The Elusive Pink Dolphin

The amazon is known for its wildlife. The original plan had been to stay one night at the lodge and another camping in the jungle, hammocks for beds. However, this was out of the question, as the jungle trek was buried under 15 feet of water. Instead, we would do all our wildlife spotting from boat. Not a terrible tragedy, but a disappointment to those who love to hike (something Brian & I have never confessed to loving).

As evening approached, we all climbed into the boat. It was nice escape, after just a few hours in the lodge we were all feeling trapped and wet. Rueben drove us out to a place where the river was wide and flat. There we relaxed, the boat gently rocking, our cameras ready. A few minutes’ later dolphins began to leap. Pink and grey dolphins frolicked around us. The grey ones looked just like ocean dolphins, leaping with grace and beauty. The pink ones looked like a fish-pigs, barely able to get their bodies above the water.

We took picture after picture but to no avail. The grey ones were easy to catch film, leaping high into the air, the pink ones were impossible, mere glimpses of their pinkish hue visible above water before they dove under again. Still it was enthralling to see an animal that seemed as real to me as a unicorn and we enjoyed the sight immensely.

We returned to the lodge for dinner and soon after were out in the boat again. It was now pitch black. We were going caiman hunting. Our guide, Jorge, and another man were armed with flashlights and amazing eyesight. Rueben trolled us slowly along the jungles edge, as Jorge and the caiman hunter stared out into the bush. After what seemed like an amazingly short time, the hunter yelled out and lurched from the boat, as he leaned back in he held a small caiman in his hands. They passed the animal around, promising us it wouldn’t bite off our fingers as long as we kept them away from its mouth. We did this successfully and soon released him back into the wild. All of us glad to know that this was another animal we could now worry about sharing our rooms with.

Monkeys were the final animal we were promised on the tour. The next morning we rose much too early and headed out as the sun rose. For the next few hours, we trolled along the jungle, looking for sloths, river wolves and monkeys. Our guide warned us that this would be difficult, that due to the flooding most of the animals were now residing deeper in the jungle since the river had spread out so far, we held out hope though. We just wanted to see something. 

Just as I began to drop off to sleep Rueben called for our attention. He pointed at a shaking tree, we all stared and stared, and were eventually rewarded by seeing the cutest, tiniest monkeys ever, leaping from branch and branch chasing each other. We watched until they disappeared further back into the jungle, then returned to lodge, content in knowing that our Amazon animal sighting had been successful.