Pat and I had stayed close to home for over a year and it was time to travel again. We selected the National Geographic/Lindblad tour of the upper Amazon River in Peru.
Before leaving for the trip, a friend suggested we read “The River of Doubt” by Candice Millard. This is the story of Theodore Roosevelt’s journey to follow a then unnamed river to its juncture with the Amazon River. The book is compelling but the misadventures, sickness and death of the members of Roosevelt and his group gave us some second thoughts.
We flew from Chicago to Lima, Peru three days early so we could have a few days in Lima to get oriented.
After landing, we were met by a taxi that drove us to the Holiday Inn in the Miraflores section of Lima by the Pacific Ocean. It was late so we took a short walk around the neighborhood and retired.
September 10, 2026
After breakfast we set out to explore Miraflores. A few blocks away was a large, public park.
We walked in and around the park for a while. A section of the park was inhabited by a large number of cats.
The cats apparently are permanent residents here as there were feeding bowls and cat habitats.
We continued our walk and noted some cute shops along the way.
The walk became mostly residential as we got close to the Pacific Ocean. The cliffs overlooking the ocean, however, were filled with high-end stores for shopping.
The view reminded us a lot of the view of the Pacific Ocean from Santa Monica, California.
As we walked back to our hotel, we stopped for a bite to eat. In the afternoon, we joined a tour to see some other sections of the city. Our guide pointed out ancient ruins of a pyramid but drove right by. We decided to come back to explore that the next day.
The drive continued to an older section of Miraflores.
Our tour guide posed with Pat.
We visited the central government plaza.
A children’s choir performed on the church steps.
Our guided tour entered the church below.
There were small chapels within the church. The first was dedicated to Francisco Pizarro.
He was an unusually tall leader and his intact skeleton was recovered.
Naval officers from Argentina were visiting the plaza including only one female.
The last time we visited Lima was in 2016 and Pat had a broken arm. Here, Pat shows off her left arm with no cast or bandages. This time we were both healthy.
We visited an historic monastery.
The monastery’s very old library was impressive.
The hotel concierge suggested the Lime Restaurant near our hotel and we had a delicious dinner before calling it a night.
September 11, 2026
After breakfast we walked back to the ocean and walked further to the North along the Pacific. We followed a path with beautiful artwork along the path.
We couldn’t resist the ‘made for camera’ opportunity.
The park was made for lovers but mostly the pigeons enjoyed the monument in the background while we were there.
…and there was the demonstration of lasting love by adding your lock to the bridge railing.
Go figure!
We then decided to walk all the way down to the beach. …and back up.
We had another excellent dinner this time at Panchita Miraflores restaurant, walked a little more and returned to our hotel.
September 12, 2026
This was my birthday and Pat made the cutest card.
This morning we returned to the site of the La Gran Piramide we had driven by on our city tour. We paid the entry fee and went on a guided tour.
As contrasted with Egyptian pyramids, the blocks of this pyramid are all aligned vertically. This area is earthquake prone and apparently this alignment allows for earth movement without destroying the structure.
On the site there was a pen with a few captive llamas.
We then returned to our hotel, checked out and took a taxi for an hour drive to join the National Geographic tour at the Lima Airport.
September 13, 2026
After breakfast, with only 12 other guests, we took an internal flight on Latam Airline from Lima to Iquitos, Peru where we were met by buses for a two-hour ride South on terrible roads to our river boat, the Delfin II.
These motorcycles with carriages attached were the primary means of local transportation. There are no roads from Lima to Iquitos. This city can only be reached by air or from the East by boat up the Amazon River.
Finally, we arrived at the dock and met our boat, the Delfin II, where we would be living for the next week. We would use the small ‘skiffs’, shown in the foreground, all week to leave the Delfin II and go sightseeing.
Once we were aboard, the Delfin II left the area and proceeded up Rio Maranon.
We had introductory briefings from the captain and crew followed by dinner aboard.
September 14, 2026
Today’s activities were all on the boat until 3:30pm as our boat made its way up the Maranon River to the Amazon Natural Park.
On board we received a presentation from Andre who was the National Geographic photographer for our trip.
We also had a presentation from shaman Carola. In this area of the Amazon, there are long distances to reach any hospital. Shaman Carola explained the 7 years of training she received in herbal medicines to attain her status. She provides medical services to four surrounding communities. She showed us some samples of local roots and leaves that have medicinal benefits.
In the afternoon, we boarded the skiffs and observed wildlife along the Pucate River.
Back on the boat for a recap of the day and dinner at 7:30.
September 15, 2026
The boat always moved to a different location during the night. When we awoke, the boat would be anchored to some trees along the river’s edge; never at an actual dock.
After breakfast we boarded the skiffs. On shore we climbed a long set of stairs into the jungle.
While walking the guides had sharp eyes and pointed out lots of flora and fauna that we would otherwise have passed without notice. Here was a slow-moving boa constrictor.
