There’s a boom in eco-tourism these days. Everyone wants to save the planet and have fun at the same time. Or at least take a look at what’s left of the planet before it all goes to hell in a hand basket. Especially popular are trips to the tropical rainforests, those near the equator: Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, West Africa and Latin America. A third of the world’s tropical rainforests are found in Brazil and that’s where you go if you really, really want to get away from it all.

Leaving from Los Angeles, it takes about 18 hours of air travel to reach Manaus, the once booming rubber capital of Brazil. The glitter of that once insanely wealthy city is long gone, along with the rubber trade, but from Manaus you can choose from a variety of expeditions ranging from luxurious to slightly adventurous. There are short clipper cruises, day expeditions and fishing trips. There are even “flotels” that give one a safe taste of the jungle life but still provide room service, cocktails and hot showers. Oh, and electricity.

But that would be for sissies. If you really want to experience the Brazilian rainforest, visit the Xixuau-Xiparina Reserve run by the Amazonia Association and know the thrill of canoeing through pristine waters where no motorized boats are allowed. Here, the flora and fauna flourish in their natural state, loved and protected by the inhabitants of the area.

It’s a long trip, to be sure—about 30 hours on a charming riverboat that’s sort of a larger version of the African Queen. You’ll have to stop in the market in Manaus to pick up a hammock to hang on the boat for sleeping and relaxing. During the trip up the Jauaperi and Rio Negro you’ll be accompanied by leaping pink (yes, pink!) dolphins, cruising caymans and macaws swooping by in pairs across the majestic Amazonian sky. At sunrise and sunset, you’ll realize that this is the way the world began, perfect and unsullied. And you will never be the same.

The next place you’ll string your hammock is the maloca, a palm frond thatched hut that can accommodate about 15 visitors, although parties that large are rare. The maloca has flush toilets, although no hot water. Don’t worry, at the equator you’ll find a cool shower quite welcome, especially after a day of exploring the rainforest.

You’ll barely have time for coffee before you’re offered your first expedition. Days are spent fishing for piranha, swimming in clear mineral pools or trekking through the forest in search of wild boar or whistling for tapirs. Early in the morning is the best time to canoe quietly around the submerged forest where only the treetops are visible above fifty feet of water, searching for the terribly shy giant otter, the silence only broken by aptly named howler monkeys and the occasional spouting of a river dolphin.

Dinner will feature a main course of tasty piranha, succulent rainbow bass, or paca (don’t ask!) with beans and rice, and you’ll love every moment of it. Evenings even bring a round of cocktails made from the local sugar cane liquor and smashed up limes. It’s not the Ritz, but it’s real.

The cost of the trip is about $1100 for coach airfare from Los Angeles, and 10 days per person including meals at Xixuau Reserve is $1200. Be assured, the sight of a pink dolphin is worth the price of admission.

Raechel Donahue is an author, radio personality and documentary filmmaker whose work can be found at http://www.raecheldonahue.com

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