The Amazon Odyssey
Day 1 Monday This morning we embark on the Motor Yacht Tucano
in Manaus, Brasil and depart upstream on the Rio Negro. As we glide upstream
close to the shore we will study the magnificent tangle of vegetation
for brightly colored flowers or monkeys scurrying about in the branches.
Amazonia
has the greatest collection of birds in the world and we are sure to see
some of these brightly colored jewels perched in the treetops.
Around midday we will have an orientation talk about Amazon environments.
As the boat weaves in through the winding channel with rainforest on both
sides we will closely study the wild forest from the observation deck.
Around mid-afternoon we will pass the frontier of settlement and begin
traveling in a
wilderness area. We may stop for a swim from a beautiful beach and scout
about in our boats launches to observe wildlife feeding before sunset.
(LD)
Day 2 Tuesday We rise with the sun and have an early morning excursion
observing birds, and if we are lucky, primates like howler monkeys or
dusky-titi monkeys. We will explore the Reserva Ecologico Anavilhanas
Archipelago, a reserve that includes the worlds largest system of
river islands and also areas of tall dense rainforest. After a good breakfast
we will go for our first walk in the high forest known
as the terre firme. Here we have a good chance to see the markings, if
not the animals themselves, of
some of the Amazons great mammals like peccaries (wild pigs) or
even a jaguar.
In the afternoon we will excursion in our launches to study the late
afternoon forest and listen to the sunset chorus of birds, howler monkeys,
and frogs. Weather permitting, tonight we will have an excursion to spot
caiman (the Amazons crocodiles) and other nocturnal creatures. We
very often see arboreal porcupines
or sloths scrambling high in the limbs. (BLD)
Day 3 Wednesday After our morning excursion and a full breakfast,
weather permitting, we will take another walk in the rainforest. In the
early afternoon we will get underway and enter one of the worlds
largest river island systems, the Anavilhanas Archipelago. We will explore
this interesting maze
of islands until the late afternoon when we will visit the Amazon village
of Novo Airão where the style of building wooden boats has not
changed in 100 years. Tonight we will travel downstream all the way to
the confluence of the worlds two largest rivers: the Rio Negro and
the Amazon. (BLD)
Day 4 Thursday Rising very early we will excursion in our launches
in the Lago Janáuarí Ecological Park. This park is flooded
with the coffee colored water of the Amazon River. We will see a very
different collection of wildlife in this extremely rich system. There
will be a profusion of birdlife and we
almost always see squirrel monkeys and occasionally anteaters or sloths.
During breakfast the M/Y Tucano will navigate to the Encontra das
Aguas the several mile long line where the worlds
two largest rivers, the Amazon and the Rio Negro, join in a turbulent
maelstrom. Here the dark water of the Negro runs beside the opaque brown
water of the Amazon. Dolphins usually leap and cavort along this stark
line of contrasting water. Afterwards we will enter the main channel of
the Amazon River itself
and travel until the early afternoon soaking up the vast spaces the worlds
most mighty river.
By the late afternoon we will reach a smaller channel of the Amazon and
begin concentrating on the fascinating Amazon environment known as the
varzea. We will explore one of the large lakes on the south bank of the
Amazon, Lago Janauacá. We are sure to see a wonderful diversity
of birdlife and probably
an iguana or monkeys. The plant life will be very different here with
giant buttressed trees and massive tangles of vines. We are likely also
to see primates, and if we are lucky, a threetoed sloth. Tonight we will
have another excursion to observe the night shift of Amazon fauna which
includes caiman (the
Amazons crocodiles). (BLD)
Day 5 Friday Today we will have a variety of excursions exploring
one of the large lakes off the Amazon River. We will also visit the home
of a settler or a small village to learn a little about how they survive
on the edge of this vast wilderness. In the late afternoon or early evening
our vessel will enter the main channel of the Amazon River and begin returning
to Manaus for arrival late that night. Sometimes
this is a good night to have a farewell party on the top deck and we can
try to persuade our cook to teach us a bit of samba as we cruise under
the countless stars of the southern sky. (BLD)
Day 6 Saturday Early this morning following breakfast travelers
will disembark the vessel in Manaus, Brasil. (B)
Please note that the day to day schedule must be considered approximate.
Features may be
altered due to navigational or weather considerations.
Meal Codes: B= Breakfast, L= Lunch, D= Dinner)
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