Guaranteed Jaguar sightings on Pantanal Wildlife tours

GreenTracks now offers trips to the wildlife-rich Pantanal of Brazil featuring the Southwild Pantanal Eco-Lodge and the Southwild Jaguar Camp, with guaranteed Jaguar sightings.


GreenTracks has now added another exciting wildlife destination in South America - the Pantanal. The Pantanal is a tropical wetland and the world's largest wetland of any kind. It lies mostly within Brazil as well as portions of Bolivia and Paraguay, sprawling over an area estimated to be as much as 195,000 square kilometers (75,000 sq mi). Its seasonally-flooded savannahs and tropical forests offer some of the finest wildlife viewing in Latin America. 80% of the Pantanal flood plains are submerged during the rainy seasons, nurturing an astonishing biologically diverse ecosystem.

GreenTracks offers two spectacular locations (or a combination of both): the Southwild Jaguar Camp and the Southwild Pantanal Eco Lodge.

Southwild Jaguar Camp is the world's leading location to see and photograph wild Jaguars. Southwild Jaguar Camp is the only lodge in history that guarantees viewing of Jaguars. As the Jaguars are at world-record density and spend most of their time on the river edge hunting their favorite prey, namely Paraguayan Caimans and Capybaras, you can see the cats regularly without resorting to any Africa-style baiting or feeding. The term “guaranteed Jaguars” means that if you stay three nights and four days at SWJC and do not see a Jaguar, or if you do not see a Giant Otter, we will give you two nights and three days for free, either right away, or within 24 months.



Southwild Jaguar Camp is open all year for Jaguar viewing. Although most of the Pantanal is hard to access from January through April, Southwild Jaguar Camp is accessible all year thanks to the “Transpantaneira”, the only long, raised road that penetrates the wild heart of the Pantanal.

The Southwild Pantanal Eco Lodge offers the Pantanal’s best value for serious birders, naturalists, and photographers. We offer boat outings that feature the world’s tamest Giant Otters. Other exclusives are the Pantanal’s only mobile canopy towers strategically located at fruiting and flowering trees and silent, electric river catamarans for photographers using long lenses on tripods. We also offer horse rides, cattle drives, walks on scientifically-designed forest trails, research lectures, mammal spotlighting, and Brazilian barbecues.

Click here for more info - Pantanal of Brazil

 

GreenTracks offers discounts on Amazon Cruises

GreenTrack is now offering one of our most popular cruises at a $200 discount. Selected dates are available on both 4 and 5 day cruises, aboard elegantly appointed riverboats. On these cruises you will travel to the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve of Peru, home to some of the largest populations of wildlife in all the Amazon. Hordes of pink and gray river dolphins, packs of howler and squirrel monkeys, massive flocks of brilliant macaws, huge lagoons covered in giant lily pads teeming with fish of all sizes and colors....all of these and more mark the region as Another World. Activities include wildlife viewing, hiking in the rainforest and visits to a riverside villages. Two luxurious riverboats to choose from - The Delfin I and Delfin II.














Delfin I - The newly refurbished Delfin I takes you one step beyond luxury, where comfort and grace combine effortlessly with the wilderness in the most unique vessel ever to cruise the Amazon River. In a setting of understated elegance and world-class hospitality this classic river vessel features 4 spacious Deluxe Suites, all with private terraces and two of them with a private Jacuzzi.














Delfin II - The new Delfin II has fourteen large guest suites, including four Master Suites with 180° panoramic windows and ten Suites – four of which can be interconnected to accommodate families - providing all the comforts of world-class suites, yet preserving the spirit of casual and refined elegance. The dining room on the second deck, the observation deck, bar, entertainment center, library, and our special hammock sun deck will be the perfect gathering places for all our guests.


Visit the GreenTracks website for $200 off of standard rates on selected dates.

Visit GreenTracks Amazon Cruises

Or Call 800-892-1035 or 970-884-6107 for information.

 

Showmanship vs. Reality on reality TV wild animal shows

by Bill Lamar, GreenTracks, Inc.

The abundance of nature oriented television shows is a blessing and a curse. After an auspicious beginning with properly researched and well-filmed documentaries, ratings—largely a function of the preferences of the sofa-set—began to change their direction. One can see the transition from inspired work such as the films by Sir David Attenborough to features that showcase sweating pseudo-Tarzans spewing words like “jungle,” “aggressive,” “survival,” etc. They have devolved into tired depictions of Man vs. Nature that inevitably cast the natural world as something dangerous and in need of conquering….and, of course, they showcase anything with blood. What was a lofty and necessary pursuit has degenerated into cheap thrills.

