January 6, 2023
After birding with Christian again this morning we returned for lunch about 12:30, and ate a few minutes later. During lunch I asked Carlos if we’d be taking a boat trip after lunch, to which he said yes. I had asked his wife and his worker yesterday if there might have been enough rain to raise the river enough to take boats upstream, and his worker said yes. I did not realize he’d be at the helm.
So after the meal Carlos set us up with sun hats and life vests and we walked down to the river.
FASHIONABLE HATS AND LIFE VESTS WERE RIGHT IN STYLE
CARLOS AND HIS TRUSTED WORKER
His worker was doing something with the motor, and then he bailed the rain water out of the boat. I was impressed when the motor started on the first pull, and looked over at Carlos, who had a big smile on his face, as if to imply, “We know how to maintain our motors here.” So in we hopped, and were soon cruising upriver. Having been on many canoe trips on rivers before, I could sense this would be a fun adventure right away.
I’d been noticing that the water was brown and wondering if it was due to the gold mining upriver. I later asked Carlos about it, and he said yes, it “was” due to mining. (I also asked him how much longer the mining would be going on, and he basically said for many more years). It only took a few minutes to reach the bridge we’d now been over a few times, and not much farther along we spied our first bonus birds - a pair of Channel-billed Toucans.
HERE IS THAT ROYAL TOUCAN AGAIN
They did not pose for pics, but did impress us when they flew across the river in front of us. Not long after that we were in “Encanonado de Miazi,” or, Miazi Canyon, with such steep sides you could strain your neck looking up. This was where we spied the best species of the trip - a pair of Cliff Flycatchers. These were lifers for me, and here is a reasonable pic. I should mention that taking pics from a moving boat was a challenge, but I managed a few good ones.
CLIFF FLYCATCHERS
Occasionally we’d flush either a Green or Ringed Kingfisher. It was a little reassuring that these birds were still around with all the gold mining above and below this area. It was also nice to not have to view where mining had taken place.
GREEN KINGFISHER
RINGED KINGFISHER
THE SAME BIRD AS ABOVE, A FEW SECONDS LATER
The scenery was spectacular! Wherever the sky opened up you could see the nearest tepuis, mostly flat, table-top mountains, the sides of which were mostly vegetated, but a few had a bare rock edifices. Christian had told me there were a few species of birds on the tops of the tepuis which required a strenuous hike, so those lifers were just not on the “table” for me.
THE STEEP CANYON WALLS
NEARBY MOUNTAINS
HEADING INTO THE FIRST CANYON
Another interesting bird was a Cocoi Heron, very similar to the Great-blue Heron in the states.
COCOI HERON
STRIATED HERON
Rosie and I had seen one earlier in the day farther upstream, but Christian was not with us at the time because he had walked back up the hill to get his truck. When he returned I told him about it, and he was all excited, saying he’d never seen one in the Zamora Province. I felt honored to have seen a rare bird, but sad for Christian for having missed it. We looked over where it was seen, but did not find it. So, flushing one on the way upriver was special, and we were happy for him. He stood up in the moving boat, put his hands together and bowed in a thanking gesture to the bird for obliging.
Between the first and second canyon there was evidence of recent gold mining, with plenty of river rock piled up here and there. Talk about a spoiler. It was also obvious that the mining had changed the course of the river here and there, dividing the current in 2-3 places at times, which tended to be shallower than one main channel. A few times we had to figure out which way to go. In one wide spot the driver turned the boat to shore, and we learned this was the place where there were some Hoatzins, a large turkey-like bird found only in the Amazon lowlands. Our guide got out to see if they were nearby, and I figured he’d be gone for a few minutes, but he never left our sight. He said they were here, and we saw them hanging out in 2 trees. Here are a few pics of them. The former inhabitants of these lowlands did not eat them as their meat was said to be quite foul, no pun intended.
HOATZIN
We eventually reached the second canyon named, “Encanonado de Shaime.” This one was more narrow than Miazi, with steep sides as well. It was simply magnificent going through it. Occasionally a small streamlet could be seen coming down the side of the canyon. I wish I could describe it well, but words fail me, so these pictures will have to do.
Out the other end of the canyon the results of the mining were more widespread. We did not go very far into that area as the choices of the different riverbeds did not leave us that option, being too shallow for our boat to make it farther. So we turned around and headed back toward the canyon for another cool trip through it. We’d be going downstream now with the current and the sun at our backs. On the return trip the boat scraped the gravel on the bottom once, so whatever might have been growing on the hull was no longer there.
I began to think about the cost of this trip. I had asked Carlos yesterday and I was pretty sure he said $19.00 (in Spanish of course). I assumed he meant nineteen bucks per person, but having seen these nice canyons, I began to wonder if I misunderstood him. Maybe it was 29, 39, or 49 bucks per person? I just knew there was a nine - “Nueve” in his response.
The trip back took probably half the time going up. Our driver/guide was pretty skilled at maneuvering the boat. He had to plan for how fast the current was going and what objects to avoid and how to steer that long heavy steel boat.
We made it back OK and disembarked, very thrilled with the experience. Back up at the dining area I asked Carlos to remind me what the cost was, and he said $19.00, “total.” My jaw almost dropped open, but I guess they live on a different pay scale here, and fuel is around half of what it is in the states now. I decided that when we pay our fare here I’d leave a tip for the driver (which I forgot to do).
The mining is a huge eyesore for this beautiful area. At least some people like Carlos said “NO” to the entities who offered him big bucks to dig up the riverbed adjacent to his place. Most will take the nice chunk of money and endure the ugly sights as it also raises their standard of living by offering good paying jobs, so you can’t blame them. It was just great that a small portion of the river is left undisturbed, and Carlos is making his living in the tourism trade, something he loves to do.
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