TRAVELOVERSEAS RIVER JOURNEY PERUVIAN AMAZON
Chasing river angels
TRAVEL OVERSEAS Amazon river dolphins are gleeful little souls, often leaping clear of the water – usually when you happen to be looking the other way.
Hot, heady and unforgettable, the Amazon is the world’s mightiest river, but its wildlife can be elusive unless you know where to look. Sophie Stafford learned how to penetrate its secrets and discovered angels. one thing – swimming with piranhas is something altogether different, I realised, as I perched on the edge of the skiff, shivering in my swimsuit. The skipper was watching me with what can only be described as a smug leer, and belatedly I wondered what he knew that I didn’t. While my travelling companions blithely splashed around in the mud-brown water, I hesitated, searching the tannin-stained depths for the flick of a fin or flash of an orange belly that might reveal danger. But I couldn’t see more than a few inches below the surface and the water was 20m deep. As I teetered there, I recalled our guide, Ado, saying that piranhas dislike open, murky waters and prefer to hang around in the clearer, sheltered ‘blackwaters’ at the edges of the Amazon’s lakes and lagoons. “So,” he smiled reassuringly, “you can safely swim in the middle of a lake without attracting unwanted attention.” In any case, the piranhas are only dangerous
when the water level is low and around the mouths of the river’s their food supply poor, tributaries and streams, where apparently... schools of fish are washed in Taking a deep breath, I decided from the lagoons. Indeed, we saw that our hosts were unlikely to them most days as we cruised in offer up our intrepid band of and out of creeks and backwaters. journalists as piranha bait and But botos are hard to get a good jumped in. The water was look at, as you never know where surprisingly warm – like they’ll pop up next. Despite their swimming in a mug of old tea thick bodies, they move – and as I bobbed surprisingly quickly, around, I comforted DID YOU KNOW? their grey backs and myself with the bulbous heads briefly Not all botos are pink. Youngsters are thought that the breaking the surface on dark grey and piranhas would likely one side of the boat become lighter with nibble someone else’s and then the other. age. Pink dolphins juicier appendages It is, as one of my are almost always before they turned to companions observed adult males – the pinkness is caused my ‘spaghetti toes’. poetically, like being by scarring. surrounded by angels. FINDING ANGELS Indeed, traditional You might not be surprised to Amazonian myth affords the boto learn that we had not travelled all magical powers. According to the way to Peru, taking a slow legend, at night it becomes a boat down the Amazon from handsome young man who Iquitos to the heart of the Pacaya seduces and impregnates girls, Samiria National Reserve, a then returns to the river the next 350-kilometre journey, just to morning. Such superstitions have swim with piranhas. Our dream helped to protect the species here was to share the water with the as locals are loathe to kill it, area’s most famous inhabitants believing this will bring bad luck. – the pink river dolphins or Unfortunately, today, we were ‘botos’. the unlucky ones – and the botos And, so far, our prospects were were noticeable by their absence. looking good. Unlike most other dolphins of my acquaintance, the SOFTLY, CATCHEE CAIMAN botos turned out to be Back on the boat with all my digits surprisingly easy to see, as they intact, I breathed a sigh of relief are invariably found hunting that turned into a ironic laugh as I spotted our elusive swimming companions breaching on the far A morpho butterfly basks in the sun, revealing its side of the lake. With wildlife, it’s stunning colours. all in the timing. Sitting in damp clothes, the journey back to the Delfin – our floating home for the week – seemed longer. Night closed in quickly, shadows crowding the banks like wraiths, the pale trunks of the cecropia trees transformed into skeletal fingers clutching the purpling sky.
