RAINFOREST
M/Y
TUCANO
About the cruise
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BRAZILIAN
AMAZON RAINFOREST M/Y
TUCANO |
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Each cruise is slightly difference
because they are exploratory, made possible because the Amazon is so big that there
are thousands of remote rainforest rivers with virtually no settlement. By going to different places each time, the trips are interesting for both the guests and guides. Every trip is one of a kind. |
The Brazilian Amazon has an area of over 2.7 million square miles. Though there are a few cities, the continental size floodplain is still almost entirely covered with primitive tropical forest. Within this vast watershed, the Rio Negro drains over 300,000 square miles, fully ten percent of the entire Amazon basin. From its headwaters in the Colombian foothills of the Andes, the Negro River flows southeast for over 1,020 miles. At its confluence with the Amazon River, it has over three times the volume of the Mississippi. It is the second largest river in the world---second only to the Amazon River itself.
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Despite the great length of the Negro, there are only a few small settlements large enough to be considered towns. It remains a true wilderness. Beyond the tangle of vines and limbs along the river banks are hundreds of thousands of square miles of primitive forest where the forces that shape plant and animal evolution continue on as they have for millions of years. |
Begin by cruising the Rio Negro upstream as far as the Rio Branco, a very interesting tributary coming in from the north and then end the trip with a visit on the Amazon River itself, exploring many of the tributaries of the Amazon, since the main river has many settlers along its banks. Over several days the cruise gradually explores the rainforests for up to 200 miles away from Manaus. This region has some of the most untouched rainforest in all of the Amazon and is the least inhabited place on the planet.
Visit several kinds of forest including the strange and beautiful flooded forest known by Amazon Indians as the Igapó [ee-gah-poh]. In the Igapó, the dark water seasonally floods into the forest, at times for several miles. Orchids and bromeliads cling to the limbs of overhanging trees, which are home also to many fishing birds and iguanas. The igapó has seasonal variations in water depth of as much as 40 feet. To adapt to this enormous fluctuation, plants and animals have evolved some of the most bizarre shapes and behaviors. Also due to these seasonal floods, the wildlife along the rivers is constantly changing and every trip we see creatures that we have never seen before
You will also explore the tall terre firme forest which is what most people have in mind when they think of rainforest. On the hills and stretching for thousands of miles away from the river banks, terre firme is dominated by giant forest trees with buttresses like the fins of rocket ships. Along the shaded forest floor there are wonderfully adapted plants and we see the trails of wild pigs, agoutis, paca, jaguar, armadillo, and other large animals that live in the rainforest.
Though large forest animals are usually wary enough to stay hidden, one terra firme resident that insists on being heard is the largest primate in South America, the howler monkey. At dusk different tribes growl to one another and their howls echo across the trackless forest from stream to river to hill.
The third major type of forest is the varzea. This type is also a flooded forest, but the water that rushes through the trees is café au lait in color and is heavy with minerals and nutrients eroded from the Andes Mountains. In this tremendously rich system we see large concentrations of amazingly colorful birds, magnificent rainforest trees draped with vines and carpeted with orchids, and occasional monkeys chattering and cavorting in the tree branches.
The rainforest in this area has very unique plants and animals and you will have the opportunity to both observe and learn their astonishing habits by getting out into the forest and exploring ---- not simply watching from the deck of the boat. Walk in the forest, scout by launches the small streams that radiate off the main river and swim off deserted beaches in water as pure and clean as rainwater and are treated to vistas of wild rainforest stretching as far as the eye can see.
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In addition to our rainforest explorations another important feature of the program will be our visits to the homes of deep forest settlers. You will have a chance to visit with them and learn what their lives are like, living on the edge of this vast trackless forest. A walk through their gardens is always interesting and youwill marvel at the skills they possess for living in the complex environment of the tropical forest. All deep forest settlers collect plants for medicines and we talk with them about which plants they collect and their uses. |
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On the last day of the boat portion of the trip we travel to the "Encontra das Aguas", the meeting of the waters of the Amazon and the Negro Rivers. The volume of water is so great at their confluence that Brazilians consider the watercourse created by the joining of these two a completely different river. The light colored water of the Amazon and the dark water of the Negro do not readily mix and the two rivers flow side by side for many miles. We will explore the beautiful and fabulously rich environment at the confluence of these two rivers and visit the Lago Janauari Ecological Park which lies in a wedge-shaped delta that divides the Amazon from the Negro.
The Guides:
In addition to several crew members, all of whom grew up in the forest, the trip will have
a naturalist guide with many years of experience in the Amazon. The combined experience of
these guides will help us make sense out of the great profusion of plant and animal life
that we see during the trip.
The Daily Schedule:
Though the schedule varies according to navigational and weather considerations,
days have a basic outline of activities. We get up with the sun every morning and board
the launches in search of birds and wakening howler monkeys. In the late morning of most
days, the boat will get underway and we travel until the mid-afternoon. We then do some
exploring using the boat's launches or walk in the forest.
Every evening we have an informal talk about the flora and fauna that we have observed during the day. We especially focus on the ways that plants and animals have evolved in the rainforest and the relations between the plants animals and their physical environment. This is the ecology of the forest---the most fascinating of all ways to look at the rainforest. Some evenings we spot wildlife with powerful searchlights.
We see and do a great deal in the forest, but there will also be plenty of time to relax and have fun during the trip. We swim in clean and safe water, perhaps have a cookout, and if there are anglers among us, spend a little time fishing some afternoons.
Every afternoon hors-d'oeuvres are served on the Observation Deck during magnificent sunsets. After sunset guests often go to the Observation Deck to look at the millions of stars and constellations of the Southern Hemisphere.
