Saturday 1 February 2020

good reason to get legless

The tour was amazing; the tour guide was somehow even better

My girlfriend and I spent the month of January in Brazil and the highlight was, by far, the three-plus days we spent with Gil on what he calls "My Favorite Amazon Tour." He is the perfect guide: extremely knowledgeable, incredibly gracious, and astonishingly well-connected. He makes great conversation—and equally great caipirinhas. He is also one of the happiest people I've ever met. Gil very well may be the most interesting man in the world, but more important than him being interesting is that he's interested in just about everything—be it you, the animals, music, politics, you name it. And the only thing better than seeing an animal in the wild is spotting one with Gil. He was genuinely excited each and every time. He has, of course, seen them all before (many, many times, I'm sure), and yet each new sighting would nonetheless draw a howl of excitement as he grabbed his camera or binoculars and pointed the way. His enthusiasm was downright contagious. And as promised, Gil made sure we saw tons of animals: pink and grey dolphins, hawks and owls, sloths, spiders and snakes, an agouti, a bunch of king vultures (up close) and ... an honest-to-god PUMA. In the wild. From about 100 yards. (I began to inch back toward camp; Gil grabbed his camera and ran towards it. :) It was absolutely incredible, even if I needed an extra caipirinha to fall asleep in my hammock that night... Gil doesn't just coast on his charisma, either. He is also great at the nuts and bolts of the tour. He made sure we were taken care of from the moment he met us at the Santarém airport to the moment he dropped us back off at the end of our tour. We spent the first night at his (beach-front) place in Alter do Chão, the second on the river boat, the third in a national forest, and the fourth back at his place. The food was great and plentiful at each stop. He was engaging and available, and yet also gave us space and privacy when we needed it. He also seemed to know everyone we came across, and everyone we came across knew him. Honestly, I can't recommend Gil enough. This was the perfect trip.

Response from Gil S, Owner at Amazon River Cruise Gil Serique - Day Tour
Response Pending
Best review ever Cheers
Gil