Suddenly, the boat’s engine spluttered and died. We looked at each other anxiously. The Amazon’s flooded forest forms a maze of neverending channels within which you could get lost for a very long time. Oblivious to our concern, Ado, who grew up on the river, was leaning precariously over the prow of our skiff, shining a powerful torch into the dense fringe of water lettuce and water hyacinth bobbing at the river’s edge. Suddenly, we saw what he was looking at – a pair of eyes glowed red in the beam. As the boat eased forward into the greenery, Ado wielded the torch like a pro to dazzle whatever it was until he was close enough to lunge. Then, turning with a November 2009
grin, he triumphantly hoisted aloft a baby caiman! A QUARTET OF CROCS
The Amazon’s tributaries are home to four species of caiman – the black, white-bellied or spectacled, dwarf and smoothfronted. The black is the largest and most aggressive, but the more abundant spectacled caiman grows to a respectable 2.5m. At just a metre long, this was a mere tiddler, dangling motionless and unblinking from Ado’s hand. Perhaps misinterpreting the dumbstruck expressions on my companions’ faces, our guide flicked the croc’s tail at them encouragingly. They reared back in their seats looking faintly November 2009
As I stroked it, the tiny caiman showed his appreciation for my altruism by peeing down my leg. horrified, so I figured that the interactive part of this trip was down to me and, holding out my hands, rescued the poor mite from Ado’s throttling grasp. As I stroked its soft and surprisingly warm skin, the tiny caiman showed his fighting spirit and appreciation for my altruism by peeing down my still-damp leg. The rest of the Amazon’s wildlife proved equally challenging, conspiring with the great river and the forest to
conceal itself from our eager eyes. We soon realised that this land does not yield its secrets lightly to visitors. You have to earn them by learning what to look for and how to look for it. And, over the week we spent on the Delfin, we had a crash course. LESSONS IN FIELDCRAFT
The first thing we learned was where to look. Perhaps surprisingly, the Amazon river itself is not the place to see wildlife. Its wide, flat expanse of chocolate-coloured water (so vast it is sometimes called the River Sea) hides a fierce current that sweeps most creatures away, so we began our search in the quiet backwaters, creeks, lagoons and swamps. Here, the seasonal rise
and fall of the water drowns the trees, providing excellent foraging for aquatic wildlife and safe roosts for birds and monkeys. Next up was how to read the forest. From the river, the trees lining the banks form an impenetrable wall of green, broken only by the pale trunks of kapok and cecropia trees and the fragrant white chandeliers of mimosa blossom. You have to train your eyes to seek out the spaces between their branches to discover what they hide. A swaying bough may be the only clue to the presence of a foraging monk saki or squirrel monkey. Even brightly coloured birds, such as macaws and toucans, can appear dull in the deep shade, making them tricky to spot, while BBC Wildlife
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Kevin Schafer/NHPA
Nick Garbutt/NHPA
SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS is
TRAVEL OVERSEAS
THE INFORMATION
THE DELFIN Measuring 20m x 6m, the Delfin is owned and run by Lissy Urteaga and her husband. It has six airconditioned cabins with ensuite shower rooms (and hot water) and an open sundeck. They have recently acquired a new boat – Delfin II – with 14 suites. www.delfinamazoncruises.com THINGS TO KNOW Delfin cuisine includes fresh fish, chicken and beef, potato, rice and fresh fruit. You must
try Peru’s flagship dish – cebiche (made with raw diced fish or shellfish, raw onions, sweet potato and corn) – and drink a pisco sour (made with pisco brandy, lemon juice, the white of an egg and sugar). Peru is hot and humid with an average temperature of 27.5˚C, so take light, cool, casual clothing, a lightweight waterproof and sun protection. Always carry bottled water and don’t forget your binoculars – the wildlife rarely comes close. Mosquitoes and biting bugs are not a problem, but you will still need insect repellent, which also deters ticks. And don’t forget your anti-malarials. You can change sterling to Peruvian soles at the airport, but America dollars are also widely accepted. For more information about Peru, visit www.peru.info READ ON Birds of Peru (Helm Field Guides), £29.99, code W1109/17 A Neotropical Companion (2nd ed) by J Kricher, Princeton, £24.95, code W1109/18 Peru (Lonely Planet), £14.99, code W1109/19. Order on p88, quoting relevant code.
T HE NAV I GATO R COLOMBIA
The source The Amazon river originates in the southern Peruvian Andes. However, it is not called the Amazon until the confluence of two of its main tributaries, the Ucayali and the Marañón, at the north-east corner of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.
Gateway to the jungle Peru’s largest jungle city, Iquitos stands on the west bank of the Amazon river, and is completely isolated except by air and river.
Iquitos
PERU
Nauta
r Rive ñón a r a M Lagunas
Amazon River
Sequena
Requena
Pacaya Samiria National Reserve
Yurimaguas
100km
BRAZIL
Pacaya Samiria is the largest flooded forest in the world. During the rainy season, 85 per cent of the reserve is flooded and only accessible by boat.
LOCATION With an area of nearly 21,000km2, Pacaya Samiria is one of Peru’s largest wildlife reserves and covers about 1.5 per cent of the total surface area of the country. WHEN TO GO When the waters are high from May to August, you can take skiffs under the forest canopy; at other times, when waters are low, you can hike on jungle trails.
Delfin Amazon Cruises
Left to right: Mark Carwardine/naturepl.com; M Watson/ardea.com (x3); Philip Tull/OSF/Photolibrary.com
TOP TH I N G S TO SE E
Tributaries of the Amazon meander lazily through mile after mile of virgin rainforest. In the wet season, the land is flooded and small boats can take you among the trees.
P Harris/JWLP/Photolibrary
GETTING THERE Sophie travelled to Peru with Cox & Kings on its tailor-made Delfin Amazon cruise, flying from London Heathrow to Lima via Amsterdam with KLM and up to Iquitos with Lan Peru. % 0207 873 5000; www.coxandkings.co.uk Other tour operators include www.orient-express.com; tailormade.tripsworldwide. co.uk; www.audleytravel.com; www.journeylatinamerica.co. uk. Flights are also provided by Iberia and Continental Airlines. Return flights emitted 7,880kg of carbon dioxide and cost €183 to offset with www. atmosfair.de
PERUVIAN AMAZON Discover virgin rainforest, unreachable by land and flooded for more than six months of the year.