Television programs are stories and making them is tedious, unromantic, difficult, and expensive. The teams who actually do the filming are marvelously talented and dedicated to their craft. Not surprisingly, the home office is replete with “suits” who live in fear of irate advertisers, the internet, and who cast a dry and often timid eye on the programming choices. Placing a team in the field is, in fact, so costly that time is at a premium, so naturally most animals are procured in advance and wrangled for the scenes. This is perfectly reasonable as long as it is performed by experts who understand the ecology and natural history of their subjects and as long as the research, writing, and editing is rigorously pursued. While all of this is integral to wonderful films produced by and for BBC, Nature, and Nova, it is increasingly rare among the other networks, big names notwithstanding.

The problem arises owing to the innocence of the viewing public. Networks, ever wary of the bottom line, have realized that many, perhaps most, viewers are ill-equipped to distinguish between films featuring solid science and those that stress hyperbole and exaggeration. Risk analysis, a fine science that we use in nearly all aspects of our daily lives, is woefully lacking when it comes to our concepts of wildlife. In brief, the ceiling above you could fall down. That is a hazard. But what is the risk factor, the likelihood that it will happen? While we have a fairly accurate idea as to how high this is, lay-people inappropriately assign high risk factors to all animal hazards. This silliness remains essentially unchanged since the dawn of civilization. And it permits huge liberties to be taken by showmen who know the risks are usually low.

Thus we are now pained to view competent fishermen gasping for breath and trying to portray powerful but essentially harmless fishes as something to be feared; folks molesting terrified snakes while calling them “aggressive,” and “jungles” depicted as places to be subdued. Ditto that for the hokey survivalists, pest controllers, etc. There have been a few legitimate authorities who have presented programs for television, but the majority is anything but that. Additionally, one has the constant problems of animal management. A short scene will often require considerable preparation time for lighting and equipment, yet wild animals are not built to go five rounds. Their reactions—be they defensive or feeding responses—are sudden and of short duration. So by the time the hero hurls himself on top of the anaconda, the snake has long since grown accustomed to being held in readiness off-camera. For those familiar with wild animals, the machinations (not to mention bad acting!) that accompany such staged scenes are ludicrous. Yet the public does not realize this at all.

The film industry has a strict and frequently unrealistic code of ethics when it comes to handling animals and to their credit they try mightily to adhere to it. Yet paradoxically the new genre of so-called survival shows is routinely allowed to violate these rules. I have seen one situation in which the couple who starred in the show, while “lost” deep in the Amazon forest, “found and captured” a large nonvenomous snake which they then dispatched, cooked and ate. The scene was filmed behind the comfy lodge where everyone was staying and the hapless snake was purchased at a local market. And all of this in contrast to standard wildlife films where one cannot even set up a natural feeding sequence with, say, a mouse and a snake. A strange business, to be sure!

Films about the natural world are crucially important education tools and the public needs them now more than ever. Habitats are imperiled and shrinking. Unless attitudes toward our fellow creatures and the places they inhabit become attuned to modern realities, the future will not be a bright one. We need excellent documentaries; if only we could convince the networks of that.

 

Cuzco/Machu Picchu/Sacred Valley

This GreenTracks six-day program visiting Cuzco, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley is an unforgettable experience of the history, culture and archeology of the Andes and the Incas. GreenTracks provides Private Service, you will have your own guide throughout, the best way to get the most out of the experience and expert knowledge of your guide.



The program begins with your arrival to Cuzco, the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Your full aftern

oon private guided tour of Cuzco includes the Plaza de Armas; the Cathedral that was begun in 1580 and took nearly a century to complete; the Twelve Angled Stone, an example of Inca architectural achievement that continues to amaze the world; the Koricancha Temple, known as the "temple of the supreme Sun God "; the nearby ruins Sacsayhuaman, a massive fortress made of large stones, including one weighing 125 tons, arranged in a zig-zag shape in three platforms that presently serves as the location for the Inti Raymi Festival (Festival of the Sun) held every year on June 24; and Kenko, another great example of skilled Inca masonry work consisting of a large limestone slab covered with carvings, thought to have been used for ritual sacrifices. The multilingual, experienced guides will bring these places to life as they detail the rich history.

The next day is a free day to enjoy Cuzco, exploring the many shops with colorful, diverse creative handicrafts. These include hand-made textiles from alpaca wool, ceramics, religious imagery, dolls, gold and silver jewelry and more. There are colorful fruit and vegetable markets that are a photographer’s dream. There are many fine restaurants in Cuzco where one can enjoy the delicious regional foods or just sit and have coffee or a drink and soak in the ambiance of this historic city.



