Magic Realism: chiefly Latin-American narrative strategy that is characterized by the matter-of-fact inclusion of fantastic or mythical elements into seemingly realistic fiction. Sep 16, 2022 Britannica

Every day, with our 20 fellow passengers, we left the Delfin 2 and boarded small pangas to explore the upper amazon in Peru. Accompanied by a boat driver, and naturalist guide, we explored areas only accessible because the swollen Amazon River had created secret channels leading to lush oxbow lakes. We saw lily pads the size of dining tables, frogs the size of my thumbnail that looked like they were made of gold or painted like a giraffe, we swam with pink dolphins, saw night jar birds swooping and massing in trees, and discovered pie eyed mammals staring at us from holes in the flooded trees. One day after a shower a rainbow appeared and we were alone in the wilderness with colorful animals and lush green flora. It was truly one of the most “magical” environments we’ve ever visited, but it was entirely real!

As we floated through this magical environment, I found myself thinking about the Latin American authors and filmmakers who often use Magical Realism in their fictional tales. I could see very easily how this environment could inspire them! Much of what we saw felt like a fever dream, and this was before any of us had the actual fever from Covid. (In the end, nearly all the passengers on our trip had Covid before the trip ended, but we were fortunate to only miss our last day due to Covid.)

In late spring we finally had the opportunity to visit the upper Amazon in Peru aboard the Delfin 2 after delaying the trip more than a year because of Covid. We had booked a trip aboard the Delfin 2, a small expedition ship that explores the upper Amazon in Peru with its own team of naturalist guides. The company chartering the ship was Lindblad/National Geographic who also provided two naturalist guides who also handled logistics.

Spending some time in the mangroves looking closely, allowed us to see many beautiful insects and amphibians and lizards.

During our twice daily explorations at dawn and at sunset, we saw many mammals in the canopy above the water.

Many people visit the Amazon to birdwatch and the birds are so plentiful and colorful!

Our journey into the upper Amazon was magical, from the flora to the birds, to bugs to mammals…everywhere you looked there was a vista unlike anything you can see anywhere else, and if you looked carefully, you could see the magical animals that live in this environment.

A note about the our experience with the travel providers of this adventure!

We had the most amazing experience exploring this area with the knowledgeable guides aboard the Delfin 2. The staff and crew of the Delfin2 made our exploration memorable and created an amazing trip. They were also responsible for our Covid quarantine and handled it beautifully, with excellent communication and providing everything we needed during our unexpected stay after disembarking.

We had some negative experiences, both on the journey and before and after the trip with the major travel brand company that chartered the Delfin 2. While we highly recommend the Delfin 2, next time, we’d book it through our trusted travel advisors and not travel with the major travel brand that chartered our cruise.

Thankfully, we didn’t allow our experiences with the company or with catching covid during our trip affect our opinion of the actual adventure on Delfin 2 in the Upper Amazon!