The Aqua Band!One of my favorite things about the Aqua is the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows that are in every room. Each morning you wake up not knowing what your view is going to be. After breakfast we boarded the skiffs and headed out to where the Ucayali and Maranon Rivers meet. This is the precise spot where the river changes names and the capital A, Amazon River officially begins. You could see a clear line in the water where the two rivers met. I swung my legs over the side and dipped my feet in the Amazon. And then Victor yelled at me to get fully back in the boat because he had no intention of diving in after me when I fell. I'm so glad Lee felt well enough this morning to come with us. To make a perfect morning somehow even more perfect, another big group of pink dolphins came to say goodbye. Saying goodbye to the dolphins was hard, but saying goodbye to the crew and friends we made on the Aqua was even harder. That's one thing I've discovered about Peru. The hellos are joyous but the goodbyes are painful. Disembarking, we got on these hilarious little moto-taxis (tut-tuts) and drove through Nauta. Although our driver didn't speak English, he quickly caught on to my hand signals that we wanted to pass the others and lead the procession. As we started passing everyone, Julio, my favorite guide, started shaking his head and laughing. He was trying to yell to our driver to slow down, but he was laughing too hard to be any kind of credible threat. At the edge of Nauta, we got back on the buses and headed back to Iquitos for our flights. On the way, we stopped at a manatee rescue center. This non-profit group rescues manatees that villagers have captured. They rehabilitate them with the goal of returning them to the wild. What a lot of people don’t realize is that manatees drink their mother's milk until the age of 2, so when villagers capture a baby and try to feed it vegetables, the baby dies. The rescue center bottle feeds the manatees and gradually teaches them to feed themselves. In one of the tanks they had three manatees between the ages of 18- and 24-months and you could touch them. Their skin was smoother and harder than I would have imagined, and their faces are so sweet. In another tank were some older manatees, 3- and 4-year-olds, and the biologist gave us all some plants to feed them. It was hilarious to watch them crowd around to get the food. Then he gave me a bottle of milk and showed me how to support their chin with one hand while holding the bottle with the other. Let me tell you one thing, a manatee can drain a bottle of milk faster than you would think! Another incredible experience in this great country. Another round of goodbyes at the airport. Big hugs from Juan and Julio, but Victor was nowhere to be seen. I think he was done with us! I will miss the wonderful team from the Aqua! From Iquitos to Lima and then to Miami.
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
3 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
4 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
6 days ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.