Day three is a full-day tour of the Sacred Valley with your private guide. The first stop is Awanakancha, a beautiful Exhibition Center of Textiles and South American camelids such as llamas, vicuñas, and alpacas. Then on to the Urubamba Valley of the Incas, considered the historic heart of the Inca Empire. Here you will see the stone fortresses of Ollantaytambo and visit the colorful native market at Pisac. Ollantaytambo was the site of a major battle during Manco Capac's Inca rebellion against the conquistadors. Overnight at the Pakaritampu, a beautiful hotel surrounded by gardens of local plants and flowers.



The following day, again with your private guide, you ride the early morning Vistadome train, with its panoramic windows offering unsurpassed scenic views and photographic opportunities, to Aguas Calientes. Upon arrival, transfer by bus to Machu Picchu for a full-day guided tour of the Inca citadel including lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge. Machu Picchu is one of the world's most impressive archaeological sites. Built by the Incas on the summit of the mountain of Machu Picchu (Old Peak), it overlooks the deep canyon of the Urubamba River in a semi-tropical area at 8,000 feet above sea level. Overnight at one of several great hotel options.

The next morning you can return to Machu Picchu for some time on your own to take in the splendor of this magnificent site. Those that wish can hike to Huayna Picchu, (Young Peak) via a well preserved Inca path and enjoy an astounding view of the citadel and the valley below. In the afternoon you will return on the Vistadome train to Cuzco and transfer to your hotel for the overnight. The following morning you will be transferred to the Cuzco airport for the flight back to Lima and home.



GreenTracks’ many years of experience in this region means only the best in guides and hotels. This is an unforgettable experience that will last a life time.

This trip can also be combined with one of GreenTracks’ renowned  Amazon Cruises. Visit the GreenTracks website for other options and additions.


For more info click here

GreenTracks now on Facebook

GreenTracks now has a Facebook page where you can find stunning photo slideshows of Amazon Flora and Amazon Wildlife. Coming soon will be a slideshow of Cuzco, Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Our Facebook page will also feature news, trip reports and more.

GreenTracks Facebook page

Check it out and LIKE us !

 

GreenTracks Christmas Riverboat Expedition

On the 22nd of December the historic riverboat Clavero set sail from the town of Nauta on a 7day/6 night GreenTracks Riverboat Expedition to the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve. The Clavero was built in 1876 in Paris for the Peruvian Navy where it served as a gunboat, expedition boat and mail carrier. Restored and improved several times, currently the ship has 6 air conditioned cabins, an air conditioned dining room/bar and a top-deck observation area.

Besides enjoying the ambiance of the ship, and a sumptuous Christmas Eve dinner, the intrepid travelers participated in three or four excursions each day. By small boat they spotted a colorful array of birds, explored small creeks and fished for piranha. At night they went out by small boat to look for caiman, where they caught and released a 2 foot-long Black Caiman, and marveled at a star-filled sky and the night sounds of the rainforest. They hiked jungle trails in search of monkeys and saw ten Howler Monkeys, a troop of Squirrel Monkeys and heard Capuchin Monkeys. Oscar, the guide on this trip, pointed out and explained the use of many trees and plants by the people of the rainforest for medicines and construction materials. They also visited to two small villages to see how the local people lived in a rainforest environment and saw crops of bananas, yuca (manioc), papayas and corn.

Here are some photos from the trip. Click on photos to enlarge.

The Clavero on the Samiria River.

The Clavero navigating upriver to explore the rivers and inland lakes and view the diverse wildlife.

Cabins on the Clavero have been painstakingly restored in the style of the 19th century.

The Clavero Dining Room boasts a native hardwood floor and a panoramic view.

Christmas dinner included a turkey, jungle sweet potatoes and Piranha that had been caught that same day.

The giant oriole known as the Crested Oropendola uses hanging nests to protect them from predators.

Massive buttresses support this Ceiba tree, which actually has a very shallow root system.

Blue and Yellow Macaws display their colors in flight.

Famed for its reflective rivers the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve is known as the "Espejo de la Selva" or Jungle of Mirrors.

And for good reason. This is the same photo as above, but upside down.

One never knows what will be found when hiking through the rainforest.

The Giant Water Lilies (Victoria Amazonica) can get up to 5 feet in diameter.

Spectacular sunsets are common like this one of a rainy sunset on the Marañón River.


For more information see  GreenTracks Amazon Cruises page.

