4-Day Delfin Amazon River Cruise

Note: Itineraries vary with Delfin I and II and are revised for low water season vs. high water season. Specific itineraries available upon request. After arriving at Iquitos International Airport, you will be assisted by our guides and transported by bus for about 1 1-2 hours, heading northwest toward Nauta (the oldest city in the department of Loreto). Nauta lies between Iquitos and the Maranon River, where the Delfin is waiting for you. Upon arriving at the port of Nauta, you will board the Delfin, assisted by our experienced crew. They will help you settle into your wood-paneled, comfortable twin- bedded cabin provided with orthopedic mattresses and natural cotton sheets and towels, silent A/C units and private bathrooms with fine wooden furnishings, hot showers and a variety of environmentally friendly amenities for your ultimate indulgence. It will become clear that you are traveling where few have gone before. In fact, you are part of a select group of seasoned world travelers who will visit remote Pacaya Samiria Reserve, five million acres of protected, flooded forest, roughly the size of a small Central American country. A world of flora and fauna awaits you. Dinner is served in our cozy dining room located at the back of the ship's second deck. Because of its cultural diversity, Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the world's finest, making the country an attractive culinary destination. Aside from providing you with your first rainforest adventure, the Delfin is also a unique culinary experience, offering the best of Amazonian-Peruvian cuisine in a cosmopolitan gourmet setting. Our chef prides himself in serving dishes in different styles and seasoned with a wide variety of herbs and spices, as well as exotic fruits, On the top observation deck this evening, our guides will use charts and short videos displayed on our flat LCD screen to conduct a brief orientation, outlining details of your journey, including the places you will visit, the wildlife you will see, as well as a summary of the history and geography of the Amazon basin. Finally, under the beauty of an Amazonian night filled with hundreds of stars or perhaps a full moon, and wafted by the gentle breeze of the rainforest, our multi-talented staff will entertain you with a little live music.

LD

Meals included: Lunch, Dinner
Luxury Accommodations: Deluxe Master Suite
Elite Accommodations: Master Suite

Dawn and dusk are ideal times for nature observation, and an early rise is therefore highly recommended. On your first morning, coffee will wake us up, and pancakes will be a delicious choice for this morning of adventure and surprises. Aboard the skiffs, we will explore the Belluda Stream and start learning about the rainforest. You are now in the Pacaya-Samiria national reserve, where you will have the chance to see its amazing wildlife. From the skiff you can easily spot parrots, macaws and monkeys, such as the monk Saki monkey with its gray and black body, naked face and long shaggy tail. You might also see the saddle-back tamarin monkey, whose high chirping notes can easily be confused with those of a flock of birds. It is also a good spot to see the beautiful morpho butterfly that flaps lazily along open corridors through forest or along river edges of lowland forest on sunny days. Different species of hawks will also be found and if we are lucky we will see the noisy laughing falcon, so-named after its loud falsetto call as it sits solitary in secondary forest and plantations. During the dry season, you can visit the community of Yanallpa and explore two different kinds of ecosystems: flooded forest and terra firme forest. After disembarking at this native village, we?ll start our morning hike. This walk affords excellent opportunities for spotting transitional species such as the snail kite, black tailed ant bird, manikins, tanagers, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, nun birds, orioles, blackbirds, etc. You'll also see tall trees filled with epiphytes, woody vines and many varieties of palm trees. After an hour we will reach a lovely lagoon where two dugout canoes await us in the midst of one of the most remote, least visited areas in the world. This lagoon is filled with endangered and unique fresh water fish, such as the paiche, the largest in the Amazon basin, which can weigh more than 80kg (170 lbs). The paiche is considered a delicacy, and you can often hear them when they rise to the surface. We'll also look for the peculiar crested hoatzin bird with its olive-colored plumage. Hoatzins live in small family groups along forested swamps and oxbow lakes. We will then hike back to the skiffs, where icy towels will refresh us, while we continue exploring the surrounding wildlife. There's a good chance of spotting the smallest monkey in the world, the pygmy marmoset, seen only at its sap-sucking sites low on tree trunks. Back to the boat late morning, we will continue upstream towards our next destination. After emerging from the depths of the forest, you'll be treated to a world-class gourmet meal. Our young and innovative chef will surprise your sophisticated palates, while introducing you to the pleasures of Peru ?s haute cuisine. Our gourmet menu has been designed especially to please you. The menu features glorious fresh fish and other local delicacies, all prepared with an Amazonian flair and our personal touch. We will head for the El Dorado River, a spectacular spot within the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve In the skiffs, where you will also experience an unforgettable encounter with gray and pink river dolphins. Enjoy a unique opportunity to swim among the dolphins. On the river you will experience abundant wildlife and nature in all of its exuberance while we search for the Amazon river's transitional forest specialties such as snail kites, festive parrots, endangered scarlet macaws, olive spotted hummingbirds, Amazonian parrotlets, wood creepers, among others. Prehistoric looking iguanas laze in the sun while we travel along the shoreline searching for whatever the jungle has to offer us. Squirrel Monkeys are very active at this time of the day, when they move in large noisy troops at mid- to upper-levels of primary and secondary lowland forest. We will continue to navigate towards our next destination. The service continues with dinner. Desserts are also a wonderful treat on our menu. In the evening, our staff and guides will be there to answer any question about what we have already seen and visited. While feeling the warm breeze of the Amazon night, fine cigars and after dinner drinks will be available before you fall asleep to the musical sounds of the jungle. Don ?t forget to look up at the sky, where the feast continues, with millions of sparkling stars set against the deep black night or perhaps a full moon that lights up the entire river.

