2^nd November – Giants and Rarities......

A yellow rumped cacique - very noisy!

Got up for brekkies at 6.30am and were supposed to go out at 7am.  However, it was raining steadily so we waited a while for it to die down a bit.  Whilst waiting, we took some photos of some of the local wildlife and got some nice pictures of a Greater Kiskadee, a type of flycatcher; the very loud and quarrelsome Yellow Rumped Caciques, which are a type of social weaver bird and also the Geater Ani, a large black bird with a strange bump on its beak.  We eventually left at about 8am in a light drizzle which soon stopped.  It was just the 3 of us with a paddler at the back and front, who were from the local tribe and then our guide, Jairo.

Greater Ani

Greater Kiskadee

Philodendron swamp

We set off down a narrow creek cut through the thick philodendron swamp and enjoyed looking at the huge variety of plants including some orchids.  As we got deeper into the rain forest, the vegetation became denser and we saw less sunlight and it all felt and looked like Jurassic Park.  All the trees were competing for light and had long thin trunks from which foliage exploded when they reached the top of the canopy.  Most of the trees were festooned with a mixture of creepers which sent down masses of aerial roots to the damp forest floor or river, bromeliads and orchids.  Then there’s an under canopy made up of various small palms, and members of the ginger family with huge banana shaped leaves.  We eventually came to a landing stage where we donned our wellington boots (almost unbearable in the muggy heat) and went for a walk in the forest.

Spix's Guan

The front paddler, Bolivar, is also a native guide but as he doesn’t speak English, Jairo interpreted for him.  Between the two of them they gave us a fascinating tour of the rain forest pointing out things we just would never have spotted without them. We also learned a lot about the local traditions and how they used the local plants.  Bolivar demonstrated how they extract a fibre from a particular palm leaf and then turn it into a very strong thread which is used for making baskets etc. etc.  They also showed us a tube like fungus which is boiled to make it soft and then squeezed into the ears if there is an infection which it will then clear up.  Another useful product is the palm weevil, which we consider a pest in Portugal.  Here, they harvest the grubs and either cook them (apparently very oily and taste a bit like coconut,) or they boil them and then extract the oil and smear it on their chests as it’s a great decongestant.  We spotted several birds and were most fortunate to have a good photo opportunity of a Spix’s Guan.  Other photo opportunities were provided by some lovely butterflies, huge millipedes and some of the tiny frogs, some of which are poisonous, and toads amongst the leaf litter on the forest floor.

A butterfly around camp

After the trek, we canoed back to the lodge for lunch and a break (spent photographing just some of the huge variety of beautiful butterflies around the lodge) before heading back out again at 3.30pm.  

A beady eye.......

Jairo was very insistent we left immediately we appeared as he had a special treat lined up for us on the other side of the lake – an anaconda!!!  Mum and I both have an irrational fear of snakes so were quite apprehensive about what we would see.  Anyway, as we neared the bank what looked like a pile of old discarded wet suits appeared on the bank.  Closer inspection revealed them to be the coils of an enormous snake.  Apparently, this particular specimen is at least 8 metres long and we could see about half of it as the other half was in the water.  Feeling very brave, I asked to get a better view so was given permission to stand up in the canoe from where I could even spot its head complete with a very beady eye.  I was told later that we were less than 2 metres away from the reptile and Chris had visions of me losing my balance and falling forward into the mass of coils for a friendly embrace! 

The limpkin posing by a beautiful orchid

As other canoes were queuing up behind us, we left and went off to explore another creek.  We saw lots of different birds but the 2 highlights were the limpkin (a type of stork) which was posing beside the most beautiful yellow orchid and a White Chinned Jacamar which is a type of hummingbird.  We then got a radio message telling us that the Giant Amazon otters were out feeding right beside the lodge so we hastily retraced our steps to go and look at them – passing a caiman swimming across the lake on route!

Wow – what a special experience this was as they are so rare.  We followed them quite a distance and saw the group of about 6-7 individuals hunting very successfully and eating their catches. We were amazed at how fast they could move and as a consequence my photos are pretty poor.

A blurred photo of a giant river otter

A black caiman

We followed the otters back to their den and with the light beginning to fade went back to look for the caiman.  We found it and circled it repeatedly trying to get a face on photo.  However, it wasn’t having any of it and kept turning with us which is a good sign as if it starts coming towards you, you need to get worried and move off as they can be very aggressive.  This particular specimen was about 2 metres long, which might explain its lack of aggression as they can get up to 5 metres.  We then spotted the head of a small 1 metre long specimen which was very well camouflaged in the weed as its head was covered in vegetation and blended in to its surroundings perfectly.

So, after a very full day of wildlife spotting we came back to the lodge for a well earned beer and dinner.  As dusk falls the constant chatter and screeching of the local lodge birds dies down and instead we were treated to the acrobatic display of masses of bats.

We were in bed with the lights out before 9pm as were told we were having a 5am wakeup call and leaving for the next day’s activities at 6am........