Recently, IE guests from around the country told us why they loved the Amazon. All of the participants were entered into a drawing for the book Tree of Rivers. The lucky winner was Jo Ann Schermerhorn of Magnolia, Texas.
“My husband and I had planned to go to the Amazon but it was never convenient. A few days before he died he asked me to promise him I would go even if I had to go alone. I told him I would. I went alone and had the most incredible time.
I didn’t want to come home. Thanks to Jorge and the crew and the other passengers I saw everything and did everything. They took such good care of me. It would take too long to name the favorite memories because each one was my favorite. My most unfavorite memory was the last night in Lima, after dinner, when I suddenly realized I was waking up from an incredible dream.”
Writer Susan Stafford cruised to the Peruvian Amazon aboard La Amatista, now she’s telling the world about this life-changing Amazon tour.
“Yikes! It’s not often that a pink-toed tarantula seeks to make your acquaintance. One did just that, however, when it casually hopped on board our skiff as we began to pull away from the bank of the Ucayalli River in the northeastern Peruvian Amazon.
Pink Toes is just one of many unexpected pleasures that my husband, David, and I encountered on our International Expeditions cruise aboard the 28-passenger La Amatista as it motored 400 miles/644 kilometers up the Ucayalli River to the Pacaya-Samiria Natural Reserve, and back. If supersized bugs, jewel-like birds, acres of rainforest, and one giant anaconda of a river whet your appetite for adventure, the Peruvian Amazon belongs right at the top of your bucket list.”
Like books? Like the Amazon? LOVE free books about the Amazon? Then International Expeditions has a contest for you!
Become an IE Facebook fan. Then share your story of why you went to the Amazon – or why you want to go to the Amazon. Simply write your story on IE’s wall.
One winner will be chosen from all fans who shared their Amazon story. They will receive a copy of the book Tree of Rivers: The Story of the Amazon. Read The New York Times book review here.
Everyone who shares their story on the IE Facebook wall will be entered into a drawing, and one winner will be chosen at random. Promotion ends March 5, 2010. Winner must be a current International Expeditions’ Facebook fan at the time of drawing. Select stories and comments may be chosen for use in International Expeditions’ publications and/or Web sites; published stories may be edited for clarity and space.
IE Creative Services Editor Emily Harley spent Thanksgiving on our Amazon River tour! Now she shares thoughts on this unique small-ship adventure aboard La Amatista.
The small town where I grew up from in Kentucky and even Birmingham, where I now live, have history. But they ain’t got nothing on Lima, Peru!
Our Amazon tour officially kicks off after a drool-inducing breakfast at the Swissotel with a tour of Lima’s most historic sites. While visitors to Peru often think about the Plaza de Armas and Spanish colonial history, Lima is dripping with archeological gems and monuments, scattered throughout the city and tucked into its many parks. Our guide Jose, points out the Museum of Italian Art and Museum of Art – designed by Gustav Eiffel – as we circle the Park of the Exposition. A now defunct airplane and statue stand guard over a large park in San Isidro, marking the site of Lima’s first airport. Ominous, empty guard towers mark the four corners of a factory, remnants of the Shining Path’s terrorism of decades past.
Francisco Pizarro founded the “City of Kings” as the capital of Spain’s colonial empire in 1535, and his body is still entombed at the Cathedral in the Plaza de Armas. From this grand central square, our group explored the Cathedral, gilded Jesuit monastery, Iglesia de San Francisco and Casa Aliaga. Most travelers who have researched Lima are familiar with the monastery, cathedral and catacombs of San Francisco, but far fewer have heard of the Casa Aliaga.
Sitting to the right of the viceroy’s palace, Casa Aliaga dates back to 1535, when Pizarro granted the land to Jeronimo de Aliaga. But what sets this mansion apart from the many historic homes you can explore in South America (or the Old South for that matter), is that it remains a family home – held by 15 generations of Aliagas. But far from having thousands of tourists trooping through their home, we are part of a privileged group that gets to walk across the marble staircase and halls to eye-ball the family’s priceless antiques. The current Aliaga daughter married the son of our in-country partner.
Ornate carvings, art, stained glass windows and centuries-old imported tiles reflect the changing tastes and style of both the family and society. The entire home is clustered around a striking center courtyard, with wide, open breezeways circling the yard. How can valuable paintings and furniture be left covered but essentially open to the elements? Hernando, our Expedition Leader, assures me, “It NEVER rains in Lima.”
