Bird walk early this morning with bird sightings added to our previous list, plus our boat ride to Monkey Island, we have seen 100 birds on this trip! Wow! As we traveled to Monkey Island we saw some freshwater pink dolphins…amazing! Peruvians do not kill dolphins as they have many superstitions about them. Dolphin young are born tail first with a "midwife" dolphin helping the newborn by pushing its head to the surface for its first breath. The baby dolphin returns to its mother for milk, but otherwise is protected by the male.
Monkey Island is a private project where young monkeys have been brought there for the last 20 years and when about 4 – 5 years old the government hires workers to walk 6 -7 hours into the jungle to release them with their species. The monkeys brought to the island may have been injured, found, or no longer wanted as pets. At the older age, it is believed the adult will be successful in the jungle…very different life for them than simply coming in to this protected area and eating fruit on platforms. Here they can frolic around in the trees or hang on people. There may be about 200 monkeys on the island. We walked on the island to see some of the monkeys that were not show-boating in front of the visitors.
Back to our resort…
Time to write, pack, eat lunch and then a 2.5 hour slow boat ride to Iquitos on a big boat, Amazon Queen. Later tonight we fly to Lima …and possibly meet our other travelers for the main trip…or maybe not since it will be midnight by the time we get to our hotel.
I will be happy tomorrow to know I will not be on a boat! I have a slight rocking sensation from all the time on the water. In Lima we can have our own time while new travelers receive their orientation walk.
Luis, our Amazon guide, is a fantastic birder! He will retire from this work in a couple of years. Anyone interested in his phone number or a trip, birding, photography if you have a super zoom, then I think he could really help you out….I think he will had his number out when we leave. He does not do email. Luis grew up on the river, his wife in the jungle. They now live in Iquitos. Luis is flying for the first time and going to Lima for his first time this coming Sunday to visit a sister he has not seen in 14 years! We tried to explain airport security, especially since he carries a jackknife on his belt all the time. I hope he has a great visit, but knowing the little I do about him, he will be thrilled when his 10 day vacation allows him to return to the Amazon!