Amazon

Our Amazônia adventure kicked off with an early morning pick-up, followed by a short boat ride across the Rio Negro. We visited a piraracu fish and turtle farm, where these creatures are bred for consumption as the wild ones are protected. The piraracu are enormous, about 2 meters long, and we even got a chance to fish for them. Jeevan’s battle with one turned into a hilarious tug-of-war, ending with him falling backward and a bait fish flying straight into Savik. I was laughing so hard I accidentally stopped recording! The kids, watching this chaos, weren’t keen to try initially, but after seeing me have a go, they gave it a shot. None of us were successful, but it was a blast trying.

We then sailed to the famous "meeting of the waters" where the black and white rivers collide but don't mix—thanks to the differences in temperature, pH, and flow rate. It was quite cool  to see the stark separation of the two colours as we glided over them.

Afterward came a long, bumpy ride in a combi van—probably the first time the kids experienced a car without air conditioning. Open windows did little to stop the sweat pouring down, but it added to the authentic Amazon experience.

Finally, we reached our cruise boat for the next few days, greeted by the sight of dolphins playing around us. Due to the low water levels, dolphins were staying closer to the main river, much to our delight. The dry season meant we couldn’t stay at the jungle lodge we’d originally booked, but the boat experience was supposed to be even better (fingers crossed!).

After lunch, we met our guide and boarded a smaller boat for an Amazon river tour. We learned fascinating differences between the pink and grey dolphins and heard the folklore surrounding them.

Next came piranha fishing—tons of fun! These little guys were quick, snatching the bait before we could blink. We all managed to reel some out of the water, but only Savik succeeded in getting one close to the boat. They were too small to keep, so we released them back into the river. We also spotted caimans and a variety of birds during the tour.

Nighttime brought a caiman-spotting adventure. Our guide caught two, showing us their unique features before releasing them back into the water. The kids were initially terrified but soon mustered the courage to stroke the caimans.

All in all, it was a pretty fantastic start to our Amazon adventure!