Amazon River alligators put on a night time show

It is dark. Jungle dark. There are no lights from nearby towns or villages to pollute the night, only Orion’s Belt above, which seems to shine much brighter when you are cruising along the Amazon River in Peru.

The small launches speed toward the eyes. The eyes don’t move. They don’t blink, even under the glare of two large spotlights. As we get closer, Roland tells us that the eyes belong to a caiman, the local alligator. The lead launch edges toward the gator, which turns and scampers up the muddy riverbank. One of the guides leaps off the launch and wraps one hand around its throat, while the other hand struggles to get the tail under control. This female gator, about two years old, is not much more than a metre in length but, as the guide brings it on to the deck of our tiny launch, you can see that it already has an impressive set of perfectly formed choppers.

Never smile at a …

The guide’s choppers are also pretty impressive. He has a smile from ear to ear, proud of his night’s work. The smile disintegrates, though, when the gator wriggles free, landing on the boat’s deck. All five passengers take a giant step backwards and shriek in unison as the guide hits the deck for round two of his gator-wrestling match. It’s only when the beast is under control that heart rates return to a normal level.

It is the second night of our three-night cruise onboard Aqua which, with its sister ship Aria, is the best high-end Amazon cruising product in Peru.

Our cruise is only one-third full. The other passengers are from the US and, like me, they are in the middle of a grand tour of Peru and Chile.

In this part of the world, river cruising is all about the animals.

And, if tonight is any indication, we have had a successful excursion. Not only have we patted an alligator but we have also seen about 20 species of birds (including the toucan), watched from the water while monkeys cavorted in the trees above, spotted two different iguanas, had pink dolphins parade past the boat and allegedly seen a sloth. I say allegedly because it was a very long way away and I couldn’t swear on a stack of Bibles it was anything other that an unmoving dark lump in a tree. Hold on, that’s what a sloth is, isn’t it? So, yes, we saw a sloth.

Dry season brings an unexpected gift

The Aqua sails from the rugged town of Nauta in Loreto. It’s dry season when I visit in early September. The river water levels are down, which has an unexpected benefit. When the river is low, fish are in abundance, which is obvious from the first morning onboard when I fling open my stateroom curtains. From my king bed, I can see the fish literally leap from the water in front of me. The local villagers are filling fishing boats and the birds and dolphins are thanking mother nature for laying on such an impressive smorgasbord.

On Aqua, a 40m, 24-passenger boat, you cruise through one of the world’s truly great wildernesses, in unimagined luxury. From airconditioned cabins with private bathrooms, to a dining room that serves culturally inspired food made with uber-fresh local produce, this trip is not only a gourmet’s delight but also an adventurer’s paradise.

Daily life brings much joy

The days onboard start early, with breakfast at 7am, before the boats head off on the first excursion of the day. These vary from simply cruising the great river spotting animals to traipsing through the jungle behind a machete-wielding guide. The guides are local and excellent. You can see they get a great deal of joy from identifying the animals or explaining how the forest is used as a medicine cabinet by the villagers.

Then it is back to the boat for lunch and a siesta. How civilised.

At 4pm, we again head out to the jungle, or to a local village to see what else we can find. We finish the day with a tasting plate that would set you back $100-plus a head in any good Australian restaurant.

When you are not out exploring, the boat’s upper deck is the perfect sanctuary to sit and take in exactly what the Amazon is a river that can’t be controlled. There are no perfect maps of the Peruvian Amazon; it is continually in a state of flux.

So, it is worth pulling up a deckchair and simply taking in its vastness as you marvel at its uncontrolled nature.

PIRANHAS ON THE BITE

I caught a piranha in the Amazon River. I know I’m big and the piranha isn’t, but it is a piranha and I think that entitles me to bragging rights. We were handed poles with about a metre of fishing line attached and a small hook loaded with fresh meat. We smack the water with the poles in a loud, aggressive fashion and then drop the fresh meat into the murky brown water. The Amazon is not turquoise it is not even blue. It is brown and you can’t see what is lurking below the surface. Five seconds later, the piranha strikes. A yank of the rod brings the flesh-eating fish out of the water.

Piranhas are synonymous with the Amazon. So the next day, as I was about to jump into the water to cool off, I ask my guide Daniel if it is safe. “They only attack if there is blood in the water,” he says. He looks trustworthy, so I check myself for cuts before taking a giant leap. The water is amazing. Hot on the surface, but ice-cold on my feet. I swim for about 20 minutes. A couple of times I even forget about the piranhas. But not for long.

Getting there 

Brian Crisp was on a 15-day trip of Peru organised by Abercrombie & Kent.

To book MV Aqua Expeditions, contact Abercrombie & Kent on 1300 851 800 or www.abercrombiekent.com.au