Engage the Rainforest!
It's all about the Activities
It is not enough to just visit the Amazon, the only way to fully experience the rainforest is through active Amazon adventures - to explore and engage the magnificent wilderness. Our expedition cruises are focused and can be as active as travelers wish. We have several excursions off the vessel every day with small groups and naturalist guides. The excursions are quite varied, from quietly paddling in one of our launches to visiting small villages and the homesteads of families. Every day is different, but on most days there are four main excursions. Travelers can take part in as many or as few as they wish but we know that the more time you spend searching for creatures in the rainforest, the more you will find. Of course, if travelers choose to skip an excursion to sleep in, that is fine, after all this is a vacation!
Our first excursion is in the very early morning, just after sunrise. Yes it is early! But this is a time when many creatures including birds and monkeys forage for breakfast. On many days travelers will be able to choose between an excursion on our launches powered by electric motors or on our guided kayak excursion quietly paddling along a narrow stream overhung with vines. We normally stay out for 1-2 hours before returning for a hearty Brasilian breakfast.
The next excursion is about mid-morning and our two small groups walk in the forest on wilderness trails. This is a good time to observe the small life on the forest floor that have evolved into a myriad of strange forms. Some of the trees actually walk! Each team has a bi-lingual naturalist guide and a skilled woodsman. These walks are not especially difficult and travelers can return to the vessel any time. After about two or so hours, we return to the vessel for a full lunch, complete with dessert.
From the middle of the day through the afternoon to we will voyage to another place to explore. Many travelers will rest in their air-conditioned staterooms while others will join our guides on Observation Deck observing the forest close as the small ship winds along the heavily forested shore.
In the late afternoon we embark on our third excursion. Two groups, each with a guide and a pilot, explore in our launches observing the creatures that emerge in the afternoon to feed. Just before sunset we return to the M/Y Tucano for hor d'oeuvres on the top deck and thrill at the beauty of a wilderness sunset.
Some nights after dinner we will have one more excursion, for many travelers the most thrilling of all: a launch voyage in the darkness. There are many nocturnal animals in the Amazon and we often observe astonishing creatures like night blooming flowers, bull dog fish eating bats, crocodilians like caiman, and mammals like night monkeys scurrying about in the trees. After an our and a half or so of exploration we return to the M/Y Tucano for a well deserved rest after an exhilarating, exciting day.
The key to getting to know the Amazon is getting into the forest in a focused way with very skilled guides. This is our mission on the M/Y Tucano and we do everything that we can to enable our travelers to experience to the fullest the depths of the greatest wilderness on earth.