Departures 2012
Delfin I:  Thursdays
Delfin II: Wednesdays

Itinerary:

Day 1: ..... / IQUITOS / NAUTA (D)

• Arrive at Iquitos
• After arriving at Iquitos International Airport, you will be assisted by our guides and transported by bus for about 1 ½ hours, heading northwest toward Nauta (the oldest city in the department of Loreto). Nauta lies between Iquitos and the Marañon River, where the DELFIN is waiting for you.
• Arrive Nauta and board the DELFIN
• Upon arriving at the port of Nauta, you will board the DELFIN, assisted by our experienced crew. They will help you settle into your wood-paneled, comfortable twin-bedded cabin provided with orthopedic mattresses and natural cotton sheets and towels, silent A/C units and private bathrooms with fine wooden furnishings, hot showers and a variety of environmentally friendly amenities for your ultimate indulgence.
• It will become clear that you are traveling where few have gone before. In fact, you are part of a select group of seasoned world travelers who visit remote Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, five million acres of protected, flooded forest, roughly the size of a small Central American country. A world of flora and fauna awaits you.
• Dinner
• Dinner is served in our cozy dining room located at the back of the ship’s second deck.
• Because of its cultural diversity, Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the world’s finest, making the country an attractive culinary destination. Aside from providing you with your first rainforest adventure, the Delfin is also a unique culinary experience, offering the best of Amazonian-Peruvian cuisine in a cosmopolitan gourmet setting. Our chef prides himself in serving dishes in different styles and seasoned with a wide variety of herbs and spices, as well as exotic fruits,
• Briefing and time to relax
• On the top observation deck, our guides will use charts and short videos displayed on our flat LCD screen to conduct a brief orientation, outlining details of your journey, including the places you will visit, the wildlife you will see, as well as a summary of the history and geography of the Amazon basin.
• Finally, under the beauty of an Amazonian night filled with hundreds of stars or perhaps a full moon, and wafted by the gentle breeze of the rainforest, our multitalented staff will briefly entertain you with a little live music.

Day 2: BELLUDA CAÑO / DORADO RIVER (B-L-D)

• Breakfast – Buffet
  Dawn and dusk are ideal times for nature observation, and an early rise is therefore highly recommended. On your first morning, coffee will wake us up, and pancakes will be a delicious choice for this new morning of adventure and new surprises.
• Rainy Season (Dec – May) - Belluda Stream exploration.
  Aboard the skiffs, we will explore this black water stream and start learning about the rainforest. You are now in Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, where you will have the chance to see its amazing wildlife. From the skiff you can easily spot parrots, macaws and monkeys, such as the monk Saki monkey with its gray and black body, naked face and long shaggy tail. You might also see the saddle back tamarin monkey, whose high chirping notes can easily be confused with those of a flock of birds.
• It’s also a good spot to see the beautiful morpho butterfly that flaps lazily along open corridors through forest or along river edges of lowland forest on sunny days. Different species of hawks will also be found and if we are lucky we’ll see the noisy “laughing falcon,” named after its loud falsetto call while sitting solitary in secondary forest and plantations.
• Dry Season (Jun – Nov) Hiking at Belluda Cano
  During the dry season, you can visit and explore two different kinds of ecosystems: flooded forest and terra firme forest. After disembarking at this native village we’ll start our morning hike. This walk affords excellent opportunities for spotting transitional species such as the snail kite, black tailed ant bird, manikins, tanagers, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, nun birds, orioles, blackbirds, etc.
• You’ll also see tall trees filled with epiphytes, woody vines and many varieties of palm trees. After an hour we’ll reach a lovely lagoon where two dugout canoes await us in the midst of one of the most remote, least visited areas in the world. This lagoon is filled with endangered and unique fresh water fish, such as the paiche, the largest in the Amazon basin, which can weigh more than 80kg. (170 lb). The paiche is considered a delicacy and you can often hear them when they rise to the surface. We hope to spot the peculiar crested hoatzin bird with its olive-colored plumage. Hoatzins live in small family groups along forested swamps and oxbow lakes.
• We will then hike back to the skiffs, where icy towels will refresh us, while we will continue to explore the surrounding wild life. We will have a good chance of finding the smallest monkey in the world, the pygmy marmoset, seen only at its sap-sucking sites low on tree trunks.
• Back to the boat we will continue upstream towards our next destination.
• Lunch
  After emerging from the depths of the forest, you’ll be treated to a world-class gourmet meal.
• Our young and innovative chef will surprise your sophisticated palates, while introducing you to the pleasures of Peru´s haute cuisine. Our gourmet menu has been designed especially to please you. The menu features glorious fresh fish and other local delicacies, all prepared with an Amazonian flair and our personal touch.
• El Dorado River exploration
  We will head for this spectacular spot within the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve In the skiffs, where you will also experience an unforgettable encounter with gray and pink river dolphins. Enjoy a unique opportunity to swim among the dolphins.
• On the river you will experience abundant wildlife and nature in all its exuberance while we search for the Amazon River’s transitional forest specialties such as snail kites, festive parrots, endangered scarlet macaws, olive spotted hummingbirds, Amazonian parrotlets, and wood creepers, among others.
• Prehistoric looking iguanas laze in the sun while we travel along the shoreline searching for whatever the jungle has to offer us. Squirrel Monkeys are very active at this time of the day, when they move in large noisy troops at mid- to upper-levels of primary and secondary lowland forest.
• Back to the boat we will continue sailing towards our next destination
• Dinner
  The service continues. Desserts are also a wonderful treat on our menu.
• Relaxation on board
• Our staff and guides will be there to answer any question about what we have already seen and visited. While feeling the warm breeze of the Amazon night, our third deck is the right choice before you fall asleep to the musical sounds of the jungle. Don't forget to look up at the sky, where the feast continues, with millions of sparkling stars set against the deep black night or perhaps a full moon that lights up the entire river.

