Caiman spotting in the Amazon River

While cruising the Amazon River on a big ship is something really special, it is even more special to do so in the smaller local boats. I was lucky enough to go on a tour that would bring us into the smaller parts of the river to look for caimans, a type of alligator, in the nighttime. While the prospect of seeing caimans was exciting, I was mainly looking forward to the sights and sounds of the jungle during the night.

Local riverboat

We started the tour in one of the bigger traditional river boats which brought us out to the smaller boat. We got some basic information and instructions from the guide before he left us to relax onboard. The boat had a bar where they served the local drink, caipirinha, which we of course had to try. It was also nice to chill on deck and fun to see the lights of the city get weaker and weaker.

Caipirinha time

We eventually stopped and got transferred across to the smaller boats. These boats are very low in the water, and not the most stable, but we all managed to sit down without any mishaps.  We then sailed up a smaller tributary surrounded by tall grass on both sides. One of our guides was standing at the front of the boat with a flashlight searching for the caimans. Eventually we came to the end of the inlet where there were a lot of houses and jungle. This was also where we spotted our first caimans, or rather their eyes shining in the light from the flashlight, but they were too big to be caught.

Local houses built on stilts

We sailed around for a while looking for smaller caimans that the guides could catch. While we saw quite a few they were never able to catch them. The guide even jumped in the water and walked along the water’s edge to have a look, but there were no caimans there.  At one point we spotted a caiman and the driver tried to sail towards it so that the guide could catch it, but the guide ended up falling in the water instead.

So quiet and peaceful

On the way back to the bigger boat we passed by a patch of grass where you could hear a lot of frogs making sounds, which was really cool. Back on the boat we enjoyed another caipirinha while sailing back to the ship. We all agreed that even if we did not manage to catch a caiman we still had an awesome trip.