When you board the M/VAqua. The first luxury expedition vessel  ever to sail the Amazon and its tributaries, you will be embarking on a journey that will be taken by only  a select few. It is an unforgettable combination of 5 stars accommodation and pristine rainforest views.

Departures 2012:  Saturdays (Low water season)

Itinerary

Day 1: .... / IQUITOS / AMAZON RIVER (D)

• 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.
• Transfer to Iquitos’ main wharf there the luxurious M/V Aqua, your home for the next three nights, awaits you.
• 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.
• 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.
• Welcome Dinner Sit down, relax, sample some south fine 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 – fruit, fish, and spices – make 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.

Day 2: AMAZON AND TAHUAYO RIVERS / CHARO LAKE / YACAPANA ISLANDS (B-L-D)

• 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 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.
• Breakfast our sumptuous daily breakfast buffet features a wide choice of traditional breakfast egg dishes, Peruvian specialties, and fresh-squeezed juices, made from tropical fruits you’ve never tasted before.
• Tahuayo River Exploration and Fishing Trip at Charo Lake This morning it’s back aboard 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 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.
• 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.
• Lunch Enjoy lighter mid-day fare in our air-conditioned dining room.
• 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 believed that these dolphins turn into humans to steal handsome men or pretty women from their villages during celebrations.
• 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.
• Dinner

Day 3: MARAÑON RIVER / PACAYA-SAMIRIA NATIONAL RESERVE (YANAYACU-PUCATE) (B-L-D)

• Breakfast
• Guided Jungle Walk in the primary forest, this morning your Naturalist Guide will tell you all about sustainable resource management projects in Amazonia, and will take you to 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 medicinal value of many jungle plants. We will also show you famous Kapok Trees (ceiba pentandra), the tallest trees in the Amazon Basin.
• Return to the M/V Aqua
• Lunch, followed by a nap
• 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—some of the 13 species of monkeys resident in the National Park. Perhaps you will catch a glimpse of tamarins and dusky titi monkeys, as well as 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.
• Arrive at the M/V Aqua. Enjoy a hot shower and a cool drink, before heading to the dining room. The M/V Aqua will start to sail downstream on the Marañon River, back toward the headwaters of the Amazon.
• Dinner

Day 4: YUCURUCHE LAKE / BIRTHPLACE OF THE AMAZON / PUERTO PRADO VILLAGE VISIT / IQUITOS (B-L-D)

• Ucayali River and Yucuruche Lake Rise early and be on your skiff early. This morning your skiffs we take you 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.” Bring your cameras. You will be one of a very small number of people who have ever seen these luxuriant plants bloom.
• Breakfast
• Birthplace of the Amazon/Puerto Prado Village This morning, the M/V Aqua skirts the edges of the vast Pacaya-Samiria National 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 two major tributaries—the Ucayali and the Marañon—unite to form the world’s greatest waterway. Here, you will experience nature 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 get to know the hospitable Cocama Indians. They will share their culture, traditions, and folklore with you and you will have the opportunity to purchase some of their delightful folk art and crafts.
• Return to the M/V Aqua
• Lunch Share a last lunch with your fellow passengers, before preparing for your onward journey.
• 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. 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.

Important:

• All itineraries are subject to change, due to weather and other conditions. All times indicated are approximate, and are also subject to change.
• High water season: December to May
• Low water season: June to November
• The difference between high and low water season will be some of the excursions.

Cancellation Policies:

• Cancellations made 131 days or more before departure will be subject to a penalty of US$ 300 per person.
• Cancellations made  130 to 101 days prior to departure will be subject to a penalty of US$ 550.00 per person.
• Cancellations made 100 days or less prior to departure, full payment will be applied as the cancellation penalty.

• All meals while on board
• All excursions
• All beverages (alcoholic and non alcoholic with exception of Premium brands)
• Transfer to/from vessel when arriving on recommended flights
• Pacaya Samiria entrance fee.

• Flight tickets to any destiny
• Airport taxes
• Tips to porters, guides or crew
• Additional expenses for any unforeseen circumstance (medical emergencies, etc)
• Bar or shop purchases
• Personal expenses or insurance