Trip to Aqua Nera- Saturday
Our flight to Lima was on-time and uneventful. In Lima, to get the the Iquitos flight we had to go out of the terminal and back in again. As we had done this on Sunday, we were familiar with the route and the security routine which for us meant removal of belts, shoes, and being hand wanded. We went to our gate and found a seat for about a 2 hour wait. Margi used the time to go to the Starbucks at the end of the terminal and bought both Peru and Cusco mugs for her collection. Again, boarding in group 3, we were the first to board but as we have no luggage for overheads, there was no rush. Flight to Iquitos is 1:45 and uneventful. As we get close, we could see the dense forests of the Amazon.
The Iquitos airport was tiny (one gate) so we de-plane onto the tarmac and walked to a small terminal with a luggage carousel. There were Aqua Nera guys there and they gathered us together. We were to get our luggage and bring everything to them and they would take care of it from there. Luggage started coming on carousel quickly but our bags were almost the last to come out (slight panic). After collectively confirming that all luggage was there, we exited the terminal to an almost empty parking lot where a Mercedes coach with a trailer awaited us and our luggage. It was after 2 pm but we do not board the boat until around 5:30 pm, so we had some time to kill.
First we went to an included lunch at Casa de Fiero which was an upstairs restaurant. We sat with Michael and Bonnie from Atlanta next to Kevin and Janet from Chicago. Lunch was good (Margi had pasta & I had palm salad) but we had some time before we got back on the bus and continued. Some people went shopping in stores near by and some change $$ into sols. During this lunch break, the bus had taken the luggage to the boat.
When everyone was back on the bus, we started to drive through town. Iquitos is not small but is definitely had a third world look. It was Friday afternoon and people were out and about, markets were open, and traffic was steady. We first headed to the longest bridge across the Amazon. We stopped in the middle with many other vehicles and got out to enjoy the view. Below on the shore was a large party restaurant with lots of people, music, and people swimming (it was Friday afternoon!). We then continued to the end of the bridge where the road onward was DIRT. They had built the bridge but not yet the onward highway!! We made a u-turn and headed back into town.
We drove to the modern ferry terminal where the Aqua Nera was docked. We had to wait for a bit before we were allowed to board. We went down one flight in the terminal and walked out onto a wide gang plank to the ship. Crew members greeted us with music as we boarded on our 3 night cruise (some were staying for a 6 night stay).
We were directed to the third level lounge/bar area where we got some drinks (included) and got a briefing about the boat, life boat drill, dinner, and excursions for the next day. We were given our room assignments by Christine and she informed Margi and I that we had been upgraded to a 2nd deck room. All the rooms were identical in size but the 2nd level was a $1000 premium, presumably because of a better view.
We went to our room (#208) and our luggage was there. The room was not large. It has an entry vestibule with closet and locking safe. There is a king bed, chaise, chair, and bathroom (where you were allowed to flush toilet paper!!). What made the room great was the floor to ceiling window that took up the entire side of the main room (not bathroom – LOL). This gave us a perfect view all the time.
We unpacked for about 45 minutes and then there was the mandatory safety life boat drill, announced by a loud alarm and a verbal explanation. The drill consisted of getting on the life jackets in our room and then going to the 1st deck where we were given a short safety briefing. Then back to our room and dinner at 8 pm.
Aqua Nera
The boat had 20 passenger rooms, so a max capacity of 40 guests. For our trip, there were under 30 split 50/50 into English speakers (and one Russian/English couple) and bilingual Spanish/English speakers. The first deck had the entry way where we boarded skiffs for daily outings. There were also half of the passenger rooms on this deck as well as the masseuse. The second deck contained the other half of the passenger rooms as well as the dining room, gift shop, and cruise directors office. On the third deck was the bar/lounge, exercise room, billiard room, sun deck (where breakfast would be served weather permitting), and a small soaking pool. The third deck also had a balcony all around the ship.
Meals and drinks included
We had three breakfasts over our 3 night cruise. Two were in the dining room and consisted of standard fare of bread, juice, coffee, cereals, ham, cheese, yogurt and an omelette station. One breakfast was taken out on the water where all three skiffs were anchored with a “breakfast” skiff. We each got prepared baskets with hard boiled egg, fruit, sandwich, coffee, and juice.
We had two lunches and three dinners all served in the dining room. The meals were served family style with most of the English speakers gathering at one large table and Spanish speakers at another. The non-breakfast meals were the same, consisting of one appetizer, one main dish, multiple sides, and dessert with wine or beer available. While there was no choice, they were willing to customize as requested. For example, a vegan got tomato and eggplant appetizer in place of tomato and cheese and Margi got one lunch and one dinner of PASTA. Overall the food was plentiful and good.
