In the News!
Mar 15, 2019
Cruising the Amazon in Rio Negro Expedition Style
“Our guides are staff members. We do not use freelance guides because the dedication to understanding the complex environment and our particular way of exploration are essential to the traveler experience. "
"Our guides grew up in the forest and are deeply knowledgeable of and very deeply devoted to nature. They are the best. "
Written by Art Sbarsky
After an early-morning, short walk from my precruise Manaus hotel through a semi-jungle path and set of steps, we had our first look at the NatureTours boat, Motor Yacht Tucano I. First reaction: attractive/cute but small. Then we had to take an outboard-motor canoe from the dock to the boat itself. The Monty Python phrase “and now for something completely different” came to mind immediately. And, for the next six nights, that's exactly what it was. This was an expedition cruise that for me defined the very nature of this type of cruising.
The boat has only eight cabins; thus, it carries a maximum of 16 guests. But the guides said their sweet-spot in terms of the experience was about 11-12. We had seven. We were supposed to have nine but one couple from the UK missed their Heathrow connection and didn’t show up. This was partially because they did not come in with any cushion time and, more importantly, since there were no ports along the way, there was no way for them to catch up. So, we had a pair of brothers from the USA, a couple from the south of England, single female guests from NYC and Germany and me. All were from their midsixties up through the mid-seventies. Two commonalties had to be their interest in Amazonian nature, both flora and fauna, and the ability to take advantage of the different types of excursions made available.
Our luggage came to the boat in a separate canoe and was delivered to our rooms which, not surprisingly, were quite small, ranging from a low of 80 square feet to the humongous (kidding)size of 114 square feet. After getting over the shock (I was in one of the smaller rooms) and discovering there was no closet, just a bunch of double hooks interspersed with the four windows, and seven small open shelves, I started unpacking. I did indeed find a place for everything and since I packed everything they recommended that I bring, I was pleasantly surprised to find it all fit rather well, even including the bathroom stuff. But it’s not primitive; they do supply L’Occitane toiletries.
With my suitcase stowed away easily under the bed, I made my way to the two primary (and only) public rooms: the outside viewing/sitting space and the wonderfully air-conditioned salon which had multiple purposes, primarily dining and attending a few talks about life on the river and ashore. Yes, references to songs like Old Man River and Rolling on the River were made frequently. The two guides on the trip, who handled a multitude of jobs like making sure we were all treated exceptionally well to leading the shore excursions gave us a rundown on how things were going to work aboard.
Probably the most shocking to the group was the realization of something we were told about in pretrip documents was actually true: there would be times during the day when the electric generators would be turned off and we would be without electricity and that we would only have hot water in our showers for a brief time each day. I must admit, I’ve never been on any kind of a cruise where that was part on the instructions, either beforehand on upon boarding, but once you get used to it, it’s part of the experience. The electricity was turned off mostly during the times when we went ashore so unless you stayed onboard, you really weren’t affected by it. Also, the two shower heads in the cabins literally ran either hot or cold but even the cold wasn’t freezing.
As can be imagined, much of what we wore, especially during the jungle hikes, got quite wet, from perspiration, not rain (we had amazingly good weather all the way through).You got used to washing stuff out via the shower/sink and then hanging clothes up on the hooks in the room or up on the outside deck where there were clotheslines and pins for hanging items up. It’s amazing how fast everything dried once the ship was underway and a very nice, soothing breeze was blowing. Only during the day when the ship wasn’t moving did the heat have an impact.
Shortly after our shipboard orientation, which doesn’t take long with limited space and only seven guests and a crew of nine, we weighed anchor and started cruising the Rio Negro River, one of the major rivers that most people referred to as an offshoot of the Amazon. Anyone remotely interested in this cruise should really study the Amazon and its side rivers, in terms of the enormous scope as well as the impact it has on the entire world.
While rolling on the river (I couldn’t resist)the ship’s captain (open-bridge policy) kept us as close to shore as possible. The Rio Negro is quite wide, running about six miles across in various places, but there were plenty of islands to scoot past. So, the primary view was the very dark water, hence the name, and an almost-overwhelming number of trees. And plenty of birds but more on those later.
