ecently, two of my best friends, Jesus and Marcos, started their own business. Throwing caution to the wind, they invested their life-savings into a beautiful boat, the Safari Amazon Expedition, and began offering specialized fishing tours on the Río Tigre.
Jesus and Marcos aren't your average tour guides. For over 15 years they worked with other tour companies, learning the secrets of the trade and the best places to fish for the premier sport fish in the world, the peacock bass or
tucanaré. Both of them speak excellent English and take great pride in their service.
Currently they offer a fantastic six night and seven day fishing program and they were kind enough to take me on this tour to see first-hand how they operate.
On the first day, they picked me up in Iquitos and transferred me via bus to the City of Nauta. After spending the night in Nauta at a hotel, we left at 6:00 a.m. sharp, traveling for nine hours on their boat, the Safari Amazon Expedition, to the destination lakes on the Río Tigre for peacock bass fishing. We arrived early enough to get some fishing in that same day.
For four full days, we fished and experienced the magic of the Amazon Rainforest. We explored various fishing lakes such as San Pablo de Tipishca, Apacharama, Monococha and Avispa Lakes near the Río Tigre. Never in my life had I experienced the excitement of catching peacock bass. Now I understand why people from all over the world come here just to go fishing.
On the seventh day, we departed at 5:00 a.m. in order to return to the City of Nauta. We arrived at Nauta at 1:00 p.m. for transfer to the City of Iquitos by bus which took about an hour and a half. We arrived in Iquitos by 2:30 p.m., early enough for guests to go shopping or take a tour of the City before being transferred to the airport at 6:00 p.m. for an evening flight (either LAN Peru or TANS) back to Lima.
The fishing program included all receptions and transfers, meals and mineral
water, lodging, special fishing guides, and a small motorized boat for fishing
in remote lakes. Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks were not included in this
fishing program, but were available for an additional charge. The meals were
wonderful, featuring gourmet cuisine prepared by our own full-time chef.
If you would like to learn more about my friends Jesus and Marcos and Safari
Amazon, please e-mail them at
safariamazon@iquitosnews.com.
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