Day 3: ATUN POZA LAKE / RIO PACAYA (B-L-D)

• Breakfast – Buffet
  As usual, our dining room and kitchen staff are waiting for you; fresh ground coffee grown in the highlands of the Amazon and local fruits await you as you continue your jungle experience.
• Atun Poza expedition
• Rainy Season (Dec – May) Atun Poza by skiff: This morning we will cruise in our skiffs along a lake called Atun Poza, where we will surprise several species of egrets, herons, hawks, long-legged neotropical cormorants fishing for their dinner, and unusual and loud horned screamers. We will also have a chance to explore other black water lagoons linked to this huge lake, were wattled jacanas compete with a wide variety of spiders, grasshoppers, dragonflies, butterflies, moths, beetles, etc. living along the grassy edges and lily pads of freshwater swamps and marshes. We will have an excellent opportunity of seeing social spiders and how their webs embrace huge parts of a tree.
• Dry Season (Jun – Nov) hiking at Atun Poza: Today we will hike through this pristine and unique ecosystem, passing through a classic tropical rainforest with emergent trees and canopy trees reaching up to 55 mt in height. Many trees have buttress roots which often extend high up the trunks while palms are abundant and many of them have stilt roots. Biologically, this kind of forest is probably one of the richest habitats on earth, supporting the most species of plants and animals per unit area. Our target is the giant ceiba or kapok tree with its large diameter. If we’re lucky, we’ll also see giant otters with their large bodies, dark fur with spotted throat and noisy calls. They nest in a small stream inside this forest and we must be very quiet, because if they hear us they will swim away. This forest is also very good for spotting birds such as the bluish-fronted jacamar seen in pairs in middle and lower parts of forest edges, or collared trogons, red capped cardinals, etc.
• Back to the vessel we will continue up the Puinahua River towards the Pacaya River, our destination at the very heart of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, for further exploration of the largest wetland reserve in the world.
• Lunch
  More delicious combinations are in store for you today. Our chef has selected the best ingredients, preparing a unique meal, so just relax and enjoy and let yourself be pampered by our staff.
• Pacaya River expedition
  We have reached our main goal, the Pacaya River, at the very heart of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, Peru’s largest protected area with a mean annual rainfall of nearly 3,000mm, by far the largest protected wetland reserve in the world. Filled with lakes, palm swamps and streams, the reserve becomes a flooded forest in the rainy season and is one of the most beautiful places you’ll ever visit.
• Aboard our comfortable skiffs, we will explore magnificent views and wildlife opportunities, experiencing spectacular rainforest wilderness, while searching for different species of monkeys, such as small family groups of red howler monkeys, the largest in the Amazon basin, with its bright rust-colored fur and long prehensile tail.
• At sunset, you’ll be will be astonished by the beautiful colors of the sky and the reflection of the jungle in the black water of the Pacaya River, which is why it has been called the forest of reflections: it’s hard to know where the jungle begins and the water ends. Once it is dark, you’ll hear the second installment of the jungle symphony. Armed with powerful spot lights, we’ll start our night safari in search of night herons, pauraques, spectacled owls, up to a dozen species of croaking from the river’s edge, and fish bats flying over the water scooping up fish.
• Spectacled and black caimans are found in these pristine waters, and our guides will point them out to you. Stargazing at this time is unique while fireflies light up the jungle around us.
• Back to the boat
• Dinner
• After our night safari, we will calm your appetite with wonderful dishes, so let the heart of the jungle captivate yours. Our first class service continues while you enjoy the wonders of your surroundings

