Amazon Riverboat Voyage

Slide 1: Amazon Riverboat Voyage with World Wildlife Fund November 2007 photos and text by Elissa Leibowitz Poma (unless noted)

Slide 2: La Amatista Our home for six nights was the teak riverboat La Amatista. Twenty-eight of us (plus crew) spent our time relaxing on the observation deck, enjoying pisco sours at the bar and having excellent Peruvian dishes in the dining room. How wonderful to find private bathrooms with hot water and air conditioning in our cozy cabins.

Slide 3: Naturalist guides George Davila (left) and Robinson Rodriguez (with book) have lived along the Amazon their entire lives. As a result of their lifelong experience and specialized training, they can spot birds miles away and name them merely by flight pattern or silhouette. They were excited to see the ornate hawk eagle and umbrella bird—two species they said they hadn’t seen in years.

Slide 4: Daily outings During our daily or twice-daily skiff outings, we spotted 139 different species of birds, including macaws, toucans and hawks. We won’t soon forget forget the day we went into Pacaya-Samiria Reserve and spent 1½ hours motoring back to the Amatista in heaving downpours!

Slide 5: Rain forest hikes With socks pulled up over pant legs and rain gear on, we trekked several times through the jungle in search of tucked-away villages, verdant flora, hidden monkeys and more. George showed us how the orange paste inside achiote tree seeds acts as a natural mosquito repellent, among other medicinal and culinary purposes.

Slide 6: Piranha fishing Following an impressively prepared picnic breakfast aboard our skiffs, some passengers fished for piranha in a shaded corner of a creek. The chefs prepared the fish for sampling that evening—not the tastiest fish, but interesting to try nonetheless!

Slide 7: Flora of the Amazon

Slide 8: Wildlife Thanks to our eagle-eyed naturalists and expert passenger- birders, we spotted 139 avian species. Saki, howler and squirrel monkeys jumped from branch to branch, and George captured a caiman during a nighttime outing. We even saw a lime green iguana camouflage itself right before our eyes! Top: Io moth; bottom: sun bittern; left:: black shimmers. Courtesy Stephen and Catherine Daubert) Our top five bird sightings: 1. Ornate Hawk Eagle 2. Hoatzin 3. Amazonian umbrellabird 4. Scarlet macaw 5. Red-and-green macaw Left: white-lined bats; right: Top: Frog, by Elissa Poma/WWF; bottom: scarlet macaws. Courtesy George Davila with caiman. Courtesy Allan Stephen and Catherine Kroznek Daubert.

Slide 9: Giant water lilies We took a gloriously muddy hike to an oxbow lake, where we encountered the giant water lily called Victoria Amazonica. Several feet wide, the lilies are found only along the Amazon basin. In this photo, full- grown “adults” surround a two-day-old flower and a dying specimen.

Slide 10: Ribereños children We stopped at the river villages of Uracocha and Vista Allegre, where we met dozens of enthusiastic, wide- eyed children.

Slide 11: A magical moment During our visit to Vista Allegre, guest Allan Kroznek performed magic tricks for the children at their school. Even the teenagers were captivated by his tricks—and charm!

Slide 12: Local handicrafts Village artisans set up handicraft markets for us; passengers showed their thanks for letting us visit by purchasing their handmade paintings, jewelry, carvings, baskets and other crafts.

Slide 13: Water’s edge Notice the dark line across the trunks of these trees. It shows just how high the water level can get.

Slide 14: Onboard diversions Each evening, our naturalist guides and crew members performed songs for the pisco sour-loving guests. Who’s ever going to forget the “Amatista” rap by our multi-talented naturalists? Meals in the panoramic dining room included Peruvian specialties such as lomo saltado, rellenos, chifa, fried plantains, tropic fruits and that delectable lucuma ice cream. Dining room photo courtesy Allan Kroznek

Slide 15: Our guests WWF staff rep Expedition leader Elissa Poma Jorge Salas

Slide 16: Street Scenes: Iquitos

Slide 17: Rafael Larco Herrera Archeological Museum

Slide 18: Brazilian Futbolista The Brazilian soccer national team— including Ronaldinho (left), arguably the top player in the world— stay at our hotel in Lima. The outside entrance and lobby were mobbed with fans, paparazzi and lots of security.

Slide 19: Approaching storm

Slide 20: Black-collared hawk snatching a piranha

Slide 21: Night hawks, en masse

Slide 22: Changing of the guard, Lima presidential palace

Slide 23: “This is just the beginning …”