 

Christmas in Peru

Christmas is the one of the most important celebrations of the year among Peruvians and is very family oriented. Christmas in Peru is called as La Noche Buena, which means "The Good Night" in Spanish.

Christmas is celebrated on 24th with much fanfare. In the evening, there is a family get-together to celebrate Christmas which is also called the Christmas for Children as this is the time children open gifts. There is preparation of pavo (turkey) in most of the houses as well as apple sauce and tamales. Panatones (sweet breads) are also very popular. The Christmas meals is served at midnight along with homemade hot chocolate made with rich chocolate, cinnamon and cloves.

After the dinner and the children are put to bed the party starts with furniture moved aside to allow for dancing. These parties often go on until daylight. Christmas Day itself becomes a day of well-needed rest.

Nativity scenes are placed in churches, homes and the main plaza. They often have a regional flare as can be seen in the photos of the Nativity scene from the Plaza de Armas in Iquitos below.



Click on photos to enlarge

 

GreenTracks Amazon Cruises

A cruise aboard a comfortable riverboat is your best opportunity to see the magic of the rainforest and the Amazon River, one of the most exciting places on earth, with GreenTracks, a company that is known world-wide for it's intimate knowledge of this exotic land. You will have the Amazon Riverboat experience of a lifetime.

Our cruises on the Ayapua & Clavero riverboats travel to the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, the largest protected natural area in Peru, with 5,139,680 acres - 10,800 square miles, it stands today as one of the largest and most important wildernesses in all the tropics. The Pacaya-Samiria is home to some of the largest populations of wildlife in all the Amazon. Hordes of pink and gray river dolphins, packs of howler and squirrel monkeys, massive flocks of brilliant macaws, huge lagoons covered in giant lily pads teeming with fish of all sizes and colors....all of these and more mark the region as Another World. Simply put, it is one of the least visited and most beautiful parts of the Amazon Basin.



The Ayapua is the only boat still operating that was used to transport rubber on the remote rivers of the Brazilian and Peruvian Amazon during the early part of the 20th century. She was built in Hamburg, Germany in 1906 and from 2004 to 2006 she was restored to her original splendor with many original features incorporated.



The Clavero is the oldest historic riverboat on the entire Amazon. She was originally built in Paris, France in 1876 and brought over to the Amazon for use as a Peruvian naval boat. The Clavero was used for government expeditions exploring the Peruvian Amazon and as a mail boat. She was completely restored between 2007-2009 with many of her original features incorporated.

On the 7 Day cruise, you will observe wildlife along the Samiria River with activities to include: Small boat excursions for river dolphin, macaw, monkey and other wildlife observation, rainforest hikes in search of wildlife, piranha fishing, nighttime caiman observation and night hikes in the forest. There is a lot of wildlife to observe and a lot of excellent photo opportunities. Visit to a local Cocama indigenous village and meet the people and see how they live and interact with the rainforest.

GreenTracks Amazon Cruises

 

Ornamental fish of the Peruvian Amazon

The Amazon is, not surprisingly, home to the greatest richness of fish species in the world. They range from tiny parasitic fishes to gigantic catfish built like sharks. Many are dark or dull in coloration, but just as many are brilliantly patterned. Here, we celebrate Amazon fish diversity by offering just a few of the ornamental fishes we encounter during our ecotours.
All photographs by D. Fenolio for GreenTracks, Inc.


Suckermouth Catfish (Pseudancistrus sp.). There are many new species of odd, armored catfish in the Amazon, but few are as imposing as this one.


Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare). Another famous ornamental fish, the angelfish exists in a number of colors and patterns. The one pictured here is a typical one from the Amazon.


Ringed Catfish (Merodontotus tigrinus). This uncommon and strikingly patterned fish is known locally as “María zúngaro.” It can reach about three feet in length and so is both consumed as well as collected for the ornamental fish trade. The habitat is in rivers.


Severim Cichlid (Heros efasciatus). This imposing cichlid is known locally by the name of “Corbata rojo” (red tie) in reference to the male’s spectacular breeding colors. They reach around ten inches in length and inhabit oxbow lakes.


Pencilfish (Nannostomus mortenthaleri). The “lapicero” is a classic aquarium fish which gets its name because of its habit of orienting itself at a downward tilt.


Red pencilfish (Nannostomus marginatus). Stripes and red color, while arresting in an aquarium, actually serve to protect the fish in the wild as they become difficult to see.


Leaf Fish (Monocirrhus polyacanthus). The “pez hoja” has a clever feeding strategy: it relies on its amazing resemblance to a leaf and drifts with the current until it is close enough to capture unwary fish! That same appearance makes this a very difficult species to observe in the wild.


