Today is the day. I have seen them. Saw their red bellies and their sharp teeth. I have even tested fate by swimming in their river. Today, Natasha is going to catch a piranha.

But fishing is for later in the morning…It is the final day of our Amazon River cruise and the naturalists are once again offering an early morning excursion. Not to miss the opportunity, I’m in. Boris slept in once again. There was only one skiff headed out with Billy for our early departure. We traveled down interesting channels off the river. It was kind of like the Venice of the Amazon (without the bridges, and the buildings, ok maybe not like Venice) and we were in rush hour traffic on the water. There were so many boats out and about. Farmers were headed to their newly emerged plots of land and children were headed to school

We have gotten better about spotting and identifying the various bird and animal calls. We spent some time listening and then trying to find the animals we heard. We also saw a couple of dogs along the way. Two of our guests, Phil and Kathy, are service dog trainers. The dogs would show up periodically as we traveled down the channel. They appeared to be really struggling in the mud and were most likely separated from their owner. When they swam to us it was obvious they were being more than friendly; they needed help.

Because he is naturally just a great guy, we had already almost completed our touring, and the fact that everyone on the boat was focused on the dogs, Billy pulled the two dogs aboard our skiff and held them at the front. They were shaking but also happy to be aboard. Billy knew of a nearby village and we asked people along the way and were able to confirm that the dogs’ owner lived in the village. At the edge of the village, Billy released the dogs and they headed home, but not before they took a look back at us. Billy is our hero. Boris is going to be sorry he missed this. We are both missing our Westie Peabody.

We look the journey back to the Aria, spotting a few more animals along the way including a mantis that looked like Pickett, the bowtruckle (animal character) out of the current Harry Potter Fantastic Beasts series. There were plenty of farmers already out at work on their plots of land even though the hour was still early.

For our regular morning excursion after breakfast we are going piranha fishing and will have our second chance to do some swimming in the river. The fact that we are doing these at activities in roughly the same area did not escape me. For the piranha fishing, we are snuggling up to the shore line. We are baiting the lines with steak.

I admit that I was a little apathetic about the fishing. Boris was really into it, but I was happy just to watch. The women on our boat were killing it. Rita and Karen caught 7 and 8 respectively. It probably didn’t help my attitude that Rita was right behind me and would swing her line and fish right in front of me each time. Many times the piranha landed at my feet. They are nasty little things that chewed right through Julio’s shoes so I admit to a few screams when one of those suckers landed on me. Ricardo got some pretty funny video.

Finally, Julio came up to me and announced that we weren’t leaving until I caught a piranha. I had by this point caught a few; I just hadn’t landed any. So I gave in, baited the line, and Julio told me when to pull. I ended up catching one of the larger ones. Well then I was hooked and caught a few more. Boris did really well; he is the real fisherman in the family.

By the time our fishing was almost complete, we had gathered quite an audience of the native people. As it turned out, they were there to provide rides in their canoes for anyone who wanted to participate. The ship had also supplied kayaks for anyone who wanted to paddle on their own. Boris went for a canoe ride and I stayed behind to get pictures of him.

After the paddle, we had our final chance to swim in the Amazon. Of course I jumped in. Once again it was cool and refreshing. Several of the guests decided to take their beverages in with them. At the end of our morning excursions, we headed back to the ship for lunch and a break. We have a village visit this afternoon.

One of the things I admire about particular travel groups is the ability to blend the cultural experience with the active one. It is even more impressive when they offer a philanthropic opportunity to bond with the native peoples. My dive masters, Ann and Eric Keibler, with Oceanic Ventures in Houston make that a part of all their international dive trips. Today we are visiting a local village and taking them health and school supplies. Good for Uniworld and Amazon Adventures.

Julio led us in introductions and games and even with a language barrier, we felt a connection with the families. We met the village midwife, a rarity and a lucky addition for this village. She had delivered multiple generations of children in the village and couldn’t even remember a total number. We had the opportunity to present each of the children with a gift bag and Boris and Joe even interacted with some of the local animals. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Tonight was our final dinner aboard the Aria. We saw a wonderful video presentation of all the pictures and movies that Ricardo had recorded during our week on board. I have shared many of those with you. Harvey our head waiter did an amazing dance routine; none of knew he had it in him although there were hints when he led the conga line at last night’s dance party. Tomorrow is a transition day for us. We will leave the Aria then fly first to Lima and then on to Cuzco. No worries! The trip is far from over. Now we turn our attention to the ancient Inca sites that Peru is famous for. Stay tuned; there is so much more to come…