Amazon Family Adventure
June 27-July 6, 2008

Overview
Features
Itinerary
For Young Explorers

Overview (Return to top)

The Amazon Family Voyage is a perfect place for young people to learn about the natural world.  As you cruise down the Amazon in a classically styled riverboat, be ready to see a vast amount of wildlife.  Look for more than 100 kinds of birds, and see gray and pink Amazon River dolphins swimming in the river.  We might even see the family of endangered giant river otters that lives deep in the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve.  Adult otters can be up to eight feet long!  And as always, monkeys are sure to put on a good show as they swing through the trees. 

Our 10-day Family Voyage follows the same itinerary as our regularly scheduled departures but includes educational and fun activities for our Young Explorers.

Learning and laughter go hand-in-hand on all of our Family Expeditions.  Our family directors bring with them a love of science and wildlife that is contagious. 

You'll travel with our Family Director, our Expedition Leader and expert naturalist guides, who will make the experience come alive.

Priced from $3,298 plus air
International Expeditions

For reservations or additional information, contact:
Jan Breitman [jbreitman@alumni.iastate.edu]
Iowa State University Alumni Association
Fisher-Nickell Hall
Ames, Iowa 50011-1370

Phone: (515) 294-6526 direct or (877) ISU-ALUM toll-free
Fax: (515) 294-9402

Features (Return to top)

• A Family Director and an International Expeditions group leader to accompany the group.
• In country departure taxes (Lima/Iquitos/Lima).
• Professional local bilingual naturalist guides.
• All meals as stated in the itinerary.
• All transfers (when taking group flights) and excursions as stated in the itinerary.
• One time laundry service during the week.
• Bottled water in cabins, juice with meals, coffee and tea available all day.

Itinerary (Return to top)

Day 1  
U.S. - Lima
This evening, fly to Lima, Peru, the nation's capital and largest city.  Meet our guides on arrival and transfer to the Swiss“tel for the next two nights. (Daloft)

Day 2  
Lima
After breakfast, we take a tour of this great city, where the Cathedral and Plaza Mayor are among the highlights.  We enjoy lunch at a local Peruvian restaurant and have the rest of the afternoon at leisure, before returning to the hotel.  [B, L]

Day 3  
Lima, Iquitos, Amazon River
This morning, we fly over the Andes Mountains to Iquitos.  On arrival we take a brief city tour before we board our riverboat, home for the coming week.  Games on board introduce kids to animals and plants of the Amazon.  Tonight we cruise slowly up the Amazon, looking at the stars of the northern and southern constellations.  [B, L, D]

Day 4  
Amazon River, Rio Ucayali
We awake this morning on the Amazon, seeing some of the ever-changing panorama of jungle life as the boat continues upriver.  Small villages dot the shoreline, and channels weaving through island mazes provide close-up views of a variety of marsh birds, such as oriole blackbirds, purple gallinules and yellow-headed caracaras.  This morning we arrive at the junction of the Rio Maranon and Rio Ucayali.  We turn up the left fork, the Ucayali.  We're apt to see both gray and pink river dolphins cavorting near our boat and along the shoreline.  We take an excursion into the surrounding rainforest in search of giant water lilies and elusive wildlife, such as monkeys and sloths.  As we walk, kids will learn rainforest survival skills and have a chance to practice their monkey calls.  This afternoon we may visit a small river village or perhaps call on a local shaman.  As dusk approaches, fishing bats begin their night's foraging.  [B, L, D]

Day 5  
Rio Ucayali, Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve
This morning we explore a small tributary of the Ucayali.  Our guides help us search for animals, including primates, sloths and an incredible variety of birds.  Our ship continues up the river to the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve.  This afternoon, an excursion into this largest wetland reserve in the world, provides the opportunity to see a variety of primates, including monk sakis, red howler and squirrel monkeys.  We enjoy a nocturnal visit to the reserve for a chance to view caimans (keep your hands in the boat!), capybaras, common potoos, frogs and other wildlife.  Tonight, everyone is welcome to the observation deck for storytelling.  [B, L, D]

Day 6  
Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve
After breakfast, we board excursion boats and head out to find a good fishing spot.  Today's catch?  Piranha...and you can feast on your catch!  Spend the rest of the day exploring this flooded realm, seeing wading birds such as white-necked and capped herons, wattle jacanas and sun-bitterns.  Parrots are common, including the most conspicuous member of this family, the endangered scarlet macaw.  We recently discovered an area with a family of giant river otters, and we'll look for these endearing, elusive creatures, as well as the rare harpy eagle.  Later we enter a seasonally flooded forest, where plant life is very different from what we see along the main course of the Amazon, and take a walk through the forest.  [B, L, D]

Day 7  
Rio Ucayali, Rio Mara¤¢n
This morning we turn into the Maranon and visit a local village.  Kids can play games with the local children.  This afternoon we'll meet a local shaman and learn of his importance to the people of the Amazon.  This evening, take a walk through the rainforest.  The small creatures of the forest are often about at night, and we may see interesting leaf-mimic katydids, walking sticks and frogs of many kinds.  [B, L, D]

Day 8  
Rio Mara¤¢n, Iquitos
We enter the "Terra Firma" to see large buttress trees festooned with epiphytes, palms, woody vines and a vaulted canopy.  Brightly colored poison-dart frogs are quit common along our path.  The trail winds through the forest, arriving at a suspended walkway that allows you to explore the world above the forest floor.  This afternoon an excursion on a blackwater river provides another chance to enjoy the beauty of the tropical rainforest.  [B, L, D]

Day 9  
Iquitos, Lima
After breakfast we transfer to the airport for our flight to Lima.  The afternoon is at leisure to relax at our hotel, or you may go to the Indian Market in Miraflores.  Tonight we enjoy an outstanding farewell dinner at our hotel, then transfer to the airport for our flight back to the U.S.  [B, D]

Day 10  
U.S.
We arrive in the U.S. this morning and meet our connecting flights home. (Meals aloft)

Itineraries may vary because of changes in air schedules, weather and local conditions. 
Five day optional Cusco/Machu Picchu Post Trip Extension

For Young Explorers (Return to top)

• Take daily excursions into the rainforest to look for wildlife.  Search for all the rainforest's creatures from monkeys to birds to insects. 
• Learn to fish for piranhas...you can feast on your catch!
• Go canoeing among pink river dolphins.
• Visit a shaman and participate in a special ceremony for kids.
• Learn to play Peruvian musical instruments aboard our ship.
• Play with kids from river villages (Ribere¤os) and visit their school.
• Look for frogs on the jungle trails.
• Search for giant water lilies that are up to four feet long and can support up to 10 pounds.
• Take a nighttime excursion and use your flashlight to look for the rainforest's night creatures.
• Listen to Amazon legends and stories told by our guides.

Each of our Young Explorers will receive an activity booklet that includes:

• Information on the ecology of the rainforest and the importance of its conservation
• Puzzles and word games
• A section to record temperature, wildlife findings and results on science experiments.
• A journal where young explorers may record the best memories of their visit.

Sample Kids' Menu
Breakfast:  Cereals, bread, fruit, pancakes, waffles, eggs, sausage, ham, bacon, juice, milk
Lunch & Dinner:  Pasta (meat & alfredo sauce), chicken tenders, French fries, burgers, rice, mashed potatoes, soups, different meats (chicken & pork), fish, ice cream, cakes
Happy Hour:   Frozen lemonades and snacks (popcorn, meat & cheese turnovers, pigs in a blanket, crackers)