We started the day early, meeting our crew of 12 in the hotel lobby before heading back to the airport. Natural Habitat made the arrangements for this portion of the trip. We all traveled together, boarding our flight to Iquitos. We discovered we were joining another group of Natural Habitat travelers who were taking the reverse route of our trip, having flown in from Cusco, where they had just seen Machu Picchu and were ready to explore the Amazon next. Our two groups were divided into Team A, us led by Wilfredo, and Team B, the other group led by Franco.
As we wheeled our suitcases through the airport, we quickly met some of our fellow travelers: Larry, who lives in Asheville, NC, and Deneen and Jon from Pennsylvania. I told Deneen I loved her accent as she sounded like my family, who are from the Philadelphia area.
While we sat in the lobby we met Danli and Dr Gary from California. We didn’t rest for long an moved to the gate to board the plane, we discovered that we were actually seated with Larry, Jon & Deneen who we met earlier.
We landed in Iquitos, the Natural Habitat crew grabbed our luggage, introduced us to our naturalists, and then we all headed straight to our bus for the two-hour ride to Nauta.
Iquitos itself felt unlike anywhere else—buzzing with moto-taxis, busy markets, and people making do with very little.
We saw these three-wheeled bikes everywhere; it was a sight to see, especially when they needed to load lumber! Before we went too far, the bus pulled over to pick up a delicious picnic lunch to eat on the bus.
Then halfway we stopped for a bathroom break, getting our first small taste of local culture.
There is only one paved road out of Iquitos, running 95 kilometers (59 miles) to Nauta. Beyond that, the only way to travel is by boat. In fact, Iquitos can’t even be reached by road from Lima—the city is accessible only by plane or river. The mighty Amazon River, which begins high in the Andes, flows more than 4,000 miles to the Atlantic Ocean. Nauta sits about 1,000 miles downstream from those Andean headwaters.
When we arrived in Nauta, we stepped off the bus, and avoided the wet muddy roads. We walked straight into the main building, and met the crew of the ship. They greeted us with music, dancing, and refreshing drinks offered with warm smiles. Outside, children gathered at the windows, laughing and watching the celebration with wide eyes.
We walked into a cultural party, which got us excited about boarding our ship. At this point we all thought our ship was named the Delphin II.
From there, the crew fitted us with lifejackets and guided us toward the river.
Excitement built as we boarded the skiffs and skimmed across the water toward our boat—an elegant riverboat with expansive decks and a glass-walled lounge that would be our floating home for the next three nights.
At this point, we realize we are not on Delphin II; it’s the Zafira. The boats have a similar style, so we would just adjust accordingly.
Once aboard, we met up in the lounge to get assigned a cabin. We had originally paid extra for a balcony room, but I soon regretted that decision. The guides advised everyone to wear DEET, as bugs can be a problem on the river, and I realized that sitting outside on a balcony probably wasn’t as relaxing as I had imagined. A panoramic window suddenly sounded much better.
There were only twenty rooms total, so options were limited — no chance to “room hop.” We were assigned Room 11 and rushed down to check it out, only to walk into a space under repair. The balcony door was open, and leaves were scattered across the floor; there were also clear signs of bugs. I turned right around and went to find help. Thankfully, Sydney — who was traveling with the other group, works with Natural Habitat, and speaks Spanish — stepped in to help us communicate. She quickly arranged a replacement, and we were reassigned to Room 7 — one without a balcony. SCORE!
After we unpacked, we gathered upstairs for a short presentation about life on the river and the adventures ahead. No time was wasted—almost as soon as it ended, we climbed back into the skiffs for our very first Amazon excursion.
Skimming along the river, we spotted colorful birds, flocks of bats, and caimans—the small Amazonian alligators—resting on the banks. All around us, we could hear the jingling chorus of frogs, though they were nearly impossible to spot. It was an exciting start, the perfect beginning to our time on the river.
After a fun visit looking for wildlife, we returned to the Zafiro, where the crew welcomed us back with a beautifully prepared dinner. We met two more people from our group who joined us for dinner— a father-in-law and daughter-in-law duo, Jack and Lana. Jack had served in the military and was a volunteer firefighter. He possessed a wealth of knowledge about both firefighting and travel, which we drew upon throughout the trip. He was hilarious, full of stories, and just plain fun to be around. We ended up spending a considerable amount of time with them. They also had a balcony room and Lana later assured us that we’d made the right decision switching to one without.
We were served gourmet meals each night.
Tomorrow we are to be ready to go at 6:30am, breakfast on the skiff. We got our outfits ready to go for the next day!
Happiness is Possible 