The pinktoe tarantula was not on the ship’s manifest but the crew of the Delfin III didn’t mind, so long as it quietly observed the exotic fruits presentation hosted by our guide, Sandro. No one could blame the hairy little fella for climbing aboard this luxury riverboat uninvited; every mild-mannered male, no matter the species, deserves a relaxing ride along the headwaters of the Amazon River.
The Delfin III, the newest and largest vessel in Delfin Amazon Cruises’ lavish fleet, brings renowned Relais & Châteaux hospitality and fine dining to the dense jungle of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve. From piranha fishing in the wild to pampering on the massage table, this cruise is the ultimate way for a guy to unwind.
Your friends will think you’re Anthony Bourdain, your kids will think you’re living an episode of Wild Kratts and your boss will wonder how you turned a few days of PTO into a trip of a lifetime in the Peruvian Amazon.
A five-star restaurant, floating down the river
The Amazon is the last place you’d expect to find the world’s first Relais & Châteaux cruise. Weeks earlier, a stay at Quito’s Casa Gangotena introduced me to the aesthetic elegance, personalized service and uncompromising cuisine required to earn Relais & Châteaux membership in South America. But the flooded forests along the Marañón River are the opposite of a charming colonial city. As much as 85% of Pacaya Samiria National Reserve’s five-million acres is submerged during the high-water season. A lone road connected the city of Iquitos to our port in Nauta — and Iquitos itself is only accessible via plane or boat.
Large moths and lubber grasshoppers awaited our arrival on the 44-passenger ship. Croaks, clicks and chirps of reptiles, amphibians and avians set the stage for what seemed like a rather Rugged & Crâwly experience…that is, until I set foot in my suite full of five-star creature comforts and zero compromises.
A stone walk-in shower and an expansive vanity in the bathroom; a king bed and seating area that added convenience without feeling claustrophobic or cramped. All that stood between these posh digs and the primitive Amazon Rainforest was the floor-to-ceiling panoramic window stretched across the length of my suite. And yet, the suites were just the supporting act: mealtime was the multi-course main event.
On most plates, a fruit we’d seen in the trees or a fish we saw dangling from a local’s rod. Dinner featured doncella carpaccio and paiche fish wrapped in a bijao leaf. Twice-daily dessert showcased chocolate brownies with ungurahui palm ice cream and Amazonian custard anona apples with arazá foam. The juxtaposition was jarring: we were adrift in the Amazon Basin savoring an experience that would make any five-star metropolitan hotel instantly jealous.
Close encounters with elusive wildlife
Just as its cuisine and cabins embody the Relais & Châteaux ethos, Delfin Amazon Cruises does not play around when selecting naturalists and skiff drivers. Within minutes of our first skiff safari through the Yanayaquillo River Creek, we saw a grey river dolphin, a Caiman lizard and the elusive pink river dolphin.
As our skiff zipped through the waterways over the course of two days, our guides Sandro and Ericson spotted everything from black-collared hawks and horned screamers to green iguanas, squirrel monkeys and brown-throated three-toed sloths hidden in the trees. We saw a pygmy-owl and a yellow-headed cara cara. We watched leafcutter ants haul green shards haphazardly around our feet as a green anaconda tried to slither up a tree without accidentally sliding across our shoes. Somehow, they even spied a family of nocturnal, noisy night monkeys tucked so deep into the treeline that even my camera lens had a tough time focusing on what these eagle-eyed experts found 30 meters away with the naked eye.
I’ve trekked through Arctic tundras, Sahara dunes and Costa Rican cloudforests accompanied by exceptional local guides — trust me when I say that the naturalists aboard the Delfin III are in an elite class all their own.
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First things first: don’t knock it till you’ve tried itRelaxing against a rugged backdrop
Sandro insisted that red-bellied piranha are difficult to catch in the high water season, then proceeded to hook two with nothing more than a sanded tree branch, a piece of string and a nibble of raw meat. I won’t mention the fish I almost caught; another passenger’s wife wasted no time in taunting him for the two piranhas he nearly lifted from the Amazonian blackwaters.
Couples will love this cruise, but for the gents who prefer a fishing trip without the missus, Sandro jokingly shares a bit of local lore that’ll convince her to stay home. “At night, the pink river dolphin transforms into a good-looking man,” he said. “He will take your girl, bring her to the river and impregnate her.”
Such a myth was easily dispelled when the baby came out looking more like the neighbor than the endemic toothed whale, but it remains a superstition of sorts in the Peruvian Amazon. The pink river dolphin is indeed a predator, and while it won’t sire a child with your partner, it does prey on baby black caimans and green anacondas.
To be clear, this isn’t a cruise just for “the boys.” Yes, the open bar wastes no time in waving you over for yet another Pisco Sour, and sailing into the darkness in search of what goes bump in the night offers an undeniable thrill. But I did stand mere inches from a red-tailed boa constrictor with a 10-year-old to my left and a 70-year-old to my right. What makes Delfin Amazon Cruises a perfect getaway for guys is how truly inclusive it is for every guy, no matter age, ability or interest. I’m rounding 35 with three kids but felt ten years younger jumping into the piranha-filled river and ten years older taking note of each colorful bird we saw from the safety of a skiff.
The average armchair explorer will love the mix of naturalist-led presentations and exotic, yet never pretentious, cuisine onboard. The intrepid backpacker will appreciate the chance to learn how to properly consume ayahuasca from a real shaman and get within kissing-distance of a Goliath birdeater tarantula, all without having to share a dorm or take a cold rinse in a communal shower. You could be a dude or a dad — or in my case, both — and find something to geek out about on the itinerary. From admiring the artisan craftsmanship of a polished piece of tiger wood to learning about the Peruvian walking palm, a tree that literally moves as if it were cosplaying as an Ent straight out of a Tolkien novel, the cruise’s diverse activity schedule is as educational as it is entertaining.
The last I saw of the pinktoe tarantula, he was holding onto the top deck’s rail, content to sail through the jungle without a care in the world. I felt the same sense of peace as I stood beside it. The Delfin III delivers an experience found literally nowhere else on the planet: an adventure into the unadulterated Amazon Rainforest with unrivaled Relais & Châteaux service. If ever a guy desires a true getaway — one that keeps an easygoing pace while simultaneously engaging your senses with the majesty and mystery of the jungle — a Delfin Amazon Cruise will redefine relaxation in the most exciting way possible.
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