In the Amazon River Heartland:

A Week On The River

On the Classic Amazon Riverboat

Host:Mark Aitchison

When: Year round. January to July is the best time to visit because for boat travel and canoeing the weather is cooler, and there are short daily rain showers. The dry season is between August and December. It may be hotter and drier then but it is a good time for trekking and fishing, and there are beautiful white sand beaches along the Rio Negro to enjoy.

the big river Length of tour: One week, but can be shortened or lengthened according to the visitor's interests
Minimum number: Two

Languages spoken by Mark and his wife: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian

Fee charged: US $1100 per person. This all-inclusive price covers airport transfers to and from Manaus city center, all meals, two nights hotel, an escorted city tour, and the guided river and jungle tour with all food and refreshments (except alcohol). Our prices include 20% commission. We accept VISA (with 5% service charge) or personal checks to our US office). Adults pay 25% less with 5+ persons. Students (13 to 23 years) pay 10% less, children (12 years and under) pay 20% less.

SEVEN-DAY ITINERARY
in Mark's own words:

DAY 0: Depart Miami @ 9 pm, Monday (VARIG Airlines)

DAY 1: Arrive Manaus @ 3 am,Tuesday
Transfer to Hotel
After breakfast at the hotel the group will be taken on a guided/driven city tour. We will visit the famous Manaus Opera House, the Municipal Market, the Museum of Natural Sciences, and INPA (National Research Institute of Amazonas). Lunch will be at a typical tropical fruitbar. Afternoon is free to walk around the city, visit other museums, go shopping or relax.
Welcome dinner at Bufalo BarBQ restaurant
Overnight at hotel

DAY 2:

After exploring, back to the river...

We depart from the floating port in our boat, a classic Amazon houseboat, fully outfitted with food, drink, and crew. From Manaus we travel half an hour to the stunning meeting of the waters, where the Rio Negro meets the Amazon, but the two do not mix due to differences in velocity, density and temperature. At the meeting of the waters we often see grey and pink river dolphins, and local fishermen.
Second stop is Lake January, a watershed receiving water from both the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers. We will visit a restaurant run by local "caboclo" river people and walk through the treetops on a walkway to view giant Amazon waterlilies. We might see monkeys, hawks, alligators, morpho butterflies, toucans etc. After lunch in the boat we make our way to the Amazon river, here called the Solimoes. We arrive at a group of islands called Iranduba, an area full of birds and other wildlife. We will visit some local familes, see how they live, and have a look at some rubber trees and guava trees full of parrots and parakeets. Later we take to the canoes and go fishing for piranha and other fish in the igarapes, or small creeks, which dominate the area. We have dinner on the boat and then take to the canoes once more in the evening to go "alligator hunting"- but only to see and photograph them. We will spend the night at Iranduba in the boat sleeping in hammocks.

DAY 3: Early in the morning we will make our way up the Solimoes (Amazon)River to Lake Janauca, a giant lake famous for their herons and egrets. We will spend the better part of the day in this region boating and canoeing before returning to the Rio Negro for a second night sleeping in the boat.

DAYS 4-5: Now on the Rio Negro we make our way up river to the villageof Arara, the homestead of Tania's family, and our lodge, The Over LookLodge. We will see how a typical" caboclo" river family lives. We will spend 2 nights at our lodge and in the company of Tania's family. Our lodge features 10 single beds w/ mosquito nets, oil lanterns etc., bathroom, shower, meals on the veranda with sunset views of the Rio Negro and the first of the Anavilanhas islands. During our stay we will go for a long trek deep into the jungle to study the biodiversity of the rainforest, medicine plants with Tania's father (a local medicine man) etc. We will go canoeing in the igarapes (small rivers) behind Tania's home looking for tarantulas, bats, alligators, night birds and other creatures of the night. From the lodge we will visit the Anavilanhas islands, the largest group of freshwater islands in the world, and go walking and canoeing to see monkeys, toucans, iguanas and dolphins. In the rainy season we will explore the "flooded forest", the unique treetop world above the flooded islands.

talking on the boat DAY 6: After breakfast we will set out for a second jungle walk from Tania's family's property through the jungle to the end of the Arara river. Our boat will pick us up and we will continue up river to the Jaraqui river, another tributary of the Rio Negro. After lunch and a siesta we will explore the end of the Jaraqui river beneath the rainforest canopy and trek (dry season only) to its source located near a set of waterfalls deep in the jungle. Overnight sleeping in the boat on the Jaraqui river (or in the jungle).

DAY 7: In the morning we will visit the Indian settlement of Terra Preta above the next tributary of the Rio Negro, the Tucuman. Here live 8 Yanomami Indian brothers and their familes. While they do not live as traditional Yanomami Indians they do inhabit a beautiful settlement high above the Rio Negro facing the Anavilhanas islands. tattooed family
Return to Manaus.
Transfer to Hotel.
Farewell dinner at Galo Carijo fish restaurant.

DAY 8: Transfer to Airport @ 1.30 am
Depart Manaus @ 4 am, Tuesday (VARIG Airlines)
Arrive Miami @ 9 am, Tuesday

Other Options: Mark and his wife Tania have worked out several tours with special emphasis, costing different amounts of money. If any of the following look more interesting to you than the above "classic riverboat" trip, be sure to ask Mark about it when you are corresponding with him via e-mail:

Note that because the Indian tour involves additional transport and visits with culturally sensitive indigenous peoples this tour should be arranged at least a month ahead of time. We reserve the right to alter slightly the form, though not the content, of these programs. There may even be times when we cannot organize these tours at all due to airline scheduling, political instability, low water levels, FUNAI (Indian Bureau of Affairs) or IBAMA (Federal Wildlife Agency) restrictions etc.

NOTE: It is not unusual for VARIG Airlines to change their scheduling without warning. Before committing yourself to a VARIG schedule I advise that you check the airline scheduling before finalizing a reservation.

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