Aqua Expeditions Blog » Guest Anectdotes

Influential Incognito Traveler Andrew Harper Visits Aqua Expeditions

admin_aqua — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:46:54 +0000

Disappointed by out-of-date guidebooks, in 1978, Andrew Harper created an independent, monthly publication for sophisticated travelers, Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report. Traveling incognito and always paying his own way, Mr. Harper’s unbiased reviews detail the world’s finest hotels, villas, resorts and culturally authentic travel experiences.

Recently, Mr. Harper made his way to Peru and has started sharing his experiences on his blog and the monthly Hideaway Report. Part of the content he shares is a gorgeous video of Amazonian wildlife seen while on the M/V Aqua.

Travel Journalist Nicholas Gill On Watching Wildlife in the Amazon

admin_aqua — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:00:14 +0000

Watching wildlife in the Amazon isn’t like it is in the Serengeti or even in the Galapagos. Those places are defined by wide-open spaces where massive piles of animals sit and run and swim and eat together. They are mostly larger animals too, so they’re easy to find. In the Amazon, even with the primo equipment of the MV Aqua in a national park like Pacaya Samiria, things are not so easy. The wide-open spaces are replaced by dense forest. The large animals here are small in comparison and more spread out. Jaguars or tapirs do not sit in herds of 400 hundred. Even the largest troops of monkeys number just a few dozen. Some of the greatest creatures of the Amazon are smaller than a baseball. Plus many blend into their surroundings. What appears to be a stick is actually an insect. The eyes of a Harpy Eagle are needed to spot most creatures here, but when you do find one it is an exciting occurrence. Time slows down. You become lost, even if in reality your encounter is only a few seconds. Sometimes, just for a moment, the animal stops and looks at you as you are looking at them and the two of you share some sort of connection. Both you and the animal are surprised to see the other. While a herd of wildebeests in Africa will just sit and chew their grass as a jeep full of tourists approaches as if it is not a big deal, the Amazonian creature will flee or sometimes come closer. They are as curious about you as you are about them. You are an alien to which they have never seen. Both hearts race and there is a rush of emotion for both creatures. Because your interaction with the animal is rare, you really take a good look at them. You look into their eyes as they are looking into yours. You see their soul a little. And they see yours.

To read more of Nicholas’ adventures in Latin America, visit his site: www.newworldreview.com.

The Amazon…is hot, steamy, and wondrous. Where to begin?

admin_aqua — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:31:14 +0000

Our recent guest, Margo, shares her experiences aboard the M/V Aqua.

On February 20, we boarded the Aqua in Iquitos, Peru, for seven days on the Amazon & its tributaries (Maranon, Pacaya, Ucayali, Yanuyacu……black or cocoa……). Most of our time was spent on 8-passenger skiffs exploring the rain forest, but when we returned to the Aqua, we were pampered in air-conditioned comfort. Yummy Peruvian food. 21-person crew for the 23 of us.

So what was it like? It was magical. Hundreds of pink dolphin & lots of gray ones. We held baby caimen, caught piranhas, fed baby manatees with a milk bottle. Monkeys-five different kinds- entertained us each day and sloths slept high in cecropia trees. The rare sighting of an Amazon porcupine (they have prehensile tails!) even surprised our guides.

Birds there are incredible. Splashes of primary colors and sounds that defy imagination. The huatzil is a prehistoric turkey-peacock. The horned screamer is a gigantic black & white guy with a call like a donkey. The wondrous caracara sounds like a drop of water hitting a lake. Colorful orapendulums weave hanging nests like old ladies’ boobs. Parakeets & parrots squack noisily in huge groups. Herons and tanagers amaze with their colors. Hawks and terns amaze with their fishing techniques. Macaws and toucans……. Some of us identified over 140 different species and even I had well over 100.

We spent a few hours in a random village along a river. Impossibly simple lives; what happens if they don’t catch fish? The 70-yr-old shaman chose me to bless, an elaborate ritual involving much chanting and shaking of a clump of leaves. (My cold symptoms vanished.) We brought gifts to hand out to the children. They sang and we did a rousing “You are my sunshine…” in return.

Our jungle walk turned into an adventure when our young local guide got us into dangerous swamps and then out on a log to traverse a 15 ft.-wide river. Old hiking skills are good to retain.

High water season on the Amazon and much of the rain forest is flooded. Our skiffs explored secret spots that took my breath away, light filtering thru the canopy, trees reflecting in still black water. Giant water lilies & sea lettuce cover entire lakes. At one point, our skiffs strained in unison to move floating islands of vegetation so that we could get thru. (Coming back after dark was a little trickier.)

Speaking of after dark, I loved that part. Our guide playing his light along the fringes of the river, spotting night birds & fishing bats, the red eyes of the caiman. All that I had hoped for.

The trip was too much nature for Dale, but I was sorry he wasn’t along to enjoy the people—22 of the world’s best (& me). When you are together for a week, you expect a little mediocrity to emerge. Absolutely none here. Harry & Rosemary put together a winning team, as usual.

In the end, I told the crew in my shaky Spanish that the river lives in our hearts. It certainly does.

~ Margo