I went to Peru about three years ago. I have information for you but am
running late for work right now. I know of two different groups that go
and will send you more details today.

-Mike Gale

At 11:05 AM 10/14/2009, Danielle Gilbert wrote:

Check out the part about Aquamazonia

I think I read where you already have your trip planned and
communicated with the group leader.

Do brink your mask and snorkel but you may not have a chance to use
them. Many on my Peru trip brought them but the water was never clear
enough to use them. Perhaps in a small creek or a still oxbow lake.

You will probably hear the macaws before you see them. Much of the time
when I saw Macaws or Conures the light was bad and the colors did not
show much. I could tell them by their outlines in the sky or when
perched on trees. Ask your trip leader what bird book would be most
helpful in identifying birds in the area you are going. A used book may
be an option as you are going to get wet and muddy at times. Bring a
zip lock bag bag enough to pt the book in. On my Peru trip it turned
out a bird book from a neighboring country was better at describing the
birds in the area we were in. I am not familiar with the area you are
going but check out some macaw web pages and see if you will be
anywhere near the clay licks that parrots frequent. I did a quick
google search and did not find much results for the clay licks in
Brazil, mostly results for Peru. Bring some good binoculars for
birding.

We occasionally saw the pink river dolphins but by the time I would
grab my camera I had pictures of water ripples. Enjoy the moment even
if you don't get that perfect picture.

Look into a waterproof camera if you do not already have one or a
waterproof housing for one. Even if you take no underwater shots it
will be nice if gets wet. I have read that the fuji waterproof cameras
are not that good and hear very good things about Olympus waterproof
cameras. My next camera will be one of the waterproof Olympus cameras.
They have a several models good for 10 feet and several for 30 feet.

The further off the beaten path the more you will see. If your boat
goes up smaller tributaries of the amazon you will see much more. Make
your group leader aware of the things you are interested in and they
may do those things especially if other people on the tour want to do
the same. As long as the boat captain and crew are familiar with the
area you are going to they will probably be able to find it if it is
there to find. Our boat crew were excellent and had a wide knowledge
base on local fish, birds, and plants.

If you are going off the beaten path bring some toys for kids in
villages you may visit. Preferably nothing that a small kid can
swallow! Frisbees and little games were a hit, whistles made one
village mayor a bit pissed off :) If you have extra shirts that you can
leave with the crew they usually love that. There were plenty of fish
club shirts among the crew on our trip.

Deet!
I did not use it enough or completely cover myself with it enough and I
got Dengue Fever from a mosquito. That was not a fun filled 8 day stay
in the Hospital when I got home.
( https://www.google.com/health/ref/Dengue+fever )
When I got back and got out of the hospital Chuck Rambo told me next
trip to spray all my clothes before you leave and pack them.(YMMV) Then
bring more of the Deet with you to use. Never use it indoors,
especially on the boat!
While about a dozen countries are working on dengue vaccines none of
them will be available if successful by the time you leave.
Make sure to get your shots and meds for other things early enough in
advance to make it convenient and stress free in preparing for your
trip. My local travel clinic was packed and one of the staff had to
leave on a family emergency and I ended up getting my malaria meds as I
was leaving.

Sunscreen, hat, and another hat for when that one blows off into the
river.

I recommend hi top shoes. If you end up in the mud or walking in a
creek it will keep them on your feet. That or boots that go higher than
your ankle. A few people wore crocs and they would come off all the
time! Sandals or birkenstocks for the boat, easier to dry off when
getting back on board the boat. I also do not recommend sandals when
walking around as you may step on something and it may want to take a
bite out of you. Our crew caught a Fer de Lance when walking about.
Very poisonous snake. Having almost stepped on rattlesnakes in
California I like the idea of leather shoes anyway.

I dehydrate very easily so I brought a large container of powdered
gatorade. It turned out that the city we left out of had the local
brand of electrolyte drink like gatorade so I stocked up on those as
well. Our boat had a large supply of safe purified drinking water for
us to drink but bring some immodium anyway, you never know! Find out
what will be served on the boat in the way of food in advance We had an
excellent chef that had his own restraunt and if persuaded would cook
things we caught. One night pirhana, another night Pike cichlid. The
pike was excellent! You may see some mystery meat so be prepared.

Have fun!

-Mike

If you already have a decent camera, might consider raincoat type cover/rain bags etc for it.

Some use those cheaper Sanyo water proof video cameras, not bad, takes a bit to learn to use them, but for the $, hard to beat.