A&K sets sail on the waterways of Peruvian Amazonia, where the hidden becomes seen - but only if you're listening.
Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, Peru
A&K Sanctuary’s Pure Amazon riverboat
The sound comes first: a hollow note of exhalation that echoes across water the color of milky tea. A flash of pink then teases my eye before the dolphin slips beneath the surface again. Our skiff lingers at the point where two tributaries converge. Fish gather in the swirling currents beneath the hull where food is abundant, and with them come the pink dolphins. We hold our breath, hoping for another glimpse, yet each sighting is only a fragment - a blush of color, a curved fin, a long narrow beak.
The elusive cetaceans are lightning quick and uniquely adapted to the ephemeral habitat. Helen Arevalo, the only female naturalist guide in the Peruvian Amazon, explains that unfused neck vertebrae allow pink dolphins to move their heads nearly 180 degrees. Coupled with elongated fins, they easily navigate the seasonal floods that submerge the rainforest, with water levels that can exceed fifteen feet.
The elusive cetaceans are lightning quick and uniquely adapted to the ephemeral habitat. Helen Arevalo, the only female naturalist guide in the Peruvian Amazon, explains that unfused neck vertebrae allow pink dolphins to move their heads nearly 180 degrees. Coupled with elongated fins, they easily navigate the seasonal floods that submerge the rainforest, with water levels that can exceed fifteen feet.
Three-toed sloths in the jungle
Like the dolphins, the meandering Amazon itself revels in elusiveness. Birdsong and the chatter of monkeys drift through the canopy, but their owners often stay hidden from view. I learn quickly that what remains unseen is what makes the pursuit irresistible.
Our three rotating naturalist guides, however, are immune to the rainforest's misdirection. With seemingly preternatural gifts, they discern wildlife where I see nothing at all. Even with Leica binoculars - each guest of Pure Amazon is issued their own - I still need Robinson Rodriguez to direct my gaze toward the shaggy silhouette of a three-toed sloth inching from one branch to another at dizzying heights. "It has a baby," he says. When I look again, I spot the infant draped belly-to-belly across its mother. Minutes later, a troop of squirrel monkeys flits through the trees. I'm instantly smitten with their sweet chestnut faces, eyes ringed with pale bandit masks, peering down through a lattice of leaves.
A room with a view on Pure Amazon
A modern en-suite bathroom
The motif extends to my suite (one of merely 12 cabins, accommodating a maximum capacity of only 22 guests), where a glass wall opposite my bed transforms the river into a living mural. Most days, before the usual early morning skiff ride, I lie beneath velvety sheets, admiring the waking rainforest. The canopy is a veil of black lace silhouetted against a cotton-candy sky; yet as the light lifts, it dissolves into a sea of shifting greens. In a dugout canoe, a man paddles past my window - a reminder that for the thousands of people who live here, the river is both highway and home.
A&K guide releasing a piranha back into the river
Naranjilla fruit, also known as lulo
Day after day, we push deeper into the wild. The ship's three skiffs (rather than the standard two for a ship this size) allow us to explore waterways the graceful Pure Amazon cannot travel. It may seem like a small distinction, yet it brings big rewards: fewer voices on the water, and the freedom for each boat to chase its own curiosity - paddling a kayak, casting for red-bellied piranha, slipping into the river for a swim (try not to think of the aforementioned piranhas or paiche, but do bring a swimsuit) or visiting local communities.
The spa pool on the upper deck
The ship’s dining room
I look forward to small rituals: the cooling sting of an iced towel against my sun-warmed skin, the tang of a camu camu sour from the ship's cozy bar, or a single, exquisite confection left in my suite each afternoon. The artisanal treats are a collaboration between A&K and chocolatier Fatima Carranza, who crafts them from cacao harvested by the Awajun community, and fruits native to Peru, such as aguaje and goldenberry.
Fish stew with corn beer and aji amarillo
By nightfall, exploration shifts from river to table. Under the soft glow of candlelight, the chefs present a beautiful tableau of the evening's ingredients, a preview of what's to come, underscoring a commitment to seasonal Peruvian flavors. Each five-course dinner is a well-paced performance of taste and texture. Smoked paiche tartare with citrus and aji, for example, and a shrimp stew brightened with cocona fruit or duck braised in tucupi with wild cassava arrive beautifully plated and paired with South American wines that complement the menu's rhythm.
Oscar fish tiradito with camu camu berries, togarashi and Brazil nuts
A&K Sanctuary’s Pure Amazon riverboat
When the last plate clears and we exchange goodnights, I draw back the curtains in my cabin. Dark and silent, the river slips past - unseen but ever-present beyond the glass. It moves as it always has, unchanged by our brief intrusion. Come daybreak, the river will still hold its mysteries close, but this new boat has taught me how to see.
Details:
Pure Amazon, an A&K Sanctuary, sails three- to eight-night cruises from Nauta, in Peru's Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. Rates from $5,475, with meet-and-greet services and complimentary transfers to/from the airport in Iquitos. Your travel advisor can plan a detailed itinerary with pre- and post-cruise hotels and tours in Peru or beyond.
This article originally appeared in OLTRE's Vol 12 Winter 2026 issue.
Writing & Photography: Susan Portnoy
Writing & Photography: Susan Portnoy