As we prepare to leave the home, there is a stark reminder that this window into the growth of Lima – from colonial capital to thriving, independent city ñ is in fact a home. Our group entered the home through a small wooden door in a large wall. Like many homes in Lima, Case Aliaga has a front square, tucked behind a protective privacy wall, before leading to the front door. In order to walk across the front square and back into the bustling streets of central Lima, we must skirt a brand new Land Rover.
There’s nothing we love more at IE than hearing from our travelers. And we know that most of our travelers tell their friends about their memorable tours, pass along their Environs catalogs and invite friends on their next IE journey.
Now we want to reward YOU for spreading the word about International Expeditions!
Ask a friend to follow us on Twitter. Once your friend is following IE Travel, you’ll both be eligible to win a Memory Foam travel lumbar pillow (pictured right) to help you travel in comfort.
IE will give away 6 travel pillows on Monday, February 22 in a random drawing. To ensure your names are entered in the drawing, after your friend has become an IE Travel follower, they must use Twitter’s reply function to tweet @IEtravel with the message “@(your name) told me about IE Travel!”
This contest closes at 8 a.m. CST on February 22, 2010. There is no limit to the number of entries per person, as long as the method of entry is via Twitter’s @reply function. You cannot recruit yourself. Both you and your friend must be active @IEtravel followers at the time of the drawing.
Expedition Leader Jorge Salas is a star among IE guests, having led expeditions to the Amazon, Orinoco, Antarctica, Patagonia and Papua New Guinea. With his contagious enthusiasm and knowledge of wildlife, history, photography and tribal customs, you are bound to have fun and learn any time you travel with Jorge!
Q1: If you could be any animal, what would you be?
A harpy eagle.
Q1.5: So you can terrorize sloths?
Harpy eagles can see everything from above, and live without the fear of other predators. If you can choose to be anything, you want to be a harpy. Plus, there are lots of sloths, so I wouldn’t ever be hungry.
Q2: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?
Hard to say, but Papua New Guinea stands out as the most interesting and impressive place I’ve been because of its intricate culture and unique natural history. Patagonia is the most naturally beautiful place, but the Amazon is where I love to go the most.
Q3: What book are you reading right now?
Two actually, The Mapmaker’s Wife and Collapse (for the third time).
Q4: Is there a past vacation or place you’ve visited that got you “hooked” on travel?
That is too hard to narrow down. Maybe seeing the condors at Colca Canyon? Next question!
Q5: Where to next?
This year I hope to make it to Uganda. South Georgia Island is at the top of my list and Ethiopia is also getting closer to reality.
Saturday marked National Pisco Sour Day in Peru. If you weren’t one of the lucky few there to mark this auspicious occasion, be sure to check out this Pisco Sour recipe sent in by our own Amazon River tour Expedition Leader, Jorge Salas.
Nothing thrills the staff at International Expeditions quite like knowing our guests are having a great time. So we love getting videos like this one taken on our January 22, 2010 Amazon River tour by Jamie Myer of Los Angeles, California.
International Expeditions’ newest mini water treatment plant has just been completed in the village of San Jose de Paranapura. About 60 families live in this village on the Rio Ucayali. A four-stage filtration system produces up to 2,200 liters of clean water each day. For these families, our water treatment plant means parasite-free water to drink, brush their teeth and cook with every day! Boiling is the only other way to get clean water, requiring harvesting of trees to build and sustain a fire.
Our water treatment plants are also helping to foster a more sustainable economy. Excess clean water can be sold to neighboring villages or used to bake bread and make jam. This minimizes the need to make money by logging in the rainforest.
This is the third water treatment plant IE has funded in the Peruvian Amazon. The other two are located in Irlanda and Santa Teresa. Through our partnership with Travelers’ Philanthropy, IE guests can join with us in funding the construction of other water treatment plants in the Amazon.
The howler monkey’s large vocal organ is hidden by long black hair on its throat. Using their loud, distinctive call – which can be heard up to two miles away – howler monkeys warn other animals away from their territory.
Learn more about wildlife of the Amazon rainforest and listen to howler monkeys with a virtual visit by WWF.
