Journeys Within’s New Experiences Director Philippa Nigg recounts her experiences on a bucket-list Amazon River cruise in May…
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It’s not everyday one gets a telephone call asking if you would like to go on a river cruise on the Amazon; but this is how Dudley’s and my latest adventure started.
Andrea called me from a travel conference and said there was a silent auction for such a trip and would we like to go? The Amazon was on my bucket list but I had not even considered where or how to start planning, so when she came back and told us the trip was ours, I went into top gear checking out what we had in store.
And now, having just returned, I would like to share a little about the incredible adventure we had…
While most probably think of Brazilian rainforests when hearing about an Amazon River cruise, ours took place on the upper Amazon in Peru. Upon arrival in Lima, Peru we were met and taken to the lovely Swissotel for the night before meeting up with the rest of our tour group the next morning and heading out to catch our flight to Iquitos on the banks of the Amazon.
Once at the river, there were many surprises in store for us. For example, who knew the Amazon had manatees? At the Amazon Manatee Research center not only did we learn about them but we got to feed them too. And then we visited the Indigenous Cultures Museum to learn about the people who have lived in the Amazon forests for hundreds of years.
Once onboard our boat – the beautiful La Estrella Amazonica – we settled in to our very comfortable cabin with en-suite facilities and private balcony before meeting the staff and having a tour of the ship. Carrying up to 31 guests, the atmosphere on board is very relaxed and the focus is to learn about and interact with the environment. There were no TVs, but if you had time you could watch a movie in the lecture room. (We didn’t have time!) There were no mini fridges in the rooms but there was always tea, coffee and water in a cooler nearby. The Wi-Fi was via satellite and thus expensive, so guests chatted and interacted instead of staring at their phones.
Thinking there would be some downtime, I had filled my Kindle with books to read as I sat cruising downstream. But with everything to see and do, I just managed to finish one book… We were busy!
Each day the crew had plans for us: We would leave the Estrella in skiffs to explore tributaries, take a walk ashore, visit local villages and spot for wildlife. Each of the two skiffs had a wonderful naturalist onboard who kept us fascinated with tales and information about what we were seeing. As an indication of how enjoyable these trips were, my husband and I were the only passengers who opted out of any of the outings for non-medical reasons – Dudley because he does not enjoy village visits, and me (once) because as a vegetarian, fishing was not for me.
A couple of our fellow passengers did miss excursions for health reasons, one because the anti-malarial tablets were affecting him badly (we did not take anti-malaria tablets and saw next to no mosquitoes) and one because of an on-going medical issue. However, with bottled water always available and meticulous food preparation onboard, no one experienced any stomach issues.
While on the ship, the kitchen staff kept us well fed with regional fish and chicken dishes featuring locally-sourced fruit and vegetables, based on recipes from around the world – with options for vegetarians and even my gluten-free diet.
I cannot say enough good things about the crew. They appeared to be an amazingly happy team, all Peruvian, very professional and dedicated to making this a once-in-a-lifetime trip for everyone onboard, from the youngest guests – we had a family with young teenagers aboard – to the oldest. You do have to be able to navigate the stairs between decks, otherwise age is no limitation for this trip. The staff’s joy and vitality was expressed each evening in the fun hour when a crew band would entertain us with Peruvian and Amazonian folk songs, with an odd western tune thrown in for an enthusiastic audience now and then.
To end with one more piece of information we learned: The height of the Amazon River in this region drops up to 50 feet between its peak – when 80% of the surrounding land is flooded – and its lowest level during the dry season. So when you go on this type of cruise does make a difference. We went in May when the villages were no longer flooded but the river was still relatively high and we loved it!
If a trip like this sounds right for you, reach out to Journeys Within and we can help you make it happen. You will come back with marvelous photos and memories and one more trip checked off that bucket list!
I will never forget the monkey, silhouetted against the skyline, breaking open a large nut by bashing it against the branches high up in a magnificent Amazonian jungle tree.
Please call me if you have any questions, I am more than happy to share our experiences in more detail.
Philippa
Journeys Within Tour Company