i have done it from Manaus Brazil. had to go several times on business there and the locals finally convince me to take a tour: great tour althought not a big fans of the country. this site tells all http://www.destination360.com/south-america/brazil/amazon.php
well like i said i didnt like it because i am not a fan of country tours exotic;river:jungle:mountains climbing walking etc. it was just an urge by the locals that make me go (sort of politically correct). cannot tell how good the guides were:: but the food was typical Brazilian and good ( i like their food) the people i went with were mostly locals not to many foreigners some germans i think japanese too. the ship cannot recall but medium size would be ok, if you look at the video under amazon jungle cruise you will see the boat type. again i have been invited to go again and see the Yanomoto indians (something like that) in the BRazilian amazons a local lady here is an avid fan and she brings trinkets to the tribe;but not my cup of tea:Sorry no more info.
I took the trip in 1994 which I booked through a company called International Journeys. There are two boats running-- one is the Rio Amazonas mentioned on the link and the other was a sister ship that was very similiar.I cannot recall which boat i was on, but often they would cruise the river together. Your itinerary looks very similiar to the trip I took, which began in Iquitos as well where the Rio Amazonas is based.It also stopped in Leticia. The boats are owned by an american expatriate who has lived in Peru a really long time. The boat I was on was built at the turn of the century to haul rubber in and out of the tributaries. At some point, the boat was modified and a deck was put on and cabins built to accomodate passengers.We joked that it looked like a giant "African Queen". The cabins are tiny (as you would expect) with just enough room for two single beds, which are bunks attached to the bulkhead. Each cabin has a very tiny shower that barely accomaodates one body and is fed with river water (you can tell because it is brown and they stress not to drink it). There are tables and chairs on deck for lounging. The boat is always moving when not docked for an excurion on shore, and the breeze generated is welcome, as it is oppresively hot.We stopped in a few villages and observed lief there, including the huts in which opeolle lived, and their "school", etc. I found it very interesting. As a chef I was interested in local food and the kitchenns and how meals were prepared and preserved. Mostly we ate river fish which the cooks acquired at the market in iquitos and later I noticed the cooks going ashore and returning with fish and also some chickens which they purchased from villagers.We ate Yucca as a side dish almost daily. We also fished piranha which the cooks prepared for us and which we found quite tasty. We had a guide with us (I believe his name was "Bedar" who was excellent. he grew up on one of the tributaries and was a wealth of knowledge about plant life and life in the rainforest. Occasionally we would stop for hikes and he would take us through the forest, describing each plant and pointing out birds and other wildlife. We also stopped in his village which was very interesting.A few times we went out in small boats down tiny fingers of the river and one time we went cayman hunting (Bedar would catch them and we would throw them back)There was also a younger local guide on the boat who was OK, but not nearly as enthusastic or knowlegeable as Bedar, and everyone sought out Bedar for excyurions. I don't think the other boat's guide was all that good from what i heard. the trip is lacking in creature comforts, as one would expect on the river, so if you are into luxury, it's not for you. I al;ways travel in a spartan manner and I didn't mind. We were well taken care of considering where we were. I really enjoyed the trip. I believe our boat took 25 people or so. The mix of people was inetesting. I was a young 37 year old at the time, and I was traveling with a friend who was in his 70's. There were young and old alike and everyone enjoyed themselves from what i could see.I hope this helps. let me know if you have more questions.
Posts: 109 | Location: Redding, California, USA | Registered: 15 July 2003
Robert, thanks for the very detailed acount of the trip. We'll probably skip this one because... my wife is a natural moscito magnet and afraid of being eaten alive on the river she dislikes fish and bunk beds.
Reading your impression was very educational and sealed the fate of this one for us.
Posts: 281 | Location: South Florida | Registered: 07 November 2006
Hi Robert, I also enjoyed the account of your Amazon Adventure back in 1994. Good story. In the 13 years since then many new boats have been built to accommodate softer adventurers like Serge's wife. [commercial content deleted]
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Colleen,
