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Day1
- Saturday: Iquitos / Amazon River
3:30 p.m. Flight from Lima LP 2382
In just an hour and 45 minutes you will be deep in the heart
of the Peruvian Amazon region.
5:15 p.m. Arrival
Your guides await you, as your flight from Lima glides in for landing
at Iquitos International Airport. After you’ve claimed your
luggage, you will board an air-conditioned bus for your journey
to the river.
5:40 p.m. Transfer to Iquitos’ Main Wharf .
There the luxurious M/V Aqua, your home for the next three nights,
awaits you.
6:00 p.m. Embarkation and Check-in
From the moment you step on board, you will enjoy the M/V Aqua’s
atmosphere of low-key luxury. As you settle into your handsomely
appointed, over-sized suite, you will feel the vessel begin to move;
the beginning of one of the great adventures of your life. Stand
on the Upper Deck to take in the view, as the M/V Aqua leaves Iquitos
behind.
Over the next three days, you will also sail along the largest tributaries
of the Amazon, as well as on the mighty Amazon itself. You are embarking
on a spectacular adventure, to a place visited by only a few of
even the most experienced world travelers.
7:30 p.m. Safety Drill and Briefing on the Top Deck
Before dinner we will perform a routine safety drill. Then it’s
into the air-conditioned lounge, where you will learn about life
onboard, and will have the first of the nightly briefings about
your adventure to follow. You will meet the naturalist guides and
the cruise director, who will use video, photos, and maps to explain
the details of your adventure to follow.
8:00 p.m. Welcome Dinner
Sit down, relax, sample some fine South American wine, and enjoy
the truly world-class cuisine, created by Executive Chef Pedro Miguel
Schiaffino, whose restaurant, Malabar, is one of the best in all
of Lima. Schiaffino’s recipes, with their imaginative use of
local products – fruits, fish, spices – makes every meal
a delightful adventure. (The menu always offers choices, including
a vegetarian option.) Toast the beginning of a beautiful journey.
Perhaps enjoy a nightcap on the Upper Deck, under the stars, before
retiring. |
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Day
2 - Sunday: Amazon / Tahuayo River / Charo Lake / Yacapana Island
6:30 a.m. See the Sun Rise Over the River
Be up early to catch your first glimpse of the majestic Amazon River,
as you watch the sun come up over this green world filled with wonderful
wildlife. This initial contact with Amazonia is only a brief sampling
of what the rest of your journey will hold.
8:00 a.m. Breakfast
Our sumptuous daily breakfast buffet features a wide choice of traditional
egg dishes, Peruvian specialties, and fresh-squeezed juices, made
from tropical fruits you’ve never tasted before.
9:15 a.m. Tahuayo River Exploration and Fishing Trip at Charo
Lake
This morning you will board our comfortable excursion skiffs for
your first adventure, traveling from the Amazon through the Huaysi
short-cut canal to explore the Tahuayo blackwater river. Life jackets,
ponchos, rubber boots, and plenty of cold potable water will always
be available for you on board the skiffs. As we float down the Tahuayo,
occasional fishermen paddling in their dug-out canoes will give
us a cheerful greeting. Keep your binoculars ready to spot a vast
variety of wildlife: terns, orioles, blackbirds, black collared
hawks, monkeys, and sloth share this wonderful environment with
us. Upon arrival at Charo Lake, you can bait your hooks to try to
catch one of Amazonia’s fearsome piranhas (and other fish as
well). As you fish, trained guides will also tell you the story
of the lake and its inhabitants.
11:30 a.m. Return to the M/V Aqua.
Icy cold towels await you, as you transfer from your skiffs into
the M/V Aqua. As the vessel continues up the Amazon River, you have
some time to relax, or perhaps even take a nap, before lunch.
12:30 p.m. Lunch
Enjoy lighter mid-day fare in our air-conditioned dining room.
4:00 p.m. Yacapana Islands Exploration, Dolphin Sighting, and
Night Excursion
Locals call the Yacapana Islands the “Iguana Islands,”
because of the huge population of these reptiles—like tiny
dinosaurs—crawling over the ground and resting in the tree
tops. We will pass by in the skiff, giving you a chance to snap
good photos. As the sun sets, you will have the once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to see and photograph both gray and pink freshwater
dolphins. The people of the Amazon believe that these dolphins turn
into humans to steal handsome men or pretty women from their villages
during celebrations.
Once the sun sets and the jungle is dark, we begin our search for
caiman, frogs, and different kinds of nightlife.
7:30 p.m. To the Headwaters
We will return to the M/V Aqua vessel and continue our journey upstream,
toward the headwaters of the Amazon River, where the Ucayali, Marañon,
and the Amazon Rivers merge.
Perhaps sip a pre-dinner camu-camu sour on the Upper Deck, while
you watch the sun set.
