After a fabulous trip to Brazil this June with a group of 8, a group of 13 North Carolinians took an eco-tour beginning June 2, 2004. [as you read the rest of this, you can change it to the past tense....] As with last year's tour, this will be a fund-raiser for some of the conservation organizations with which I'm affiliated. The 2003 tour was land-based, visiting the Amazon rainforest, the vast Pantanal, and the highly endangered forests in the mountains along Brasil's Atlantic coast. In 2004 we're going by boat up the Rio Negro, a major tributary of the Amazon. We will fly out of Miami on June 2, land in Manaus (smack in the middle of the Brazilian Amazon) 5 hours later and head straight to the boat. We will spend 8 days on the river:

Days 1-3 In our well equipped expedition boat The Motor Yacht Tucano, we explore far up the least inhabited river in the Amazon, The Rio Negro. We explore the forest by foot or in our launches, go for swims in the cleanest water in the world, visit with local settlers that live deep in the forest, and spend a great deal of time hunting for and observing the greatest collection of wildlife on earth. Days 4 and 5 We arrive at extraordinary river called the Rio Branco and spend a few days in this unspoiled and lovely rainforest area. Days 6 Today we proceed down the southwestern bank of the Rio Negro observing the different wildlife found on this side of the river. Our walks and explorations of the forest continue and our list of creatures observed gets larger and larger. Day 7 Today we visit the village of Novo Airão. We will walk through the streets and marvel at how the 19th Century thrives in this remote corner of the globe. We travel through the night to the confluence of the Amazon and Negro Rivers. Day 8 This morning we the Lago Janauari Ecological Park where the thick brown water of the Amazon flows swiftly through the forest. This area is thick with life and we are almost guaranteed to see monkeys. We then travel to the "Encontra das Aguas" the stark several mile long line where the world'stwo largest rivers, the Amazon and the Negro, join in a turbulent maelstrom. In the evening we will return to Manaus and overnight on the boat. Day 9 After breakfast passengers will disembark from the Tucano and in the afternoon or evening, transfer to the international airport, after a tour of Manaus, including the famous Opera House and the riverside markets, with iron work designed by Eiffel (of tower fame).

Our ground agent in Brazil will be Ecotours Expeditions, which is based in Jamestown, RI. Visit their webpage (http://www.naturetours.com) for a look at the Tucano and to see a more detailed itinerary for the trip (look for the "Heart of Amazonia" page on their website, under Amazon). We are still working out the details of trip costs, but our current rough estimate is between $1600 and $1900, depending on how many passengers we have. This includes a $300 contribution to Audubon North Carolina, Catawba Lands Conservancy, Carolina Raptor Center, or the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary on Martha's Vineyard. Additional costs will include travel to Brazil, drinks during the trip, and tips for the boat crew. I will try to negotiate a group fare with Lloyd Aero Boliviano (the only carrier flying non-stop to Manaus from Miami) or Varig, if they resume non-stop flights from Miami to Manaus.