|
The
new M/V Aqua, will be the first true luxury vessel ever to cruise the
northern Amazon. Its 12 oversized guest suites, including four 180°
panoramic master suites, feature en suite sitting areas and generous
outward-facing panoramic windows. Each of the handsomely decorated,
air-conditioned suites measures between 230 to 240 square feet and is
designed by noted Peruvian architect Jordi Puig. Four suites can be
interconnected to cater to families.
You can socialize in the dining room, indoor lounge, on the observation
deck, and in the outdoor lounge.
The ship also has a small boutique.
|
|
|
Day1
- Saturday: Iquitos / Amazon River
4:05 p.m. Flight from Lima LP 394
5:50 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.
6:00 p.m. Transfer to Iquitos' main wharf. There the M/V
Aqua awaits you.
6:20 p.m. Embarkation and check-in
As you settle into your over-sized suite, your vessel will start
on its journey toward the Yanayacu River, deep in the heart of Amazonia.
Over the next three days, you will also sail along the two largest
tributaries of the Amazon, the Ucayali and the Marañon, 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. Following
that, your Cruise Director and Guides will give a brief orientation
talk about life on board, where you will go and what you will see
on your Amazon journey.
8:00 p.m. Welcome Dinner
Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the world's best. Here it
is presented with a touch of European flair, and a vegetarian dish
is always available. Raise a glass of fine South American wine to
toast the beginning of a beautiful journey, then look out the window
and watch the river go by as you experience your first wonderful
meal aboard the M/V Aqua.
Perhaps enjoy a nightcap on the Upper Deck, under the stars, before
retiring. |
| |
Day
2 - Sunday: Amazon / Tahuayo Rivers and Charo Lake
6:30 a.m. Early Morning Skiff Expedition on the Amazon
River
Be up early to catch your first glimpse of the majestic Amazon
River, as you watch the sun rise 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
breakfast egg dishes, plus Peruvian specialties, and fresh-squeezed
fruit juices.
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 black water 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 and Dolphin Sighting
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.
6:30 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 pisco sour on the Upper Deck, while you
watch the sun set.
8:00 p.m. Dinner |
| |
Day
3 - Monday: Marañon River / Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve
(Yanayacu-Pucate)
6:30 a.m. Breakfast
7:30 a.m. Guided Jungle Walk in the Primary Forest
This morning your Naturalist Guide will tell you all about sustainable
resource management projects in Amazonia. You will visit one of
these projects, where villagers are planting palms to obtain oil.
Your Guide may also show you the artificial nests created on the
sand to protect turtle eggs. Then we will 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.
12:00 p.m. Return to the M/V Aqua
12:30 p.m. Lunch, followed by a Siesta
3:30 p.m. Monkey / Dolphin and Caiman Expedition
In this late afternoon skiff excursion, you are likely to see howler
and capuchin monkeys, the squirrel-sized monkeys called tamarins,
and a vast variety of birds. You are also apt to see the two different
kinds of freshwater dolphins-including the unusual pink ones-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 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. As the sun sets and our searchlight comes on, keep your eyes
out for caimans, tree boas, tarantulas, and frogs. After this night
adventure, the M/V Aqua will start sailing downstream on the Marañon
River, back toward the headwaters of the Amazon.
7:30 p.m. Arrive at the M/V Aqua
8:30 p.m. Dinner |
| |
Day
4 - Tuesday: Yucuruche Lake / Birhtplace of the Amazon / Puerto
Prado Village visit / Iquitos
6:30 a.m. Ucayali River and Yucuruche Lake
Rise early and be on your skiff at 6:30 AM. This morning we will
travel by skiff along the Ucayali River to Yucuruche Lake, where
we will walk a little way into the jungle to see the world's largest
aquatic plant, the giant water lilies or "Victoria Regias".
You will be one of a very small number of people who have ever seen
these plants bloom.
8:30 a.m. Breakfast
9:15 a.m. Birthplace of the Amazon/Puerto Prado Village
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. We board the skiffs to view one of the great
spectacles of the Southern Hemisphere: 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 morning 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.
We will then travel by skiff to Puerto Prado native village, where
you will meet and interact with the hospitable native Cocama Indians.
They will share their culture, traditions, and folklore with you,
and you will have the opportunity to purchase some of their handicrafts
and delightful folk art.
11:00 a.m. Return to the M/V Aqua
11:40 a.m. Lunch
Share a final onboard lunch with the friends you have made on your
Amazon journey.
1:15 p.m. Disembarkation/Manatee Rescue Center/Transfer to the
Airport
We will visit the Manatee Rescue Center, where biologists and volunteers
care for endangered Amazon manatees that conservation authorities
have seized from local people and 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.
5:00 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.
6:20 p.m. Your Flight Departs for Lima LP 371. |
|
2010
Departures: Jan 2,9,16,23,30; Feb 6,13,20,27; Mar 6,13,20,27;
Apr 3,10,17,24; May 1,8,15,22,29;
Jun 5,12,19,26; Jul 3,10,17,24,31; Aug 7,14,21,28; Set 4, 11, 18, 25;
Oct 2,9,16,23,30; Nov 6,13,20,27;
Dec 4,11,18,25 |
