Local peddlers exhibit their crafts for cruise guests
Into the jungle
What really made our luxury cruise into an authentic adventure, however, were the numerous fascinating, no-extra-charge excursions into the jungles and native villages alongside channels and tributaries, led by the ship’s outstanding Expedition Team aboard small, nimble boats called Zodiacs. In my mind, particularly impressive were botanist, musician, author and poet John Harwood and historian and naturalist Ed Hudson, who was the source of the Amazon statistics given above.
John even took Gig and me on a personal walking tour of “downtown” Leticia that included a visit to the town’s fish market, where I learned that the locals eat a lot more piranhas than the other way around. Judy Eben was pleased that “the expedition leaders were all knowledgeable in a variety of subjects, not just specialists in one area,” and husband Carl noted that “last time cruising from Manaus to Barbados on a larger ship, we didn’t have nearly the jungle experiences as on the Zodiacs.”
Although there are no large mammals that inhabit the Amazon Basin, scores of smaller animals such as jaguars, howler monkeys, three-toed sloths, capybara and coatimundi can be found. Reptiles including caimans, iguanas and anacondas; black piranhas and a great variety of fish species; colorful birds like toucans and macaws; and tarantula spiders are common.
Furthermore, the jungle and rain forests are alive with all manner of exotic flowers and plants, so every Zodiac trip offered new delights.
“The Zodiac trips were outstanding and really got you close to the flora and fauna,” said Patricia Molonari of Key Biscayne, Florida. “I was surprised to see different species of birds on every trip, although few butterflies, plus many bromeliads.”
The ship’s naturalists also offered forest walks, although I decided against participating in these due to reports of extremely muddy conditions, uneven, hilly terrain and numerous mosquitoes.
However, visits to villages of the Yagua, Bora and Witoto Indians — which featured performances of traditional tribal dances — and the riverside towns of Paranaquiro and Pebas, Peru, and Leticia and Puerto Nariño, Colombia, proved to be of considerable interest.
Carl Eben found that “people weren’t panhandling — there were no beggars — so the area is relatively unspoiled.” Furthermore, the trip to Colombia’s Monkey Island was wonderful. Everyone seemed to enjoy having the friendly little critters crawl all over them and being photographed in the process.
