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 a scenic one-and-a-half hour drive through the Peruvian countryside to the small village of Nauta, where the M/V Aqua lies at anchor, awaiting your arrival. 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.

This morning we will go in search of the bizarre-looking birds called “hoatzins,” which live in huge colonies in a very strange Jurassic Park-like lake. As we hike, your guides will teach you orientation techniques used in the deep jungle. In the afternoon we will cruise the majestic Ucayali River, giving you a chance to see and meet native balseros, or fishermen, who will demonstrate their skill and let you see their catch—including a type of “armored” catfish with a shell-like skin—which they are taking to the market in the small village of Requena. We will also find a “banana balsero” raft, loaded with hundreds of clusters of bananas, drifting down the river to market.

Morning Jungle Walk Near Hatum Posa Village. On this walk, your guides will introduce you to native people doing subsistence farming, and will tell you how they learned to cultivate wild plants and trees to earn farm income. Deep in the primary forest, your guides will also show you the wealth of fruit trees and medicinal plants hidden in the jungle. In the late afternoon, we will take our skiffs along the Pacaya River, journeying from Ranger Station No. 1 toward Yanayacu Lake, where you can view the abundant life that is hidden in the deep rainforest. You may see saki monkeys, capuchin monkeys, and the easy-to-spot heavy howler monkeys. As the sun sets, you will hear the loud, ferocious sounding warning signals made by howler monkeys marking their territories. When night falls, you will hear the second movement of the Amazon rainforest symphony, as other nocturnal animals send their shrill calls across the tree tops. We will use our special spotlight torches to locate night creatures, including, perhaps, huge caimans.

In the bright morning light, your guides will show you parrots, macaws, toucans, and many different types of monkeys. We will also go to the dolphin feeding spots along Yanayacu Lake, where you will be delightfully surrounded by these creatures while enjoying a light breakfast and fresh juice. Armed with poles and bait, we will take you to a special place on this fish-rich river, where you will catch some of the more than 3,000 species of tropical fish that live in the Amazon Basin. The key target will be piranhas, the small carnivorous fish with a fearsome reputation—considered a good food source by the locals. Just minutes after being in the wilderness, surrounded by monkeys and birds, and the other wildlife of the rainforest, you will find yourself sitting down to a final gourmet feast in the ship’s dining room.

Brief skiff trip along the majestic Amazon will give you a last chance to photograph the wildlife of the jungle. Your afternoon in the remote city of Iquitos, accessible only by river or air, will not disappoint. This bustling town, complete with a house built by Gustave Eiffel, was once a rich center of the rubber industry. After that, we will visit the Manatee Rescue Center where biologists and volunteers take care of endangered Amazon manatees and dolphins who have been seized by conservation authorities from locals or fishermen. Biologists will give you a presentation on the project and it efforts to help these
helpless mammals and you will have the opportunity to observe how these animals are taken care of and prepared for future re-introduction into their natural habitat. Finally, we will stop at the San Juan Amazonian Indian Market, for a last chance to shop for local crafts. Arrive at Iquitos International Airport, where your guides will help you check-in and will wait with you until you flight departs for Lima.

Itineraries 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.

We recommend that all guests fly into Iquitos on the LAN PERU flight that arrives Saturdays and Tuesdays at approximately 5:00 p.m.
We recommend that all guests depart from Iquitos on the LAN PERU flight that leaves Saturdays and Tuesdays at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Aqua Expeditions is not responsible for any activities or services for passengers arriving prior to the scheduled arrivals and departures.

Transfers are only included if arriving or departing on the above recommended flights.
All picks-ups and drop-offs will be to and from Iquitos' Francisco Secada airport.

Breakfast is served buffet style
Lunch is served buffet style
Dinner is served seated
Children's and vegetarian meals can be requested. Please request when making your booking.
Fresh fruit juices, soft drinks, water and wine with meals are included.