Amazon Cichlid (Apistogramma sp.). This is a small cichlid of immense popularity among aquarists owing to the brilliant colors displayed by males during breeding season. Although they are only about 3 inches long, these little fish are pugnacious. They inhabit small streams and quiet backwaters.


Flame blue tetra (Boehlkea fredcochui). Tetras generally are tiny and brilliantly colored. They occupy quiet waters in oxbow lakes and lagoons.


Neon tetra (Paracheirodon innesi). Neon tetras are a mainstay of the aquarium industry and countless numbers are bred in artificial ponds in Florida. But it wasn’t always that way; the first tetra brought into the USA fetched a hefty price back in the 1950s.



Discus (Symphysodon aequifasciatus). Long a favorite in aquariums, the elegant dish-shaped discus has a number of distinct populations that vary according to color. They are among the most sought after aquarium fishes. They occupy deep, quiet water around fallen trees.

 

Lake Titicaca, Peru and Bolivia

Tucked away high in the Andes between snow-covered peaks, Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake on the planet. The high altitude and crystal-clear air combine for stunning panoramas during the day and at night the sky is jam-packed with stars horizon to horizon.


Lake Titicaca straddles the border between Peru and Bolivia at 12,580 feet above sea level. The average depth is 328 feet (100 meters) and the deepest point is over 900 feet (281 meters.) The Andean people refer to it as “The Sacred Lake” and believe the first Inca rose from deep within the lake to found the Inca Empire. The people of the lake still make offerings to ensure sufficient totora reeds for building boats, for successful fishing, for safe passage on its waters and for a mild climate.


Go to - Lake Titicaca programs

 

FREE GreenTracks CD-Rom

Be sure to request your....

FREE GreenTracks CD-Rom of Amazon Information with an Amazon Slide Show.
Features over 200 images of animals, plants, people and scenes from the Amazon.
Photos taken by our tour leaders on GreenTracks tours.




Go to - GreenTracks Amazon CD-ROM

 

A LOOK AT BOOKS

Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon
by Michael Goulding, Ronaldo Barthem, Efrem Ferreira. 2003.
Smithsonian Books. Washington.



The authors, all respected authorities on the region, treat the Amazon from its source high in the Peruvian Andes, to its mouth. They describe the Amazon based on its thirteen largest tributaries, each with a unique personality shaped by geography, ecology, recent geologic history, and mankind. The photographs are outstanding, and there are 150 color maps. This is the best overview ever written on the subject. “I was entranced when I saw [from orbit]...the mirror of the Amazon Basin, with its swamps and backwaters, like the bewitching eye of the continent...”– Oleg Markarov, cosmonaut.

 

Jungle lodge on the Quebrada Oran

This lodge is situated on a small tributary of the Amazon called the Quebrada Oran. The Oran region is rich in biodiversity and the lodge is near both high and lowland habitat, the Amazon River and many black-water lakes. The region behind the lodge is one of the seven Climatic Refuges in the Amazon Basin and is one of the highest in biodiversity of plants and animals. GreenTracks' itineraries can be customized to meet the guests interests.



Short or long nature hikes - Learn about the rainforest, relationships of animals and plants, lifecycles of the trees, water and epiphytes.

Bird watching - Macaws and parrots, prehistoric appearing hoatzin birds, horned screamers, hawks, eagles, falcons, herons.... hundreds of species!

Canoeing and boat excursions - explore oxbow lakes, lagoons, beaches, islands, flooded tahuampa forest, fishing, wildlife viewing.

Ethnobotany, Medicinal plants - hikes, talks, visits with shaman healers, gardens.



Indigenous cultures - Visit a Yagua Indian village, make bows and spears, weave baskets and bracelets. Purchase native arts and crafts - bracelets, necklaces, dresses, statues, blowguns, paddles, pottery and handbags.

Observe - giant water lilies, pink dolphins, frogs, giant river turtles laying eggs, enormous trees, strange insects, exotic plants, monkeys, maybe even an ocelot or jaguar.

Nocturnal excursions - by boat, on foot, looking for caiman and other nocturnal wildlife.





Go to - GreenTracks Lodge program

 

GreenTracks in USA Today

After a nice profile of GreenTracks in National Geographic Explorer recently our Two Day program to Ceiba Tops has now been featured in the USA Today Travel Tips section.


