Letters |
| June 10, 2007 Dear Bill, What a wonderful trip! Exceeded expectations in every way and our expectations were pretty high after our email exchange. Sarah said that she knew that we were in good hands as soon as she saw you with the sign “Frank” at the airport. And she was absolutely right. |
| The short version is that you, Marmelita, and the rest of the crew gave us an introduction to one of the most exotic places on the planet on a, comfortable, squeaky clean, well designed, safe boat that is ready for service in either the Peruvian or the U.S. Navy. The food was extraordinary and could not be had meal after meal in Lima, New York, or London. The crew was wonderful. They were not scripted people from visitor services whose smile came off at the end of a shift but people who made us feel like guests on their boat, real people who simply busted their tails to ensure that we had a great time. And a large selection of critters was seen throughout the day. And we did not take up the fishing, swimming, caiman catching, canoeing, and other options that you offered. Every thing associated with Dawn on the Amazon III allowed us to be perfectly relaxed and open the sights, sounds, and smells of Amazonia. As in all of our travels, we wanted to see something that we had never seen before. The Iquitos of the rubber barons and of today and the Amazon rain forest that you showed us was very much something that we had never seen. Our experience with beautiful birds, mammals, fish, and reptiles were simply unlike anything else on earth. The visit to the Iquitos market where the only familiar items were chickens, eggs, and ham really set us up to see the source of the endless rows of strange foods and medicines. (Visitors can see the market, critters, and sunrise and dusk on your site, a list is really meaningless compared to the images—there may not be pictures of the pink and gray dolphins that we saw, but we did, more than once.) Even some ordinary things such as ocean going container ships were bizarre because there was no ocean for hundreds of miles. Our creek joins the Rappahannock at a place where the river is a mile wide but the Amazon in high water seemed much bigger. Amazing. Tibet, some of the remote parts of India and Africa and perhaps running the Colorado through the Grand Canyon are the only things that are rivals for “exotic” in our experience. We had hoped for that sense on the Galapagos but even in a small party, the tight control and paths made it hard to imagine Darwin. On the observation deck, especially, at dawn or dusk, I could easily imagine Orellana in 1541 making the first descent by a European. Sarah and I had agreed that going to the Amazon would be wet, hot, and buggy but something that we had to do. It was none of that to our surprise and delight. Except the tropical downpour that caught Sarah, Marmelita, the guide, and the boys from village, we did not get wet. Marmelita was of course equipped with ponchos and it ended up being a treat for Sarah. It was a treat for me too, but I watched from the double bed in our cabin through the open door. Bugs? Not the biting kind on the Nanny with its special pH due to the white sandy soil. The Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve may be unique in this respect, but God Bless it for allowing me to get out of my Buzz-Off long sleeves and chemical pants. That certainly helped to keep me cool, but it really wasn’t that hot, not to people accustomed to Virginia summers. The design of the air circulation vents combined with the drawing power of the fans made being in the cabin night and day quite comfortable. The reflective white paint and clever, layered insulation between the observation and the deck knocked back the temperature by ten to fifteen degrees. We expected good food but not the sort of astonishing array of native foods, a new fresh juice at every meal, entrees that, if they could be had, would go for $75 each in New York. It went on, meal after meal as you well know. Food is the only real danger that your guests should worry about. There is a serious danger of overeating with the exceptional cuisine that has to be unique to Dawn III. And a very nice selection of excellent wine from Argentina and Chile to compliment the meal was offered. We have always followed the Foreign Service advice of never eating local salad and we were thrilled to learn that all of the vegetables were soaked and then washed in pure water. And the salads were a constantly changing treat. The galley’s cleanliness left no doubts about the food unlike the iffy galleys that we saw in China and India. Sarah and I both want to stress how comfortable the crew made us feel. Marmelita, as you know, is joyful in her role of keeping the guests and the crew happy. It shows in every way. Everyone forward seemed to get into the search for birds, animals, and flowers. We felt as if we were part of a team of five or six all trying to make the first sighting and then show the others. Alberto’s ability to imitate the birdcalls was first rate. Judy, chef extraordinaire, was also a great birder—shows you what growing up in the jungle will do for you. Marjorie slipped into our room every day while we were at breakfast to clean and change the bed singing in her beautiful voice. She and Lupa kept the boat spotless. When Edison was not steering the boat or spotting birds he must have been maintaining the engine or cleaning the engine room. The engine hummed and the room was immaculate unlike anything that I have seen before. The trip was a very special one for us. Even better, we came away with new friends in you and Marmelita. Frank If anyone wants to be in touch with me about any aspect of our trip, please feel free to tell them to contact me at bfjewell@hughes.net. |
| Our family had an amazing experience on the Dawn on the Amazon III. Bill created an itinerary just for us that included jungle hikes, encounters with monkeys and pink dolphins, fishing, swimming, bird watching, shopping for boat oars in Belen, and visits to villages off the beaten path. The boat is beautiful and comfortable, and our kids enjoyed the freedom they had to explore it at will. We |
| ate like kings and were treated royally by the warm and knowledgeable staff that accompanied us. They thought of everything, providing candy to give to village children, bringing out ponchos for our jungle hike in the rain, and handing us binoculars to look for birds and animals in the trees. Our trip left us feeling relaxed and invigorated--a fantastic combination. Robb and Linda |
| Birdwatching Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve |
| Will and Sophie on Dawn on the Amazon III |