Late on the final day, we ended with all skiffs anchored together in the Amazon River where we were served cocktails before returning to the boat.
skiffs
There were three skiffs used for passenger outings. They were metal boats with dual outboard engines and 6 seats with backs on each side. The crew consisted of a driver, a naturalist guide, and sometimes the boat’s medical person. All people on the boat were required to wear life jackets at all times. There were steps to a metal platform at the front which made getting on/off relatively easy (with the guide always there to assist).
Outings
All outings required taking the skiffs from the main boat. The boat moved on the Amazon so that each outing was in a different location. As we arrived late on Saturday afternoon and the outings were over the following two days:
Sunday – 6 am, 8:30 am, and 4 pm (ended after dark)
Monday – 8 am and 4 pm (jungle tour back by 5:30pm)
Most outings were totally on the water, going through various tributaries. Two of our outings were on land, one to visit a local village and the other to take a walking tour through the jungle.
When out from the boat, the things you saw were different but there was nothing that really differentiated one day and site from another. So, I have chosen to group the pics and you can click on the appropriate link below:
Click here for pics of the Aqua Nera. (Press BACK to return)
Click here for pics of environment and locals (Press BACK to return)
Click here for pic of animals we saw. (Press BACK to return)
40 sec video of Amazon River Dolphins around our skiff. (Press BACK to return)
2 min video of skiff approaching Aqua Nera (Press BACK to return)
On board activities
During the day, between outings in the skiff, there were various activities offered. There was a nature talk, which we did not attend. There were also a bartending and cooking demo. Margi became the volunteer (Margi, Margi, Margi…) for the bartending demo. The cooking demo was a demonstration of what was to be our lunch, river fish cooked in palm leaves (not to our liking).
Departure from Aqua Nera to Lima
On Tuesday morning, we were asked to have our luggage in the hall outside our rooms as we went to breakfast. Departure for the airport was at 8:45 am and involved a 15 minute skiff ride to the port of Nauta. At Nauta, we boarded the Mercedes coach as our luggage was loaded into the trailer.
On the trip to Iquitos airport, we stopped at the Manatee Rescue Centre, which rescues manatees and other animals. We had a tour of the center with pics here.
We arrived at Iquitos airport with about 2 hours to wait. The Aqua Nera staff stayed with us through the check-in process. We boarded the 2:20 pm flight to Lima and the flight was uneventful.
Lima and then to JFK and home
We arrived in Lima airport at about 4 pm. As we had until midnight to wait for our flight to JFK, we had arranged a driving tour of Lima. So, we collected our luggage and exited to find the Vipac representative, Olinda, with a “Fatcheric” sign. She took us into the international part of the terminal and helped us to get checked into our flight.
Free of our bags, we got into a minivan for a tour of Lima and stopping for a quick bite to eat. Traffic in Lima was crazy. We had hoped to go to Miraflores section but that involved a one hour trip each way, so we visited the heart of Lima. We exited the minivan and walked a bit to a cafeteria style chain restaurant and had pork sandwiches that were great. From there we walked a short way to a square in the center of Lima’s government district with Olinda pointing out the various government buildings, hotels, and cathedrals.
We went back to airport around 8 pm. Olinda escorted us into the airport and was willing to go up to security with us, but we were familiar with the airport and said goodbye to her in the main terminal. We ascended to the second floor and found the Latam business class lounge. It had a typical arrangement with a buffet of small food and beverage choices but liquor was weird. All liquor was from a full bar but they required you to bring your boarding pass because you were limited to only two alcoholic drinks.
We boarded our flight around 11:30 pm where we had to go through a strange manual baggage check (after we had already gone through an x-ray check in security hours before). So we stood in line for about 10 minutes as there was not a separate business class line and they opened every piece of luggage you had.
We were then on the flight with shitty service. Margi and I sat next to each other in center seats. She got nuts, a wine, her dinner, more wine, and had her plates cleared before I was even offered a glass of wine. Same shitty lay flat seats.
We arrived on time. Margi had loaded an immigration app and sent a notice when we landed. That allowed us to go through a shorter line but unfortunately it was the same line as diplomats who slowed the process. Checked through immigration quickly and were one of first out to baggage claim. Got out bags and called JFK parking which picked us up at arrival area C. Temperature was cool so we opened our luggage to get coats as we waited just 10 minutes for the shuttle.
We got to JPF Parking and car was out and waiting. I loaded luggage as Margi paid the bill. We got one day free because of our previous usage (bonus). The drive home was the standard 1:45 minutes and we arrived shortly after 11 am. GOOD TO BE HOME!!
Hit back button and select Cost.