chaching316

To ExplorerH - please feel free to contact me at

Psc316 at yahoo dot com ( spelled out to counter email spammers)

Happy to answer questions about our trip with Aqua Expeditions.

Pat

The Aqua cruise as we experienced it in September during low water season was heavily slanted towards riding in the skiffs and spotting birds, sloths and small monkeys in the trees, though most were at quite a distance. We did do a jungle walk one afternoon where we were "introduced" to a tarantula, small boa constrictor, various lizards, etc. My favorite excursion was the one after dark where we searched for caiman and other night creatures.

Bugs were not an issue at all during the trip, though we were reminded before every excursion to apply repellent which was provided in the area where the life jackets are put on before boarding the skiffs.

The cruise was very enjoyable, however, not being a "birder", the 4 day expedition was quite enough for me.

We were on the Aqua Amazon cruise in September. If you would like to see photos specific to this segment of our trip to Peru you can go to my album at

PS: The naturalist/guide, Ricardo, was one of the best guides ever!

We were on the Aqua 9/13 - 9/16. This is the Amazon low-water season, so our experience/opinion is based on that and we can't speak to the differences encountered during high-water season.

First a warning (not specific to Aqua Expeditions) - be very careful at the airport in Iquitos. There are very aggressive men who will grab your luggage, throw them on a cart and then demand to be paid, not only for themselves but demand you pay their "helpers". I had checked in with the Aqua rep while waiting for our luggage and thankfully he noticed and was able to intercede when a guy grabbed our suitcases from us and started off with them, intending to hold them for ransom I guess!

Being low-water, we were not able to board the Aqua in Iquitos so there were two passenger vans with a trailer for luggage (and a police guard) ready to take us to Nauta, 90 minutes from Iquitos, after a nice lunch at a restaurant out on the river and a very short Iquitos city tour.

The Aqua is very nice and the cabins are outstanding! Be advised and do not accept an aft cabin on deck 1 unless you are not bothered by engine noise (there is a reason you are given earplugs in the gift package). The cabins are made up/attended to 3 times a day, you will be showering more than once! Cabin air conditioning is kept quite cold to combat the high humidity.

Food is very good, breakfasts have many choices including cooked to order eggs etc. We found the dinners, fixed menu unless you have special needs, quite small, some desserts served in tiny shot size glasses and no seconds, lol!

Service is excellent, everyone is helpful and pleasant. The naturalist guides are outstanding and rotate on the skiffs so you experience each one.

The activities are 85% geared towards birdwatchers, which can get a bit tedious for non-birders, though being out on the rivers is amazing and they do spot sloths, monkeys, etc. as well. Rubber boots are provided for the jungle walk, mosquito repellent is always available to apply before boarding the skiffs, large ponchos are provided in case of sudden downpours. If your shoes get dirty/muddy, you must take them off and leave them on the boarding deck and they will be cleaned.

Wakeup calls vary between 5:30am - 6:30 am, no sleeping in!

Highlights for me were the night excursion to spot/catch cayman and other night creatures and the visit to the village and school.

Happy to answer any other questions if I can!

Is anyone on this forum familiar with the company Aqua Expeditions, the ship MV Aqua, which does the Peruvian Amazon trips?

We are booked for a 3 night cruise in September and looking for anyone who has been on that ship, any advice.

Thanks,

PatC