There were essentially three types of excursions offered: Canoe trips at sunrise, late afternoon and after dinner; kayaking for those interested (only the two brothers took advantage of those); and jungle walks. Everything was in the one to two-and-a-half hour range. Some of the jungle walks were positioned as being more strenuous than others and the seven of us could choose which ones we wanted to join or none at all. One day I skipped out completely and just lazed around the boat reading and relaxing. During the canoe trips (with comfy cushions for the bench seats and seatbacks), the primary goal was seeing nature up close, especially birds; we saw more than three dozen species, in some cases very close up. We also got to see various pink and silver dolphins, tree snakes, tree-hugging sloths, squirrel monkeys and one night, a baby caiman (think alligator) that the guide was able to grab a hold of and show us really close up. During the canoe tours, when the guide shut off the motor and we just drifted with the current it was possible to hear the amazing sounds of the jungle. Occasionally the guide took us so close into the vines and trees he had to machete-chop our way out. But never felt in any danger. We even got to go piranha fishing.
The last day of the cruise we had four different adventures: swimming in the Amazon at a beach just outside of Manaus; cruising southbound past Manaus where the black Rio Negro meets the brown Amazon and the two colors run side-by side for nearly four miles before intermingling; going up a side river where we really could see what life on the river is like; and a walk around a riverside farm. What an amazing way to live but some of the houses did have satellite dishes.
Meals on board, breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, were all buffets with a combination of chicken, meat and fish along with rice, pasta, soups, a wide range of veggies (cooked) with fruits and fruit juices. It wasn’t gourmet but it was healthy and offered plenty of both local and westernized options. The bar system is an honor one: you take beer or soda from the fridge and tick it off on the clipboard; wines were available by the bottle and quite reasonable.
There were two talks on board: one was about local fruits, virtually all of which we do not get in the USA, and the other was a guide telling us stories of his growing up in the jungle and eventually moving to the big city of Manaus with its population of about 2,000,000. On the last night, when we were sailing past Manaus as the city lights came on, they brought on a very good local guitar player while we sipped freshly made caipirinhas (oh so yummy).
The final morning, we reversed the process, took the walk back to the hotel and dispersed from there. My trip included a city tour of Manaus, so I got to see what the city was like (not planning on moving there) including its famous Opera House. That is one of the most amazing buildings I have ever seen. It was literally carved out of the jungle before a “city” even existed; construction began in 1884 with every single part of it brought over from Europe. It’s still operating with operas or other performances taking place year-round.
I found out about NatureTours.com when I was researching expedition cruises for my article on the subject in December. That’s when I exchanged-mails with their CEO to get his perspective on what they offer. Here’s some of what he told me.
“For us, the destinations should be remote and naturally unspoiled areas and the vessel itinerary has to be long enough to be able to explore into these areas. Our cruises go far into a UNESCO World Heritage Site over six full days, and we are the only ship to do so. On our voyages much of the experience of Amazon nature is off the vessel. We have four and sometimes five excursions off the vessel every day, each of which is one and a half to two hours long. In very small groups, each with a naturalist guide, our travelers go into the wild forest in a true exploratory way.”
“When our travelers are in the forest the group sizes are at most eight people with a guide. And our exploring sub-groups go different places so that one group does not disturb the other. Clearly good guides in all tourism experiences are crucial, but in expedition cruising it is especially important that they have the deep training and experience in natural history and wildlife observation.”
“Our guides are staff members. We do not use freelance guides because the dedication to understanding the complex environment and our particular way of exploration are essential to the traveler experience. Our guides grew up in the forest and are deeply knowledgeable of and very deeply devoted to nature. They are the best. We are able to offer travelers a still more thrilling, comfortable, safe, and completely authentic experience deep in the greatest wilderness on earth. This allows us to renew our 30-year love affair with the Amazon and to share this passion with our travelers.” Along with their motto of “look and listen” I think that sums it up very well.
Naturally, this type of cruise is not for everyone. But anyone with a sense of adventure that doesn’t need the bells and whistles of a traditional cruise ship, this would be a terrific option.
Information on this very small company and its 4- night and 6-night itineraries can be found at www.naturetours.com.