Explore a spectacular section of the Peruvian Amazon in two days with the Ceiba Tops tour package presented by Green Tracks, a Colorado-based eco-tourism specialist. The tour begins with a guided tour of the historic city of Iquitos, Peru's main port on the Amazon River. Cruise 25 miles down the Amazon to Ceiba Tops, a luxury lodge in the rainforest. Enjoy an afternoon hike into the reserve, followed by dinner and a live musical performance in the evening. The second day of the tour begins with a morning boat ride to visit a small Yagua Indian village and learn about the local culture. You may spot Amazon river dolphins during the trip.

Go to - GreenTracks 2 day/1 night Ceiba Tops Program

 

Over the Rainbow

Deep in Peru’s Amazon, visitors on a storied steamboat discover a bounty of colorful wildlife, from pink dolphins and scarlet macaws to giant river otters and black caimans.

Over the Rainbow
Audubon magazine July 2010By Susan Cosier

At first their calls are distant. I grasp the iron railing circling the boat’s deck and peer into the forest, determined to spot brightly colored red, yellow, or blue feathers among the densely packed emerald leaves. Harsh croaks give the birds away before their flapping wings and long trailing tails are visible. Trees rustle, and above the canopy there appear two, no, three macaws. From where we’re standing, it’s hard to tell which of the five species known to live in this locale are coloring the sky. Then we see their fire-engine-red fronts and electric-blue flight feathers: scarlet macaws. Their strident squawks continue well after distance darkens the departing birds’ colors.

We motor farther into the flooded forest. Blue-and-yellow and chestnut-fronted macaws cross from one side of the river to the other. Iridescent Amazon kingfishers wing just above the water’s surface, tightly hugging the shoreline.

We are heading toward the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. Nearly the size of New Jersey, this five million acres of pristine Amazon rainforest in northeastern Peru is sandwiched between the Ucayali and Marañón rivers, and accessible only by boat. Our goal is to observe the extraordinary mix of wildlife that can be seen here and almost nowhere else—mythical pink river dolphins, menacing black caimans, giant river otters, raucous red howler monkeys, and an entire rainbow of some 500 bird species, from endangered scarlet macaws to wattled curassows.


In the past few days we have followed the trail that only a few thousand other people will trace this year, flying from points around the globe to Iquitos, the largest city in the Peruvian Amazon, then driving an hour and a half in sweltering heat to Nauta, a small fishing village. There we board a boat that appears straight out of Werner Herzog’s film Fitzcarraldo. Once a decaying carcass of steel, the restored steamboat used a century ago by rubber companies and now fueled by diesel, is a dead ringer for the ship in Herzog’s award-winning 1982 picture portraying Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald (played by the enigmatic Klaus Kinski), a man obsessed with building an opera house in the middle of the jungle.

Our Fitzcarraldo is Richard Bodmer, 50, a biologist determined to save this forest. So intent is he, in fact, that with parts from eight different boats, he built a floating research vessel fit for luxury cruising through the heart of Peru’s Amazon. For the next five days Bodmer, a British-born bloke fond of gingham shirts, khakis, and loafers, will play the role of gracious host while four traveling companions and I double as tourists and scientists. Our mission: help Bodmer and his six-person crew ply this sunken forest for the scientific clues that will help keep it pristine into the next century.

Turning a bend in the river, our boat ripples the forest’s perfect watery reflection at flood stage, revealing to us why locals call this swath of forest “the jungle of mirrors.” More than 10 million years ago the Amazon basin we’re cruising through formed when the Andes rose to sky-piercing heights, trapping the water to create an inland sea. As the salt water drained, fresh water rained down, filling rivers and the low-lying jungle. “The result of that is these huge areas of flooded forest,” says Bodmer. “It has a very unique ecosystem in terms of the birdlife, the fish, and other wildlife.”

Beginning with the rubber boom in the 1880s, foreign barons steamed deep into the forest and, for a minimal fee, hired Indians to etch small channels in the bark of rubber trees, forcing them to weep the white sap that would form rubber. By the early 1900s the barons were making the equivalent of $2 million on each trip, and since the rubber tapping didn’t kill the trees, they returned to their leased lands again and again.

After the rise of rubber plantations in Asia ended the South American boom, the logging and mining industries moved in, filling the void. Trees were cut down, oil was sucked out of the earth, and the workers joined the local people in living off of wild game and plants, driving down wildlife populations. Although much of the forest remained intact, development was steady.

In 1984 Bodmer saw an opportunity to work with Peruvians to reverse the destruction. While earning his doctorate in zoology, he began studying Amazonian peccaries. He met and fell in love with Tula Fang, a local Iquitos woman who was also studying biology, and they married in 1986. Today Bodmer, Tula, their son, William, 22, and their daughter, Carolina, 19, split the year between Kent, England, where Bodmer teaches at the university, and Peru’s jungles, where he conducts wildlife surveys and hosts students and volunteers.