BLD 

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Luxury Accommodations: Deluxe Master Suite
Elite Accommodations: Master Suite

This morning we will start very early and breakfast on board the skiffs, in order to see as much wildlife as possible in one of the earth ?s greatest wilderness. We have reached our main goal, the Pacaya River, the very heart of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, Peru's largest protected area with a mean annual rainfall of nearly 3,000 mm, by far the largest protected wetland reserve in the world. Filled with lakes, palm swamps and streams, the reserve becomes a flooded forest in the rainy season and is one of the most beautiful places you have ever visited. An early rise is very rewarding: you'll see parrots, macaws, toucans, kingfishers, black collared hawks, southern swallows, white winged swallows, and manikins. Aside from the large variety of birds, you will also see troops of squirrel monkeys. Aboard our comfortable skiffs, we will go in search of magnificent views and wildlife opportunities, experiencing spectacular rainforest wilderness, while searching for different species of monkeys, such as small family groups of red howler monkeys, the largest in the Amazon basin, with its bright rust-colored fur and long prehensile tail. As the sun starts to heat up, we will continue along the shores of the Pacaya river, spotting huge ceiba or kapok trees, mahogany trees, strangler figs, epiphytes such as bromeliads and orchids, palm trees and woody vines.

BLD

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Luxury Accommodations: Deluxe Master Suite
Elite Accommodations: Master Suite

The smell of fresh ground toasted coffee will be the wake-up call this morning and as usual you will continue enjoying all the different types of local fresh fruit for a good start to the morning. On board our skiffs we will stop at the village of Puerto Miguel to meet local villagers. You will have the chance to learn about their culture, traditions and folklore. You may also visit one of the villager's homes, to see how they live and the simplicity of their lifestyle and purchase some of the handcrafts they make. After visiting the village, we will explore the Yarapa river, where there is a good chance that you will see squirrel and capuchin monkeys, herons, egrets and green iguanas. We will reach a beautiful lagoon called Uvos, named after a fruit that grows wild along its shores. Pink river dolphins ply its waters in search of fish. The forest also boasts abundant flora including a variety of bromeliads and orchids. Monkeys love these surroundings. We will continue sailing downstream to the confluence of the Ucayali and the Mara?on, birthplace of the Amazon River. Dolphins delight in this special setting. This will be your last lunch with us, so our chef will treat you to a real feast of flavors and colors, having designed a sophisticated menu featuring the best of Amazonian haute cuisine. After lunch, we will disembark at our port in Nauta, where a bus will be waiting to take you back to Iquitos. We will go the visit a local NGO committed to foster social justice though the promotion of better health and higher standards of live, quality of living and sustainable management of natural resources. This is located in the main Plaza of Nauta city. Late afternoon arrival at the Iquitos airport. Our personnel will help you check in for your flight, and say goodbye.

B

Meals included: Breakfast