Day 4: CARO CURAHUAYTE LAGOON / JUNGLE HICK (B-L-D)

• Wake up call
  This morning we will start very early and breakfast will be ready for you, in order to see as much wildlife as possible, in one of the earth´s greatest wilderness.
• Fishing at Caro Curahuayte Lake or Exploring the Shores of emergent Islands
• Rainy Season – Fishing at Caro Curahuayte
  On board our excursion skiffs, we will head for a beautiful lake to a spectacular spot, where we expect to catch some fish, mainly piranhas. During the rainy season, the forest is flooded and many trees flower and bear fruit in conjunction with the flooding. Many fish, including piranhas, swim among the flooded tree trunks devouring the fruit or chewing at their skins. Obviously, the piranhas’ reputation as super-carnivores is an exaggeration! There are 25 different species of piranha in the Amazon basin, including black, white and red bellied.
• Dry Season – In search of shore-birds
  On board the skiffs we will search for shore-birds. When the river is very low, broad white sandy beaches emerge and river islands form, creating a special ecosystem that harbors sandpipers, terns that hover and dive to catch fish, black skimmers with their peculiar low flight over the water´s surface, egrets, jabirus, wood storks, and kingfishers.
• Back to the Boat we will start navigating back down the Puinahua River towards Iquitos.
• Lunch
  By now, you’ll know the routine; our kitchen staff welcomes you again, surprising you with a very sophisticated meal and a well balanced menu. There’s also time for dessert. Coffee will be served at the bar on the Observation deck.
• Visit the Yanallpa Community
  This afternoon you will have the opportunity to visit this riverside community, this will be your first interaction with local villagers and to meet their unique way of life. This is time to bring along any presents you have and will like to give out to the people and children’s, (papers, books, pencils, colors, T-shirts) they will really appreciate them and will be very pleased. You will learn about all fruit trees and how they harvest them.
• Back to the vessel we will continue down the Puinahua River towards the Ucayali River.
• Briefing and Slide Show
  At this time our guides will review all that we have seen and learned, with the help of videos and a slide show on our flat-screen TV. This will give you the chance to see up close the birds, monkeys, reptiles, etc. This is the time to clear up any doubts. We will sail all night long as the Delfin continues its smooth journey downstream. Our barman is ready to offer you a wide choice of drinks. Coffee and tea are always available.
• Farewell Dinner
  Leaving behind the wildlife, you will continue enjoying our service, as a world class traveler deserves. Tonight our chef and kitchen staff will treat you to a grilled dinner, including fresh salads, grilled vegetables, magical sauces, and wonderful combinations of different types of meat. Our talented staff will delight you with some live music before you retire.

Day 5: AMAZON RIVER / YARAPA RIVER / PUERTO MIGUEL COMMUNITY / IQUITOS / LIMA (B-L)

• Breakfast – Buffet
  This will be your last breakfast with us, so dare to try all the things you resisted: natural, fresh fruit juices, fresh fruit, cereals, fresh ground coffee.
• Yarapa River Exploration and Puerto Miguel Village Visit
  On board our skiffs we will stop at the village of Puerto Miguel to meet local villagers. You will have the chance to learn about their culture, traditions and folklore. You may also visit one of the villager’s homes, to see how they live and the simplicity of their lifestyle and purchase some of the handcrafts they make.
• Back to the vessel we will continue sailing down the Amazon River. This is also the time to gather all of your things pack and pack your bags.
• Lunch
  AS usual, you’ll enjoy the diversity of our culinary choices. Our kitchen staff will be there for any special requests.
• disembark at Nauta
  We will disembark at our port in Nauta, where a bus will be waiting to take you back to Iquitos.
• Arrive at Iquitos Airport
  Our personnel will help you check in, and say goodbye.
• Flight departs for Lima

IMPORTANT:

• The weather in Iquitos is warm and humid with average annual maximum temperature of 33°C (95°F) and minimum of 21°C (70°C)
• The dry season is from May to November
• The wet season is from December to April
• The seasons feature differences in the plant and animal life as well as in the climate.
• All activities are subject to change due to weather conditions and time of year. River and tributary levels may vary and thus navigation times and excursions may need to be modified at the captain´s discretion.
• Bring comfortable soft-soled shoes, light-weight trousers and long-sleeved tops, hat, sun glasses, lightweight rain gear, sunscreen, mosquito repellant, BINOCULARS, camera and spare batteries

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.