5:30 a.m. Our wake-up knock! We’ve been warned that this will be a daily routine for those who want to see the birds catching breakfast. We clamber into the 12-person skiffs, each with a local naturalist, and head up one of the many tributaries emptying into the great river. Our naturalist points to what looks like a mass of greenery and the skiff pulls in closer. We scan the trees with our binoculars and finally see what he has spotted with his naked eye.
This happens again and again over the course of our early morning outings on the river as as he identifies parrots, hawks, egrets, parakeets, macaws, horned screamers, jabbers, wood storks, cormorants, herons, vultures, caracaras, terns, cuckoos, anis, jacanas – and the list goes on. See some of them below. Click on them to enlarge.
Here’s a video of the equally fascinating lush vegetation we slide by. I can’t get enough of all the shades of green. IMG_0825
This is truly a water forest. We peer beyond the trees that mark the edges of these small rivers and all we see is water. We wonder if land will appear when the river drops another 15 feet.
Nothing like early morning on the river to raise an appetite. We head back to 
the Delphin II and breakfast. Pitchers of fresh juice – passion fruit, papaya, fruits we can’t identify. Platters of ham and cheese and tomatoes. A buffet of pancakes, bacon, ham, sausage, toast and pastries, and eggs to order. We have to fortify for the next excursion!
Photo credits – Emma Backbier
Wow! That was some adventure!
More to come, Earl.
Thanks for sharing both your account of breakfast for the birds and the stunning photos.
This trip has to rank among the adventures of a lifetime, even for you well-traveled folks.
It certainly was! So glad you enjoying our reliving of it, Jane.