NEW AMAZON RIVER CRUISE OPENS

 IQUITOS-TABATINGA ROUTE

his month marks the beginning of a new class of service between Iquitos, Peru and Tabatinga, Brazil.  No longer will passengers have to endure long, arduous journeys and frequent breakdowns.  Now passengers can enjoy an Amazon River Cruise in luxury by jet.  Yes, jet!  Transporte Golfinho, located at 350 Raymondi in Iquitos, Peru and 306 Marechal Mallet in Tabatinga, Brazil, has just started a new Amazon River cruise service with Golfinho II, a super rapido boat that features a Volvo jet-turbine engine, the same kind of engine that jet airplanes use. 

Prior to the introduction of the Golfinho II, an Amazon River cruise between Iquitos and Tabatinga could take days.  Normal Amazon River cruises typically take three days while the Golfinho II makes the trip in a matter of hours.  There are other rapidos (fast boats), but Golfinho II leaves them in the "dust," typically arriving three hours before them.  Moreover, Golfinho II, with its Volvo jet turbine engine, does not break down as do normal engines.  Normal engines frequently break down due to floating river debris jamming the engine propeller.  With the Volvo jet turbine engine there is no propeller to jam (the engine uses a jet stream of water to propel the boat), thereby avoiding the principle danger to boats on the Amazon River.  The problem with other rapidos is that they often break down, leaving the passengers stranded until they send another boat to rescue them, often resulting in a journey that lasts over 24 hours.  Can you imagine being stranded in a hot, broken-down boat, floating in the middle of the Amazon River with no bathroom?  Golfinho II avoid these problems, allowing the passenger to enjoy an unforgettable Amazon River cruise on the mighty Amazon River.

The Golfinho II leaves early in the morning (6 am from Iquitos and 5 am from Tabatinga, Brazil-Santa Rosa, Peru) and features full meal service - breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack.  The journey is essentially non-stop, only making necessary stops for Peruvian customs and police inspections.  The Amazon River cruise passes through some of the last remaining virgin rainforest left on the planet.  Passengers can enjoy spectacular vistas of the rainforest canopy.  Virgin rainforest is easy to identify with its characteristic three-story canopy.  Golfinho means dolphin in Portuguese, hence the dolphin logo painted on the side of the boat.  In fact,  passengers can often view real golfinhos, Amazon River pink dolphins, especially near Caballococha, Peru where the boat briefly travels up a tributary of the main river.  In addition, various species of herons (garzas, in Spanish) and other spectacular birds are frequently seen during the journey. 

The owner and creator of Transporte Golfinho is Max Cabrera, a Peruvian who has lived in Tabatinga for over ten years.  Not only does Max have incredible boats, he is the owner of the superb Hotel Brasil, which offers both economical rooms without air conditioning and business-class rooms with air conditioning, telephone, mini-refrigerator, and satellite television.  The Hotel Brasil is located just a few blocks from the port in Tabatinga at Marechal Mallet 306, telephone (097) 3412-3186 (In Leticia, telephone 0057 313 202-6679).  Here you can also make reservations and purchase tickets for the Golfinho II.  In Iquitos, you can purchase tickets for the Golfinho II and make reservations for the Hotel Brasil at Raymondi 350 (just one block from the Plaza de Armas), telephone (065) 225-118.