In the same forests where Bodmer met Tula, he also encountered Pablo Puertas, a sharp-witted Peruvian primatologist with a wide smile and a shoulder-shaking laugh who was one of the first to document the reserve’s 13 primate species. Today the two of them work with the 21 local Cocama-Cocamilla Indian communities in Pacaya-Samiria to preserve the wildlife.

So far their research is yielding good news in Pacaya-Samiria. “Most of the key wildlife species are recovering, including paiche, the giant freshwater fish,” says Puertas. “Giant river otters, manatees, macaws, river turtles, woolly monkeys, howler monkeys, and caimans are also coming back. The results show that we’re succeeding.”


The setting sun tints the clouds a vivid pink that darkens with each passing moment. Powder-scented flowers perfume the night air. Silhouettes of macaws show against the darkening sky, and a lone toucan flies in the distance. Leaf-nosed bats appear out of nowhere, flying erratically over the river, feasting on insects. We hear a strong roar through the trees; it’s a troop of howler monkeys, which have the loudest call of all New World animals. Though they weigh only as much as a small terrier, their vocalizations can travel three miles through the dense forest.

Bodmer invites us to the boat’s canvas-covered upper deck before dinner, as the rubber barons would have done. In the small bar Enrico Caruso’s scratchy voice sounds from a gramophone speaker. Bodmer pours Iquiteña, a locally brewed beer, and we clink glasses. “I’ve always been interested in history, so what better way than to link biology and biodiversity and culture and history all in one?” he says. “I wanted to do something more real, not just academic. That’s what conservation is.”

Soon he summons us to the formal dining room outfitted with a long carved table that’s topped with lace and surrounded by 20 red velvet-covered chairs, each with the name of our ship, Ayapua, carved in the back of its heavy mahogany frame. Mouth-watering smells of salted fish, pan-seared plantains, and fried manioc, a starchy tuberous root, whet our appetites.

After dinner we pile into a small wooden motorboat to explore nocturnal wildlife. Soon Magalay Rengifo, a 28-year-old biology student at the University of Iquitos, switches on a spotlight and scans the shore. Slowly sweeping from left to right, the beam illuminates the forest at the water’s edge. Rengifo is looking for reflective points the size of marbles.

With her long black hair kept in check with a bandana, she scribbles notes on paper secured to her clipboard. “Alli!” she shouts, pointing to a snag jutting from the water like a broken bone.

Our captain, Odilio Recopa, a Cocama-Cocamilla Indian villager from the area, points the boat in the direction of Rengifo’s finger. We pitch to the right. Near shore, Recopa cuts the motor, keeping the light trained on an eye just inches above the water’s surface. Slowly we drift toward the caiman. Recopa readies a lasso-like wire and leans precariously over the bow. With a quick pull he snares the foot-long primordial reptile.

The alligator-like black caiman tries to escape, thrashing water in every direction. Within seconds, Rengifo’s skilled hands have taped the dark-skinned juvenile’s four-inch jaws shut. Its tiny, scaly legs helplessly wave in the air until Rengifo secures them with a piece of rope.

She places the caiman on the boat’s seat, and measures it. Even though it’s so small, this reptile belongs to the largest species in the Alligatoridae family, and individuals can top 12 feet. After she weighs the caiman, she peels the tape off his snout and eases him back into the murky water.

Catching even one black caiman is more than researchers could have hoped for less than 20 years ago. “They were overhunted because of the pelt trade,” says Bodmer. “Now we see very large ones quite frequently.” Researchers find nearly two black caimans every two-thirds of a mile on surveys, which makes them almost as familiar as their cousins, common caimans, which compete for the same food and habitat. The black caiman’s resurgence is now helping scientists to learn more about how the ecosystem can support both species.

The air around us fills with the distinct stench of rotting flesh. A dead caiman, floating belly up, appears in the beam of our spotlight. Rengifo explains: In spring males will fight to the death over a female, creating a floating cemetery of beaten caiman corpses.

After counting dozens of eyes glowing in the dark and another carcass, Rengifo turns off the spotlight and tells Recopa it is time to head back to the Ayápua. We are engulfed by darkness and the heavy smell of night-blooming jasmine. The flooded forest’s shadows creep in and several light-colored branches take flight: great egrets flapping into the darkness.

