Day 1: Iquitos - Amazon River
Upon arrival at the airport, our staff will be on hand to assist you and to give you a warm welcome to the city of Iquitos. We will be transferred by bus to the port of embarkation Embarcadero Turistico, where our skiff will take you to which will be your home for the next five days: Crucero Amazonas.
Once all guests are on board, we will go up to the third deck for the Captain’s welcome and crew introduction, while enjoying our bartenders' refreshing cocktails. Before comfortably settling into your rooms, our guide will explain the safety procedures and give you a brief orientation tour of the facilities.
It is time to start a culinary experience to remember. Our Chef will be ready to pamper your palate with an exciting menu, using what the Amazon pantry decides to offer in season. In the afternoon, we will set off on your first skiff excursion to meet the guardians of the Amazon rainforest, visiting the Kukama Native Community. Not only will we learn about their most ancestral traditions, but we will also enjoy live music and dancing.
We will return on board for a well-deserved rest, since our bartender will have a special evening planned. If you want to surprise your family or friends, you cannot miss our bartending lessons. We will share pleasant moments while learning the history and distillation techniques of the country’s signature drink, Pisco. We will also taste a number of varieties of our traditional Pisco Sour cocktail, all prepared with local exotic fruits. We will finish the day off with a delicious dinner.
Day 2: Amazon River - Monkey Island - Yagua Native Community
After a hearty buffet-style breakfast, our skiff will take you to the Monkey Island Rescue Center. This sanctuary receives a wide range of monkeys that are commonly hunted for meat or to be sold as pets. Even though these small animals were victims of abuse and wildlife trafficking, you can now see them happily jumping around the island. When you least expect it, a spider monkey or a Red faced Uakari will approach you and try to take your hand. Besides petting them and taking pictures, we learn how these primates are rescued, rehabilitated and released back into the forest.
We will return to the Amazon to enjoy the delights the Chef has prepared. In the afternoon we will visit the Yagua native community, where the local chief will tell us about how their ancestors decided to settle around the impressive Lupuna tree, which is believed to guard the forest. You will also have the opportunity to practice your aim with the Pucuna, a traditional blowgun that the natives still use to hunt for their food. We cannot leave without taking part of a very special ceremony, planting life in the heart of the Amazon. You can cooperate with our reforestation efforts by planting your own tree. You will be leaving a mark in the rainforest that no one will easily erase.
Back on the cruise ship, our Chef will lead a very entertaining cooking class. After dinner, we will be visited by the local shaman, who will share part of his spiritual practices and traditional healing using medicinal plants.
Day 3: Yagua Native Community - Orellana
Enjoy a delicious breakfast on board while navigating along the Napo River, which will take us to a very historic site, Orellana town. This town is named after Francisco de Orellana, a Spanish conquistador who explored the confluence of the Coca River (Ecuador) and the Napo River as part of his Amazon explorations back in the sixteenth century. We will gather in the main square of this charming town, where we will listen to our guide’s fascinating stories on the Amazons –warrior women who inhabited the jungle– and Orellana’s ghost ship.
The skiff is now ready for another exciting activity. We will be taken to a quiet spot where we can enjoy a relaxing morning of fishing.
We will return aboard to enjoy a full lunch as we head towards the Yagua community. This afternoon you are welcome to spend some leisure time on board. Guests can rest in their rooms or enjoy the facilities and services on board. Clear your mind with a rejuvenating massage, relax by the outdoor jacuzzi or simply enjoy the breathtaking scenery on the fourth deck.
Watch out for happy hour! This evening before dinner, our bartender will be waiting to serve your from freshly squeezed fruit juices, wines, spirits, ice cold beer to the most exotic jungle-inspired cocktails.
Day 4: Yagua Native Community - Butterfly Sanctuary - Iquitos
We will start the day early to enjoy the stunning sunrise from the Amazon River, a morning sky light up in brilliant shades of red, orange, purple and hints of pink. After that, we will make a small excursion to Indiana, a lovely village where we will see a colorful display of many rainforest products, fruits, vegetables, fish and spices, as well as many local people doing their daily shopping. We will return to the Amazon to enjoy a delicious breakfast on board, which will help us recharge batteries for the rest of the day.
It is time to visit the butterfly farm located in San Rafael village, the Morphosapi Butterfly Sanctuary. This initiative is 100% owned and operated by the San Rafael community, promoting environmental education and the preservation of the sixteen different butterfly species that live there. We will learn about their reproductive cycle, as well as admire their beautiful colors and curious shapes. To finish, we will be able to release some butterflies into the nature so that they can help the bees pollinate flowers.
We will return aboard to enjoy a full lunch as we head towards the Nanay River. After some free time for resting and relaxation, we will go on boat trip to observe the colors of the sunset over the Momon River. We will wait until night to listen to the sounds emitted by the jungle after sunset. This evening after dinner, we will go up to the third deck for a memorable farewell cocktail.
Day 5: Iquitos - Manatee Rescue Center - Transfer to the Airport
Our final breakfast on board will be a little earlier so that we have plenty of time to pack up and check-out. We will disembark at the Embarcadero Turistico, where the bus will be waiting to take us to our last stop before saying goodbye. We will make one last memory at the Manatee Rescue Center, a very special kind of animal orphanage for Amazonian manatees. This is where the aquatics mammals and other endangered wildlife are rescued, rehabilitated and finally released into the wild.
Our bus will take us to the airport, where our staff will be on hand to offer extra help if needed. We hope you have had a magic adventure!
