Amazon Wildlife Top Ten: #4

4: Anaconda. This is one frightening-looking snake, primarily because it is the largest snake in the world. People are often surprised to learn that anacondas don’t have any venom. They don’t need any. An anaconda simply wraps itself around its prey, which may be another reptile, bird, or even a mammal. It lifts its prey above the ground, squeezes it hard, and then swallows it whole, usually starting with the head. That, needless to say, creates a big bulge in the anaconda’s silhouette. Visitors to the Amazon may see anacondas in the river, typically with only their heads above the water’s surface.

Amazon Top Ten: #5

7: Camu Camu: Biologists don’t just deal with animals, birds, and reptiles, of course. We also deal with plants and trees. And a couple of them have featured positions on my Top Ten List as well. Fifth on my “Top Ten” list is the camu camu, or Myrciaria dubia, which is becoming so well known that you may have already heard about it. Camu camu grows wild in the alluvial Amazon soil that is flooded during the high water season. What makes it so important, however, is that it contains an extraordinarily high concentration of Vitamin C . . . almost one thousand times more than you would find in orange pulp. This high level of Vitamin C, not surprisingly, makes camu camu of great interest to agribusiness. But there’s more: Brewing the camu camu bark and stem into a tea also results in a very effective treatment for diabetes. 

Below, Aqua Expeditions’ Camu Camu Sour. You’re going to have to visit us to taste one!

Aqua Expeditions Inaugurates New Lounge in Nauta

Aqua Expeditions has opened a brand-new lounge in Nauta on a tributary of the Amazon to offer greater comfort to its guests boarding the M/V Aqua, and in the spring, its new boat the M/V Aria.

The open-air lounge situated at the edge of the  river was designed by Jordi Puig, who also designed the Aqua Expeditions’ vessels.  Most of the furniture is tailor-made including the wood sink made out of one piece of locally sourced pumaquirowood. The lounge includes a refreshment area, relaxing cushioned chairs and bathroom facilities.  In addition to using it for embarking and disembarking passengers, Aqua Expeditions plans to use the facility for special group functions.

Amazon Wildlife Top Ten: #6

6: The ceiba. Looking at the world from a botanical perspective, number six on the Top Ten List is the ceiba of the Peruvian Amazon. This tree has many aliases as well. It is also called the lupuna, the cotton of Java, the kapok, or the tree of silk-cotton. It is believed to have been a sacred symbol in Mayan mythology, and you can still find a ceiba tree planted in the center of many local communities. Some of the local people of the Amazon still worship this beautiful tree, as they believe that it is home to some of the gods of the forest.

Influential Incognito Traveler Andrew Harper Visits Aqua Expeditions

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.

Lonely Planet Lists Aqua’s Home Port in “Top 10 Cities for 2011″

#6. Iquitos

After days forging by boat along rainforest-fringed rivers, Iquitos, mighty megalopolis of the Peruvian Amazon, comes as a shock to the system. Pulsating with life, the city’s latest boom is tourism: visitors may flock to reconnoitre the rainforest but taking time to imbibe Iquitos itself is imperative too. This is a sultry slice of Amazon life: Brazilian, Colombian, indigenous and expat. Clubs bounce to salsa and rock until the early hours with the vigour you’d expect of Peru’s jungle capital, but Iquitos is also a cultural hub: expect works by Peru’s top artists, opulent rubber-boom mansions and a museum on Amazon ethnography for starters. As a trading post for rainforest tribes, market mayhem and riverboat bustle are part of the package, all conspiring to fill the city with an addictive, round-the-clock energy.” (Courtesy of Lonely Planet)

The full list of destinations can be found here: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/new-york-city/travel-tips-and-articles/76165#

Travel Journalist Nicholas Gill On Watching Wildlife in the Amazon

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.

Amazon Wildlife Top Ten: #7

7: Capibara. Okay, now let’s talk about rodents. More specifically, let’s talk about number seven on the Top Ten List, the largest living rodent in the world: the Capibara, which in the local Guarani language means “master of the grasses.” In Peru, we also call these critters ronsoco. They are close relatives of chinchillas and guinea pigs, as well as of agouti and coyphillas. Its scientific name, hydrochaeris, is Greek for “water hog.” If  were capybaras, we’d prefer to stick with “master of the grasses.”

Amazon Wildlife Top Ten: #8

8: The Harpy Eagle, is the second largest eagle in the world, and one of the most powerful predators in the Amazon. The female harpy eagle is larger than the male, measuring over three feet, with a wing span of six-and-a-half feet, and weighing 20 pounds. The males have a smaller wing span and weigh about 17 ½ pounds. These enormous birds have a crest of erectile feathers on their heads, powerful beaks and claws, and can live as long as 40 years. They like to dine on monkeys and sloths, as well as on green iguanas, snakes, and other birds. Despite their size, they are able to penetrate deep into the densest jungle to capture their prey and can take flight carrying three times their own weight in captured prey.

Photo: Walter Mancilla Huaman

Recent River Dolphin Census Leads to Long-Term Conservation Efforts in South America

For many travelers sailing on the M/V Aqua, the first sighting an Amazonian pink dolphin in the wild is unforgettable. Since Aqua Expeditions began operating in the Peruvian Amazon it has worked hard to conserve the habitat of these unusual dolphins. We were very glad to read a recent article on msn.com  which outlines a broad conservation effort of the fresh water dolphin by various South American countries.

Original article: http://verde.latam.msn.com/articulo_wwf.aspx?cp-documentid=25824569

Excerpt in English:

Since 2006 Fundacion Omacha scientists, with support from the World Wildlife Foundation, have traveled over 2,500 miles along 12 of the most important rivers in South America to conduct a census of the exotic river dolphin. The census was conducted over a four-year period with the 11th – and last – expedition finishing on June 2nd of this year.

The purpose of the project is to take a proactive stance to prevent the dolphin population from becoming endangered – as it has become recently in China. Although South American river dolphins are not particularly endangered, mercury contamination from mining activity, the use of dolphins as bait, overfishing and infrastructure projects are becoming threats to the stable population.

Under the leadership of Fernando Trujillo, the census took scientists to Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil, where pink, grey and endemic populations of dolphins can be seen today. The results of the survey suggest there are over 40,000 fresh water dolphins currently swimming in South American rivers and lakes – an indication of a healthy population. Nonetheless countries like Bolivia and Colombia to make are taking immediate action to put long-term conservation programs in effect for the playful river creatures.

For more information on pink dolphins or to explore ways to view them in the wild, visit www.aquaepeditions.com and start planning your journey!