazon River
and to Parakeet Island where tens of thousands of White
Winged Parakeets flew in to nest for the night.
Too bad the nest so late in the day as the light was low and it was hard
to see them…except for the massive clouds of the birds flying around the
grasses looking for a place to settle in for the night.
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Parakeet Island video 1
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We were finally able to get close enough to see the birds somewhat well.
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Parakeet Island video 2
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We had an evening meeting on the disembarkation process and a band, consisting of crew members, gave a great concert. Lot of dancing to the music.
What a fun way to end the all too short cruise on the Upper
Amazon.
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