See the Wonders of the Jungle in Luxury on an Amazon River Cruise

Our trip begins from the small but lively city of Coca, Ecuador. We board a longboat canoe and soon we are traveling 40 miles an hour, transversing the river to get to our awaiting Amazon River cruise ship. This and alfresco dining areas. This is the suite on the ship the Manatee. Here are some freshwater pink dolphins. The dolphins can be pink or gray, but when they are excited they blush bright pink similar to humans. The cruise ship has a couple of canoes that are used for exploring. As part of this river cruise you will take numerous jungle hikes. The guides on this Amazon river cruise could not be more knowledgeable and they had a knack for spotting wildlife. Maybe it's because they all grew up in this part of the Amazon. They saw this fallen tree that contained tiny sleeping bats. The locals used to heavily hunt the pink dolphins until they realized they might cause the dolphins extinction. Amazonian people understand the importance of biodiversity. Now instead of eating the dolphins, the local tribe of the area provides dolphin education. So here they are calling the dolphins to be fed. This gave us an up close and personal experience with the pink dolphins. Pink dolphins feed on piranhas. When we put our underwater camera in the water to capture the dolphin moment, we were shocked to see hundreds of piranhas. The chief of the local people enjoyed talking to our group. He told us his people treasure the close family relationship they have living in the jungle. In a black water lake off the Napa River, we saw giant otters. Giant otters are the largest member of the weasel family and prefer freshwater rivers as their home. The otters swim by propelling themselves with their powerful tail and flexing their bodies. The biggest animal sighting on our trip was an anaconda. Contrary to what movie producers will have you think, very few people have ever seen an anaconda in the wild. The one we saw was 22 feet in length. It had recently eaten and was sunning himself. At another Amazon community, we learned how they make flatbread from cassava. The cassava is first peeled and then grated. We each took turns grating some of the cassava. Once the cassava is grated, all that is needed is some salt and the mixture is shaped into flatbread. The bread which is cooked on a grate over an open flame is simple yet satisfying. This is a home of a family living deep in the Ecuador Amazon. These little guys are pygmy monkeys and they are about 5 inches tall. Pygmy monkeys use their insect like claws to make their way from tree to tree. They are the smallest monkey in the world. This caiman, a member of the alligator family, is native to South America. This little guy is adorable. I made a monkey friend on one of our day trips to the jungle. There was this male monkey who many of us were photographing when it was time to start a hike in search of unusual Amazonian plants. I liked the monkey and I wanted to stay and talk to him. As I talked to the monkey, I edged closer and closer to him. As time went on, he was just as curious of me as I was of him. Similar to approaching an unknown dog, I let him smell my hand. In time I was giving him hand massages and back scratches. Some birds in the Amazon make long hanging nests to provide protection from snakes. There are some eco lodges in the Amazon, but you can see so much more and reside in luxury on an Anaconda Amazon River Cruise. In the Usani National Park, we saw these vultures eyeing our lunch pavilion, hoping for dinner when we left. These are the buttress roots of a true rainforest giant, the Kaypak tree. It's among the tallest trees in the world. This is a bullet ant. The bullet ant sting is one of the most painful of any stinging insect. The mushroom and fungi found in the Amazon of Ecuador are essential components of the Amazonian ecosystem as decomposers. All skin injuries including cuts, bites, burns, stings, rashes, abrasions, sores and wounds benefit from applying the healing red sap of the dragon blood tree. You'll be so impressed by the number of wild creatures you see on this trip. Some are animals and some are insects. You'll have a chance to see nine different species of monkeys while in the Amazon. Keith took part in a baby Amazon River turtle release. These babies make their way to the Amazon River and a start to a new life. One of the most incredible sights in the Amazon is the parrot clay licks. This unique place is rich in minerals. Parrots eat a variety of toxic berries and fruits and the minerals the clay contains counteract the toxicity. Okay, we came out to the Warmi tribe on the Amazon and they're feeding us some food. Everything is pretty normal, I mean plantains and some yucca, but this is what's very different. This is a grub and it's a larva that they get on the palm tree. So I'm going to try this very reluctantly though. You can watch my face. Okay, as long as I don't think about what I'm eating. It actually tastes like, maybe a little pork-ish. Yeah, but it doesn't taste like chicken, I can tell you that. But, I wouldn't eat it again. But that's what they eat. You will have the chance to visit a canopy tower built against a giant cape hat tree. The canopy tower allows you to rise above the canopy for a unique view of the Amazon.