Avanti Destinations: M/Y Tucano 6 Nights: Voyage to the Heart of the Amazon

Day 1 Rio Negro
This morning all guests board the vessel the Motor Yacht TUCANO and depart upstream on the Rio Negro. Through the morning we will cruise through the world's largest river island system, the Anavilhanas Archipelago. From the observation deck we scan the magnificent tangle of vegetation at the water's edge. By mid-afternoon the vessel has gone beyond the frontier of settlement and entered a wilderness area. Both shores are covered by dense rainforest. Though we never know what we will see, we have a good chance of observing pink river dolphins and a large collection of exotic birds. Most certainly we will be treated to magnificent forest vistas and the spectacular trees themselves. In the late afternoon we embark in the launches and hunt for wildlife. We may also go for a swim in some of the world's most clean and refreshing water.

Accommodations Are On M/Y Tucano, (D)

Day 2 Rio Negro
Early this morning we explore the rainforest along the waters edge in our launches. We should hear and perhaps see howler monkeys along with a morning serenade of toucans. After breakfast we go for a walk in the forest where we will get a good start on understanding Amazon ecology. Around midday we return for lunch and the vessel will get underway, perhaps stopping at a place to swim. In the late afternoon we will explore the forest in our launches and listen to the sunset chorus of birds and frogs.

Accommodations Are On M/Y Tucano, (B,L,D)

Day 3 Rio Negro
This morning there will be an early exploration of the waking forest. We will keep our eyes open for monkeys - on most trips we see them often. We return for breakfast followed by either a walk in the forest or an excursion in the launches. TUCANO will travel during the middle of the day and we stop in the afternoon for an excursion. Tonight the vessel may travel a bit more as we marvel at the night sky crowded with stars.

Accommodations Are On M/Y Tucano, (B,L,D)

Day 4 Rio Negro
After our two morning excursions TUCANO will navigate along the heavily forested shore, scouting for wildlife. We may stop for a visit at a settler's home carved out of the forest. In the early afternoon we will be near an extraordinary river called the Rio Jauaperi. Here we will see a kind of forest known as the varzea. We will scout along the shoreline for some of the extraordinary creatures found only in this unique environment. Weather permitting we will do a night excursion to observe nocturnal creatures.

Accommodations Are On M/Y Tucano, (B,L,D)

Day 5 Rio Negro
Today we depart the Rio Jauaperi and for the next two days proceed downstream on the Rio Negro exploring a new collection of rainforest habitats. In the daytime we will continue to scout in our launches, walk in the forest, and at night hunt for nocturnal wildlife.

Accommodations Are On M/Y Tucano, (B,L,D)

Day 6 Rio Negro
We begin the day with a dawn excursion searching for wakening wildlife followed by a full Brazilian breakfast. We will then go one last time into the forest. In the mid-afternoon we will begin to journey downstream to arrive late in the day at the "Encontra das Aguas" - a stark several mile long line where two of the world's largest rivers, the Amazon and the Rio Negro join in a turbulent maelstrom. Here the dark water of the Negro runs beside the opaque brown water of the Amazon. At sunset the M/Y Tucano will once again turn her bows upstream on the Rio Negro and journey to our overnight anchorage north of the City of Manaus. As we pass in front of Manaus, we will marvel at the scale of one of the world's largest and most vibrant port cities, that is over one thousand miles from the sea. Tonight we will have a farewell dinner and prepare for an early departure in the morning.

Accommodations Are On M/Y Tucano, (B,L,D)

Day 7 Rio Negro
Early this morning, after a hearty breakfast, all guests disembark from the M/Y Tucano and head to the airport.

Accommodations Are On M/Y Tucano, (B)