Uc ay al iR ive r
ESS ENT I A L I N FOR M AT IO N
PINK RIVER DOLPHIN
HOATZIN
THREE-TOED SLOTH
CAIMAN
MORPHO BUTTERFLY
ID A stout pink or grey
ID A large bird with a bare
ID About the size of a small
ID The four species of
ID One of the world’s largest
cetacean with tiny eyes and poor eyesight. Can be hard to see as it reveals little of itself when surfacing from the river to breathe. Usually found in small groups. WHERE At river junctions, where fish flow from lagoons into the main river, and in flooded forests, where it uses sonar to navigate in the cloudy water. Flexible vertebrae enable it to weave between submerged tree trunks and squeeze in and out of tight spaces.
blue face, spiky crest and russet wings. Always in groups. Eighty per cent of its diet is shoots and leaves, which are swallowed and ground into a bolus in its large crop. Here, the bolus ferments and is digested, giving the bird an unpleasant odour resembling cow manure. WHERE Usually perched low in trees over still or slow-moving water, such as oxbow lakes, lagoons and sluggish rivers.
dog, with a stumpy tail and three claws on each of its four feet. Only active sporadically during the day and night. Feeds almost exclusively on leaves, and has a multi-chambered stomach to ferment tough vegetable matter. WHERE Individuals rarely move from the upper branches of their favourite trees – mostly cecropias or kapoks. So they can usually be found where these trees grow.
caiman – black, whitebellied, smooth-fronted and dwarf – can be hard to spot during the day, when they leave the water and climb onto partially submerged tree trunks to bask. WHERE Look for them lurking in the water lettuce along the edges of smaller rivers, in creeks and lagoons, waiting for frogs, dragonflies and small fish. The adults hunt bigger prey such as peccaries, paca and large fish.
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butterflies with a wingspan of up to 20cm. Rests with its wings folded, the mottled brown undersides making it invisible to predators and tourists alike. The upperwings of both sexes are a gorgeous iridescent blue, though the males can appear brighter, and are only glimpsed in wafting flight. WHERE Adults spend most of their time on low shrubs, close to the forest floor. Look for them in wooded clearings and along small tributaries. November 2009
morpho butterflies rest unseen on tree trunks right in front of you, their mottled brown underwings camouflaging them perfectly until put to flight, when their cerulean blue upperwings shine in even the dimmest light. Iguanas masquerade as branches, basking high in waterside trees like reptilian gargoyles, whip-like tails dangling. Spotting these large The Delfin is a relaxing way to experience the magic of the mighty Amazon River.
lizards requires keen eyes and quick reactions. We were startled when one leapt from a great height into the river beside our boat, but Ado assured us that they are good swimmers and often use this strategy to escape predators. Even sloths – those paragons of unmoving stolidity – somehow manage to hide in plain view. Every morning, they perch high in the bare, upper branches of their own favourite tree – usually a cecropia or kapok – waiting for the sun’s first rays to warm away the night’s chill. But their curled posture and algae-tinged fur make them surprisingly hard for novices to spot. We came across no fewer than four sloths during our daily skiff excursions, but would have passed them all by without Ado’s sharp eyes. One day, as he pointed out a green-brown blob high up in a tree, we could both tell that my companions were sceptical. But by imitating the shriek of a harpy eagle – the sloth’s only predator – Ado persuaded the ball to unfurl into a
By imitating the shriek of a harpy eagle, Ado persuaded the ball to unfurl into a sloth. sloth. The creature lifted its head, short-sightedly seeking the source of the threat, but when no raptor raced out of the sky, its chin sank back onto its chest and it promptly dozed off again. That’s enough excitement for one day! EYES, EARS AND NOSES
Our final lesson was that, in the Amazon, simply looking is not enough – you must use all of your senses. Listen for the braying of Peru’s largest and most ungainly birds – horned screamers – which you usually hear before you see (they’re not called ‘donkey birds’ for nothing). And follow your nose. The smell of dung may reveal the presence of one of the Amazon’s most peculiar avian residents – the hoatzin. This extraordinary
creature has a digestive system that is unique among birds. It feeds almost exclusively on leaves, which are ground into a large ball and then fermented in its oversized crop. The aromatic compounds in the leaves and bacterial fermentation give the hoatzin an odour like manure, hence its local name ‘stink bird’. JOIN THE INITIATED
A week in the Amazon was not enough to uncover all of its many mysteries, but the skills we learned gave us a privileged glimpse into this magical kingdom and its strange and beguiling inhabitants. And if you (understandably) don’t feel like swimming with piranhas, don’t worry. Simply grab a stick and some shreds of beef, and you can go fishing for them instead. Ado tells me they’re very tasty. In Peru, editor Sophie Stafford discovered her river-legs and developed a taste for cebiche washed down with pisco sour.
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