Into the Wild Amazon
The cruise Into the Wild is an Amazon river tour in Brazil that explores the most essential areas to observe the flora and fauna as well as and culture of the Amazon rainforest. Our journey concentrates on remote Amazon forest along the tributary the Rio Negro and with a brief sojourn also on the Amazon River. On our expedition cruise we explore the rainforest in many different ways: we walk among the towering trees in the high forest, we glide along narrow streams that wend their ways into the wilderness, and we explore flooded forests and grasslands that stretch from horizon to horizon. Over three and an a half days and four nights we are able to experience the many different environments of the Amazon, teeming with plant and animal life.
We embark in Manaus, Brasil and travel on the classic and elegant vessel, the Motor Yacht Tucano. The M/Y Tucano is both comfortable and very capable. It is designed to enable us to explore small tributaries and hidden channels where wildlife can be found. Our expedition vessel is not designed for luxury, but for considerable comfort and to enable us to explore where other vessels cannot.
Our cruise experience is much more authentic than the typical cruise. All aspects of the expedition plan are designed to help us enjoy the best that the Amazon has to offer. We have a small group size, highly trained guides, a talented crew, a comfortable boat, and with 29 years of cruise operations, our activities are thoughtful and detailed. Our cruises appeal to travelers who are looking for a fun but also very detailed, authoritative, and above all genuine experience. All these features combined enable us to discover and enjoy an authentic Amazon that eludes almost all other travelers.
The first days of the cruise are spent on the wilderness Rio Negro where there are forests that are hardly changed for millions of years. Here we observe plants and animals that have roamed these forests for millions of years. We also visit the he Amazon River itself on the last day of the cruise. Most of our explorations are off the vessel and our days are quite full. There are three or four excursions off the vessel every day. Travelers have the choice in the early mornings to explore by our electric powered launches or by guided kayak groups. Both groups are led by skilled naturalists and we glide along quiet channels among giant rainforest trees draped with vines and orchids. The silence is broken only by the rustling of leaves by Squirrel Monkeys feeding or by the occasional piercing shriek of a Screaming Piha bird. In the late mornings and in the afternoons we walk in the rainforest and sometimes visit a small remote village community. On some nights we venture out in our launches to observe the nocturnal creatures that are active in the star-filled darkness.
Into the Wild Amazon takes us to a variety of environments including dark flooded forests, dense high forest with towering trees and dense undergrowth, and vast open plains of waving grass which are home to some of the most spectacular wildlife of the Amazon. On lazy afternoons we may fish for the famous Amazon resident, the Piranha, some of whom we may see again on an appetizer plate. During our voyage we will weave through the narrow winding channels of the Rio Negro as wells as enjoying the magnificent vistas of the mighty Amazon River itself. Most travelers are astonished by the scale and grandeur of this majestic waterway that drains a continent.
On Into the Wild Amazon we not only focus on the rainforest, but also on the culture of the people who live in this vast wilderness. Time and weather permitting, we will visit a small fishing villages perched on the river bank where the traditional life is still guided by the rhythms of the rise and fall of the river. Again, time and weather permitting, we should also visit the homesteads of families who make and grow almost everything they need. For many travelers these visits with local settlers, whose lives are so dramatically different from ours, are some of the most memorable experiences of the cruise. The last evening of the cruise we will coast along one of the greatest ports in the world, the Porto de Manaus. At our farewell dinner we will have the opportunity to reflect on our extraordinary experience and offer a toast to one of the most remarkable places on Earth.
Accommodations and Staff
The Motor Yacht Tucano is comfortable, safe, elegant, and very well suited to exploring the Amazon wilderness. It is not a luxury vessel but is the perfect combination of style and expedition readiness that makes exploration possible. The small ship is a modern, capable, and fully certified commercial cruise vessel. While we are able to travel in comfort, we are not insulated from the forest. We remain focused on the flora and fauna of this magnificent wilderness. The voyage is quite active and we spend most of every day exploring the forest on foot or in our boat’s launches.
The most successful Amazon cruise vessel is not the most luxurious, but instead the one that enables travelers to experience the wild beauty of the Amazon in the most full and authentic way. This is the guiding principle of both the design and operations of the M/Y Tucano. The vessel is designed specifically to explore the Amazon in the most thoughtful and sustainable way. All of the staterooms are outside staterooms with air-conditioning and private bathrooms. Some staterooms are smaller than others, but they are considered by most travelers to be comfortable.
The staff of the M/Y Tucano are highly trained mariners who bring years of deep forest exploration to our cruises. Our guides are bilingual naturalists who not only help us spot creatures, but also help us make sense of the riot of plant and animal life of the rainforest. Our cooks prepare elaborate meals always from fresh local ingredients and our sailors safely navigate us into some of the most fascinating waterways in the world.
