Editor’s Note: Cruising the Amazon

Mon, Aug 30, 2010

Last October, I took a river trip into Peru’s Pacaya Samiria National Preserve aboard the Aqua; my account of this Amazon wilderness is in the latest issue (“The Lost World,” page 82). What I found there constituted a trip of a lifetime and the article chronicles why. Alas, for all the deep reporting I did on its undeniable magnetism and natural richness, I drew fire–deservedly–for an error that should not have happened. In the field, despite using several sources, I said that the Aqua was the “only large boat running regular trips down the Peruvian Amazon…. The alternative: industrial banana boats that haul river cargo and offer a hammock for the night.” The statement was double-checked by our researchers. Despite all that, it’s not true. We goofed.

Two other finely appointed boats of similar scale work these waters. The 120-foot-long luxury Delfin II (www.delfinamazoncruises.com), which began service after my visit, carries 28 passengers and has just struck an alliance with National Geographic Expeditions. International Expeditions’ 28-passenger La Amatista (www.IEtravel.com), an old-style riverboat, has been in service since 1994 and was cited by our now-defunct sister publication Adventure as one of the world’s greatest adventure trips. Neither vessel, rest assured, resembles a banana boat. While the undeniable star of the trip is the Amazon itself, these boats can let you experience it in style. Our apologies for the error.

–Keith Bellows, Editor

Photo: The Aqua is one of several boats that makes trips down the Amazon River; by Richard Olsenius.

Peru – Amazon River – Lost World – South America – Loreto