This tour offers the traveler interested in Amazonian wild life the opportunity to explore those parts of the forest and rivers where he can see wild animals in their natural habitat. Focused on rare and endemic primates of the Amazon region, animals from the avifauna and mammals such as tapirs, aquatic mammals like Pink river dolphins, Manatees, Giant otters, reptiles as caimans and the Anaconda, plus a universe of insects among them the 24-hour or Bullit ant can be watched on day and night sightings.
As for primates, we will be looking particular for these: Gold-backed Uacari, Tessel-eared Marmosets, Bearded and White-nosed Saki, Three species of Squirrel Monkeys, Brown-bearded and White-headed Capuchins, Brown, Black and Gold-handed Howler Monkeys, Golden-white tamarin, Marmoset, Red-faced spider monkey, titi monkey with four species new to science, Sateré and Maués marmosets.
We navigate on a so-called white water river, the Rio Solimões, which, rich in sediments contrast to the tea-colored black water river Rio Negro. The journey terminates on the Rio Tapajos, the fifth largest river in the Amazon.
While this tour does not claim to be a scientific expedition, it offers highly qualified guidance and insight information on a wide range of subjects related specially to the Amazonian fauna and has therefore all the ingredients of "The trip of your life time".
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How to get there by air via Manaus (MAO)
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Best time to travel May and June
Note: “The Journey of your life II” is operated only twice per year
Get more details from Peter Rohmer, e-mail: request@scte-brazil.com
| Private Tour | Duration | Price (PP) |
|---|---|---|
| The Journey of Your Life II | 14 days | from US$ 12,800 p. person |
Brazil, how many images and ideas do you associate with this name?
We wanted to get to know the country away from the big tourist streams. Peter Rohmer, from Southern Cross Tours &Expeditions, helped us with this and planned perfectly exactly what we wanted.
Our journey started in Manaus. With a small boat, similar to a houseboat, with only two air-conditioned cabins, we traveled 1000 km upstream the Rio Negro. The impressive size of the river, with its countless islands and the flooded jungle for many kilometers fascinated us from the start. We went on hikes in the jungle, where our guide Lucia very competently showed and explained many plants. She was particularly well versed in medicinal plants of which many are used in modern medicine today.
We visited river dwellers which are called Caboclos here. They showed us how the river and the forest provided them with the essentials. Cassava and fish are the main food. Bananas and exotic fruits complete the daily diet of these lovely people. In the dinghy we criss-crossed the flooded jungle called Igapó, fished for piranhas, swam at safe spots and experienced fantastic reflections of the jungle in the black but crystal-clear water of the Rio Negro, so that we thought we were floating.
With the dinghy advanced into the smaller, mysterious side arms of the rivers and watched animals such as giant otters and monkeys. Here, far from any civilization, we also met a small family of the Tukano tribe, who, coming from the upper reaches of the Rio Negro, settled here. They spoke little Portuguese but Lucia our tour guide helped translate. Such encounters are always highly interesting, enriching and mind-expanding. The Amazon, another world to see, marvel at and understand. On top of all this, we were spoiled by our cook on board for 10 days with the most delicious food and drinks. Ten days - and exciting every day!
The trip on the Rio Negro came to an end in Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira. We wanted to visit a Yanomami village. Peter Rohmer had taken care of the permits and the likes weeks in advance. Our guide Branco came with a Toyota pick-up, the only possible vehicle for this route. We climbed onto the cargo floor and drove for five hours on a more than adventurous road, repairs included. The problem was the deep mud in which the vehicle constantly sank over the wheels. I had already given up hope of getting through here, but somehow our driver always made it! At the Balaio pier we boarded an aluminum boat with an outboard motor and cruised on the Ia mirim and Ia rivers for three more hours.
Finally we reached the Indian village of the famous Yanomami tribe. The chief, called tuxauá, rushed over. We were greeted in a friendly manner and accompanied by many curious tribes people, mainly children, to our "accommodation", a circular hut with a thatched roof. When not in use as a guest room, it is used for smaller gatherings. A beautiful place! We made ourselves comfortable in our hammocks. We bathed in the river and went into the forest to observe animals and explore the fauna. We spent the next few days with the Yanomami, where we were able to take part in their daily life. We learned interesting things about their mystical and real world, past and present, which was an extraordinary experience for us.
To say goodbye, they adorned themselves for us with traditional headdresses and body paintings based on the plants Urucum and Pequi. We made friends and were really sad when we had to leave because we still wanted to go to the Pantanal for the Jaguar and Wildlife Safari.
The entire organization of the trip was perfect! The boat with two cabins on the Rio Negro in the Amazon, the vehicles (cars, small aircraft) as well as the driver and guide surpassed our expectations. Next year or the year after we want more of the same. I will get in touch with you in due time. Our sincere thanks go to Peter Rohmer from Southern Cross Tours & Expeditions and his strong team, whose perfect planning made our individual trip so successful and which gave us a lot of pleasure.