An Amazon Adventure on the Aria Amazon with Jean-Michel Cousteau

This February, we were honored to host international conservationist, Jean-Michel Cousteau, on board the Aria Amazon. What fun we had!

In addition to our daily excursions out to spot Amazon wildlife in the tributaries and waterways of Peru’s Amazon River, we also got to know local community members, learn about Peruvian indigenous cultures, play soccer with local children, and also raise a toast to ocean, wildlife and environmental conservation efforts, worldwide.

Jean-Michel commented later about traveling with us on board the Aria Amazon:

“My latest Amazon exploration with Aqua Expeditions and their entire Peruvian team was simply beyond compare. The crew and team were extremely professional and their skilled naturalist guides, who have grown up in this region, were passionate and knowledgeable about the natural world within Peru’s Amazon. As part of this outstanding and fabulous tour onboard the Aria Amazon, I shared my global ecological knowledge with guests, as our local guides shared their expertise and passion for the only place they have known to be home, the Peruvian Amazon.”

In the evenings, Jean-Michel treated us to educational talks delving into his extraordinary knowledge about ocean conservation and protection of the environment.

Here he is helping to feed manatees at the Amazonian Manatee Rescue Center in Iquitos:

Jean-Michel’s passion for protecting the special places on Earth couldn’t be more evident than when you listen to his inspiring words about our need to safeguard the world’s most precious treasures such as Peru’s Amazon:

“I have explored the region of the enchanted rainforest of the Amazon for over thirty years and marveled at the extraordinary biodiversity and complexity of the world’s single largest tropical rainforest. The Amazon is home to unbelievable numbers of trees, plants, fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates; a place with undiscovered secrets waiting to unveil its magic.

This exploration with Aqua Expeditions reminded me there are still untouched areas of significant biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest, where we need to be the beacons of hope protecting these special places for a more sustainable future.  After journeys like this, I am inspired with the greatest sense of hope that we will continue to all work together and keep in motion the many solutions already in place for keeping this magnificent, vital river system alive and thriving.  I am looking forward to my next adventure onboard the Aria Amazon with guests from the around the world as we explore together a place that connects us all to nature and to our water planet.” 

We so enjoyed hosting Jean-Michel on this unique and unforgettable luxury Amazon river boat cruise and we’re very much looking forward to our October 2018 departures with him on the Aria Amazon!