Daybreak’s cool turns muggy by mid-morning. On shore, we’re eager to explore shading palm fronds and buttressed ceiba trees covered in twisted vines. Clearing a path with a long machete, our scout, Recopa, leads Puertas and me into the jungle. With each step, thick mud slurps at my boots. Recopa points toward the high branches of a kapok tree, and Puertas whispers: “brown capuchin.” In the next several hours we spot 10 of the 13 primate species found in the reserve, including spider, uakari, and titi monkeys. Without Recopa’s expertise, we might have missed them all.

Cocama-Cocamilla Indians’ experience and knowledge wasn’t always so respected; in fact, they were once considered outlaws in their own land. The Peruvian government first protected the area now known as Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve in the 1940s, establishing it as a fisheries reserve in an attempt to save the endangered paiche. But the government’s designation of the region as a full reserve in 1982 actually amounted to a defeat for the local people dependent on the land for survival.

Anybody caught hunting—even for food—was declared a poacher. Rangers from outside the area manned guard stations, confiscating fishing poles, nets, hunting spears, and knives. Hostilities mounted between those living on the land and those managing it. As a result, the Indians were forced to sneak into the reserve, hunting what they could. Wildlife populations plummeted. “We saw much less in the 1990s. And much more of the smaller species,” says Bodmer. No one knew how the wildlife would fare in the long term.

Tensions exploded in 1997 after a ranger confiscated an expensive new net from a fisherman. Enraged, the fisherman attacked a guard station. “Three people were killed, two of them biologists,” says Bodmer. In response, the government, with some convincing from Peruvian and American researchers, changed its policies and began involving locals in the reserve’s management.

“If we don’t work with local people, we’re going to fail in our conservation,” says Puertas. When the Indians are included in managing the forest, he adds, they take responsibility for protecting the wildlife, plants, and resources within it.

The government permits communities to take a certain number of animals each year to eat and sell, which curtails excessive hunting. “What the locals want are their resources for their future,” says Bodmer. “They don’t have a mortgage, they have a canoe; they don’t have an income, they have a forest. The key to conservation is to find ways to help people, to find ways to help guarantee that the use of the forest will continue for a long time.”

The next day we head toward a pocket of the Samiria River where we hope to see the reserve’s holy grail: the pink freshwater dolphin. Across the Amazon, indigenous people regard these dolphins as humans who live below the muddy water’s surface and revere them more than almost any other animal. “When one was killed accidentally,” offers Bodmer, “the fisherman gave it a human burial.” Robust dolphin populations show scientists that the Amazon’s rivers are healthy.

Anhingas perch on branches with their wings open, drying their feathers. Wattled jacanas with their bright-yellow beaks creep along the shore. We’re scanning the surface for dolphins, straining our eyes to see deeper into the water. Minutes pass. Then we hear it: hooonnnkk. A bubblegum-colored dolphin breaks the surface. We hear a forceful sigh behind us and turn in time to see the bulbous head, beady eyes, and long, thin beak of a second pink dolphin.

Soon the arching backs of five gray dolphins, a smaller freshwater species, join them, shining in the sun as they crest. They dart through the water, chasing fish. “At first it was hard to tell between pink and gray dolphins,” says William Bodmer. Following in his father’s footsteps, the quiet, dark-haired young man is tallying the aquatic mammals we see. “Now I think it’s easy.”

Last year researchers counted more than 220 pink and gray river dolphins per square mile, more than ever before and double the tally for 2008. Bodmer says good fisheries management is boosting numbers, and oil exploration in the nearby Tigre River may also push some dolphins deeper into the reserve, possibly increasing the count. “Nearby rivers haven’t been conserved in the same way, so we’ve seen a real increase,” he says. “It’s a very top predator in the aquatic system, a very intelligent animal, and there’s a very strong tradition around it because of the strong taboos.”

The greater the leeway the government gives energy companies operating in the Amazon, the greater the threat to the forest. “[Pacaya-Samiria] acts as a refuge for these important species that you don’t find in those numbers in other places,” Bodmer says. “It’s a huge flooded forest, with great diversity.”

Back on the boat, Bodmer discusses his plans to expand his operations. This spring he opened a restored rubber baron’s house in Iquitos and is currently in the midst of setting up a rubber-tapping community. He envisions forest managers extracting the resource and selling it to high-end carmakers at a premium. Automobiles with those tires could receive an environmental credit, while companies could prove that they’re contributing to conservation.

Although the idea is still just that, it seems more realistic than Fitzcarraldo’s vision of building an opera house in Iquitos. Herzog’s hero and ours are both visionaries in their own ways. One was fixated on bringing music to the jungle. The other simply chooses to listen to those refrains while steering his ship through a landscape that he hopes will always feature the live soundtrack of birdsong and howling monkeys.

GreenTracks Amazon Cruises