Slide 24: Appendix I – Amazon bird sightings Spotted Sandpiper Black-fronted Nunbird Green Oropendola Solitary Sandpiper Scarlet-crowned Barbet Russet-backed Oropendola From the original checklist: Large-billed Tern Chestnut-eared Aracari Yellow-rumped Cacique Yellow-billed Tern Lettered Aracari Solitary Black Cacique Neotropic Cormorant Black Skimmer Cream-colored Woodpecker Velvet-fronted Grackle Anhinga Ruddy Pigeon Yellow-tufted Woodpecker Yellow-hooded Blackbird White-necked Heron (Cocoi) Plumbeous Pigeon Crimson-crested Woodpecker Orange-backed Troupial Great Egret (Common Egret) Blue and Yellow Macaw Long-billed Woodcreeper Oriole Blackbird Snowy Egret Scarlet Macaw Pale-legged Hornero White-vented Euphonia Striated Heron (Green-backed) Chestnut-fronted Macaw Purple-throated Cotinga Hooded Tanager Capped Heron Red-bellied Macaw Plum-throated Cotinga Blue-gray Tanager Rufescent Tiger Heron White-eyed Parakeet Bare-necked Fruitcrow Palm Tanager Jabiru Stork Dusky-headed Parakeet Amazonian Umbrellabird Silver-beaked Tanager Green Ibis Canary-winged Parakeet Yellow-margined Flycatcher Masked Crimson Tanager Horned Screamer Cobalt-winged Parakeet Drab Water-tyrant Grayish Saltator Muscovey Duck Tui Parakeet White-headed Marsh-tyrant Red-capped Cardinal Black Vulture Short-tailed Parrot Dusky-capped Flycatcher Variable Seedeater Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture Blue-headed Parrot Lesser Kiskadee Chestnut-bellied Seedeater Greater Yellow-headed Vulture Festive Parrot Great Kiskadee Turkey Vulture Yellow-headed Parrot Boat-billed Flycatcher Others (not on original checklist): Plumbeous Kite Orange-winged Parrot Social Flycatcher Snail Kite (Everglades Kite) Mealy Parrot Tropical Kingbird Yellow-hooded blackbird Roadside Hawk Squirrel Cuckoo Eastern Kingbird Band-tailed oropendola Gray Hawk Greater Ani Masked Tityra Yellow-crowned tyranulet Slate-colored Hawk Smooth-billed Ani Black-crowned Tityra Bank swallow Black-collared Hawk Ferruginous Pygmy-owl White-winged Swallow Black-bellied whistling duck Great Black Hawk Great Potoo Brown-chested Martin Sand-colored night hawk Ornate Hawk-eagle Pauraque Gray-breasted Martin Pectoral sandpiper Crane Hawk Ladder-tailed Nightjar Southern Martin Black-crowned night heron Osprey White-collared Swift Black & White Swallow Chestnut-bellied seed finch Laughing Falcon Fork-tailed Palm Swift Southern Rough-winged Swallow Red and green macaw Black Caracara Ringed Kingfisher Barn Swallow Glittering-throated hummingbird Yellow-headed Caracara Amazon Kingfisher Thrush-like Wren Orange-fronted plush crown Bat Falcon Green Kingfisher Black-capped Mockingthrush Lemon-throated barbet Hoatzin Green & Rufous Kingfisher Shiny Cowbird Wren American Finfoot Chestnut Jacamar Giant Cowbird Blue-crowned trogon Sunbittern White-chinned Jacamar Crested Oropendola Sungrebe Wattled Jacana Swallow-winged Puffbird

Slide 25: Appendix II – Other wildlife sightings Brown-throated Three-toed sloth Long-nosed Bat Wagner's Sac-winged Bat Fishing Bat Greater-Lined Sac-winged Bat Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat Saddle-backed Tamarin Night Owl Monkey Saki Monkey Brown Capuchin Squirrel Monkey Red Howler Monkey Pink River Dolphin Note: The bird and wildlife lists Gray River Dolphin include only those species spotted Yellow-crowned brush tail rat in the Amazon and confirmed by the Green iguana naturalist guides. Some guests may Owl butterfly have seen additional birds and Piranha wildlife on their own.

Slide 26: Appendix III – Recipe for Juane from our onboard cooking demonstration Peruvians celebrate the Festival of San Juan each June 23-24 with this classic. Similar to a tamale, the dish uses the leaves of an indigenous rain forest plant called bijao. The leaves are probably impossible to find outside of South America, so substitute with banana leaves or cork husks, for a close match. 2 cups cooked rice (al dente) bone-in chicken thighs 1 small red onion, chopped 2-3 garlic cloves, minced 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon dried oregano salt, pepper, tumeric to taste 1-2 tablespoon cooking oil (olive or vegetable) 3 eggs bijao leaves, passed over an open flame to soften * sliced black olives (to taste) 1. In a frying pan, sauté the onion, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, salt, pepper and turmeric in 1-2 T cooking oil until tender. 2. Put the onion/garlic mixture with the chicken in a pot of 3 cups of water. Boil for 20 minutes or until the chicken is half-cooked. Remove the chicken and onion/garlic mixture, reserving the broth. 3. Put the rice in a large bowl and add the eggs and broth. Stir until combined. 4. Scoop the rice mixture onto a leaf and top with one piece of chicken and the onion/garlic mixture. Twist the bijao leaf tightly until it resembles an overlapping head of lettuce and fold the top over. The goal here is to make each “package” water tight. Tie package tightly with a strip of the leaf or kitchen string. 5. Place each “package” in a pot of water. The water should cover the juane. Boil covered for 40 minutes. * can substitute with banana leaves (decide whether they need softening first) or corn husks (soaked first in hot water according to the directions on the package). If you use corn husks, you may need to remove the chicken from the bones first, as a whole thigh won’t fit in one husk.