8:00 p.m. Dinner |
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Day
3 - Monday: Marañon River / Pacaya Samiria National Reserve
(Nauta Caño and Yanayacu-Yarina and Yanayacu-Pucate)
6:30 a.m. Breakfast.
Today you can choose between two options:
Option 1: Full day excursion with a Picnic Lunch at Ranger
Station No. 2
7:30 a.m. Travel by skiff from Yanayacu Creek all the way
to remote Yarina.
There you will arrive at Park Ranger Station No. 2. On this excursion,
you may see howler and capuchin monkeys, the squirrel-sized monkeys
called tamarins, pink and gray river dolphins, and a vast variety
of birds. We will also take you deep into the jungle, where you
will encounter wildlife and learn first-hand about the important
medical value of jungle plants. And we will show you famous kapok
trees (ceiba pentandra), the tallest trees in the Amazon Basin.
Enjoy a generous picnic lunch at the Park Ranger Station No. 2,
before we begin our journey back to our vessel.
5:30 p.m. Arrive at the M/V Aqua..
Option 2: Guided Jungle Walk/Siesta/Monkey and Dolphin
Expedition
8:30 a.m. Guided Jungle Walk at Ranger Station No. 1
This morning your Park Ranger will tell you all about sustainable
resource management projects in Amazonia. You will visit one of
the projects, where villagers are planting palms to obtain oil.
11:00 a.m. Return to the M/V Aqua
12:30 p.m. Lunch, followed by a Siesta
4:00 p.m. Monkey and Dolphin Expedition
On this late afternoon expedition, you are likely to have another
chance to see the two different kinds of freshwater dolphins—both
gray and pink—found in the Amazon. Later, keep your eyes directed
toward the jungle canopy, where you can spot at least several kinds
of primates—among the 13 species of monkeys resident in the
National Park. Perhaps you will catch a glimpse of tamarins and
howlers, dusky titi monkeys and pigmy marmoset monkeys. Watch for
alligators, and keep your binoculars at the ready, as you are likely
to see more than 200 species of birds.
6:00 p.m. Return to the M/V Aqua
7:00 p.m. Briefing - Time to share adventures and learn about
what tomorrow will bring.
8:00 p.m. Dinner |
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Day
4 - Tuesday: Birthplace of The Amazon / Puerto Miguel Village /
Nauta Caño / Iquitos
7:30 a.m. Breakfast
8:00 a.m. Birthplace of the Amazon
This morning, the M/V Aqua skirts the edges of the vast Pacaya-Samiria
Reserve, a flooded forest covering five million acres at the headwaters
of the Amazon basin. Rise early and be on your skiffs at 8:00 a.m.
to view one of the great spectacles of the Southern Hemisphere:
the sun rising over the birthplace of the Amazon River. Here—where
the union of two major tributaries, the Ucayali and the Marañon,
form the world’s greatest waterway—nature is at its most
dramatic. Your dawn excursion will be accompanied by abundant bird
song, as you glide in small boats past river banks populated by
large-billed terns, laughing falcons, gray tanagers, sandpipers,
five kinds of parakeets, the exotic short-tailed parrot, and dozens
of other birds.
8:30 a.m. Puerto Miguel Village
We will travel by skiff to Puerto Miguel native village, where the
local people will extend you a very warm welcome. With your guide
acting as interpreter, you can talk with them about their way of
life along the river. And of course, no one has to interpret the
kids’ bright smiles. It is also a wonderful opportunity to
buy small handicrafts. On the way back to the Aqua we will navigate
on a small connector canal between the Ucayali and Marañon
Rivers, where you will have a chance to see the world’s largest
aquatic plant, the giant water lilies or “Victoria Regias.”
Have your cameras at the ready.
11:40 p.m. Lunch
Share a last lunch with your fellow passengers, before preparing
for your onward journey.
1:15 p.m. Disembarkation/Manatee Rescue Center/Transfer to the
Airport
Before we head for the airport, we will take you to visit the Manatee
Rescue Center, where biologists and volunteers care for endangered
Amazon manatees that conservation authorities have seized from local
people, including fishermen. Biologists will give a presentation
about the project and its efforts to help these helpless mammals.
You will also see how the manatees are cared for and are prepared
for re-introduction into their natural habitat.
4:30 p.m. Check-in at Iquitos International Airport
Your guides will help you with check-in, and will stay with you
until you have boarded your flight back to Lima.
5:50 p.m. Your Flight Departs for Lima LP 2383 |
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2012
Departures: Every Saturday: Jan 7,14,21,28; Feb 4,11,18,25; Mar 3,10,17,24,31; Apr 7,14,21,28;
May 5,12,19,26; Jun 2,9,16,23,30; Jul 7,14,21,28; Aug 4,11,18; Sep 8,15,22,29; Oct 6,13,20,27; Nov 3,10,17,24;
Dec 1,8,15,22,29 |