…and an unusual spider.
We were visiting during the dry season. When the rains come, most of where we walked would be underwater. Some of the trees have amazing root systems.
Back on the boat we had a presentation on local exotic fruits and vegetables followed by lunch and another presentation from a naturalist.
Later in the afternoon we again boarded skiffs and went ashore in a different location.
After dinner we watch an hour-long movie “Rivers of the Sun”.
September 16, 2026
After breakfast we boarded the skiffs to visit the small community of San Jose de Paranapura.
We also had a demonstration of how they extract sugar from local cane.
Our guide spotted this boa constrictor hanging in a tree.
Nearby he also spotted a python.
We were told that placing the skull of a Caiman on your residence would ward away evil spirits.
We saw a good many parrots during our onshore visits during the week. This was the first.
Back aboard the skiff we were all looking for exotic birds. The guides, of course, had ‘eagle’ eyes and were quick to point to birds and other interesting animals. They also knew the proper names for each type of bird or animal.
We pulled along side a local fisherman heading home with his catch.
His catch included a Piranha.
Back on the boat, at 11:00 Andre, our resident photographer, gave a class on photographic composition. There were many interesting pointers about framing and exposure. He discussed how to make the subject in focus but not the fore and backgrounds.
We then had a brief class on preparing ceviche including tasting. Followed by lunch.
At 3:30 we were back on the skiffs to seek out more animals. We were out on the skiffs as the sun set over the river.
Back aboard we had time to rest then debriefing and dinner.
After dinner we watched an hour-long movie “Earth’s Great Rivers”.
September 17, 2026
We were on the Delfin II all morning until 3:00pm. We had a briefing on the people of the Amazon.
After lunch we were taught how to make a Pisco Sour.
At 3:00pm we got back on our skiffs and motored up an inlet. We slowed as we passed children fishing.
Fairly often we would slow the skiff to observe monkeys in the trees swinging from branch to branch. They were always in family groups so we would see plenty of activity. They were too high up in the trees and moving too quickly for me to get a good picture.
Several times the guide slowed the boat so we could observe a sloth hanging in the branches.
The afternoon sky turned ominous and we should have paid more attention. The crew had planned an outing on a strip of land. They had a little tent setup ahead of our arrival. However, just as we all got off the skiffs, the wind blew hard, the sky opened up and it poured. The little tent blew over. We all got drenched.
The storm passed quickly and we headed back to the Delfin II for showers and a hot beverage.
September 18, 2026
This was a long day. We departed the boat at 5:30am in the skiffs. Again, tracking the shoreline to look for monkeys, birds, caimans and other wildlife.
We pulled over to the riverside at about 7:30 and they gave us boxed breakfast on the skiffs.
They offered to stop at two locations that had toilet facilities. Both skiffs declined the first but everyone needed the second.
The waters here were filled with Caimans.
There were baby Caimans on the river’s edge.
At about 10:00 we tied up to a branch on the river’s edge and got the opportunity to do a little fishing. Nothing fancy. Just a stick, nylon line and a rusty hook. The guides baited the hooks for us.
Our youngest member (10 yr old) caught a piranha.
We returned to the Delfin II for lunch. We would be moving on the water the rest of the day and most of the night.
We had an afternoon briefing on the snakes of the Amazon. Some 200 varieties but on 17 were poisonous.
Saturday September 19, 2026
Now the Delfin II was headed back to our original dock.
We stopped at San Francisco, Peru to visit a small village. One gentleman was a bee keeper and opened one of the hives.
We walked a little and passed these lily pads on a pond.
Next, we visited the small village with a school and, of course, there was a shopping opportunity. Pat did buy a few small gifts.
We left the village, got on the skiffs and headed back to the Delfin II. Along the way we stopped to watch a sloth moving slowly up in a tree.
This was to be our last night on the Delfin II. While we were still in the skiffs, we motored about 20 minutes to the beginning of the Amazon River. Here, as the sun set, they popped the corks on bottles of champaign. Here we toasted our new friends, the Amazon River, the sunset, and the end of a very nice trip.
Sunday, September 20, 2026
Following breakfast, we left the Delfin II, took the skiffs to shore and boarded mini buses for the two-hour trip on those same bad roads to Iquitos Airport. About half way there we stopped at the CREA Manatee Park. This is an animal preserve/hospital where they take in and nurture animals back to health before releasing them into their natural habitat.
There were infant Manatees.
Turtles & Caimans
And Parrots.
Our guided tour lasted about an hour before we got back on the mini buses and drove to the airport.
Once in Lima, we had six hours before our 10pm flights home. We read a lot and enjoyed a light dinner with our new friends.
When we booked this trip, we weren’t exactly sure what to expect. This was a very different experience from most of our other travels. It was very educational, we were well cared for, and we enjoyed ourselves.
