Rumo Norte Expeditions, out of Belem, Brazil, has a truly unusual way to experience the grandeur of the Amazon, with minimal impact: by sea kayak.

Rumo Norte owner Gelderson Pinheiro’s favorite kayak trip begins in the town of Alter do Chão, “Altar of the Earth,” where a white sand island known as the Island of Love glows in the clear waters of the Tapajos River (which feeds into the Amazon River 30km to the northeast.)

Paddling a sea kayak south along Green Lake, where the Borari Indians extract stones for auspicious frog amulets, Gelderson says, “The sky is more blue, the sunset is more expressive, the water is warm and has a special blue-green color, and the local communities come to you with friendship and great hospitality.” If the wind permits, add a sail to your boat to get you to Belterra for lunch, then Maguari, where you’ll have dinner with the local community.

You’ll hike through the forest and experience the Sumaúma tree, the Amazon’s largest, and known as the “the telephone of the Amazon,” because the echo from a knock on its base announces your presence to the forest.  The Sumaúma’s oil is used in foods, soaps, and as a cleaner; the bark is used as a diuretic; even the waterproof seeds and their fluffy wool are used for pillows or life vests!  Most people spend their last night camping in the middle of the river on a white sand island before returning by boat to Alter do Chão.

Start your trip August 29th or September 4th. Check out their site for more details.

Off the Radar is the online magazine for adventure travelers featuring responsible adventure operators, news from adventure destinations, images and personal accounts from the field.  Sign up for our newsletter here

At Off the Radar, we usually write about trips you can book immediately – but traveling deep into Equateur Province of the Congo to visit the Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve to see Bonobos in their natural habitat is not something you can do…yet. In April 2009 primatologist Jef Dupain of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), in partnership with Jengai Tours out of Cameroon, led a group of 12 adventure tourists to test out a trip that AWF hopes to begin running four times a year.

The Lomako reserve is the only place in the world tourists can visit to view Bonobos in their natural habitat. The endangered Bonobos are our closest living relative. They only live in the dense lowlands of the Congo Basin, and are rarely found in zoos, likely because of their sexual repertoire: they use sex for most types of communication, including greetings and conflict resolution.

The group flew into Basankusu, where they climbed in pirogues – traditional dugout canoes carved from one tree, for a four day journey up-river. They floated up increasingly narrower tributaries of the Congo River, squeezing though the dense jungle that looms over the water. As the pirogue glided upriver, the group encountered small communities, living on the riverbanks and subsisting entirely on fishing.  Camp was set up in the pitch black of night and goat dinners were cooked over coal braziers.

The days at the reserve were spent on extended forest walks through the wet vines, creeping moss and verdant thistle, led by local guides who have grown up in the jungle.  Guests could taste fruits, sniff and touch trees, vines and flowers, or swim in the spring in the middle of the forest and or the fast moving currents of the Lomako river.

AWF built the Conservation Center with three goals: study the bonobos, protect the forest, and develop eco-tourism as an income generator and incentive for conservation for the local people.  AWF spent nearly two years in talks with locals. As Jef said, “This was the first time the (planning process) brought local communities together and allowed them to meet with DRC wildlife authorities and government ministers. This sent a clear message that the AWF approach to conservation was really built on a regard for the traditional rights of local people.”

Keep this one in mind for your trips next year (as AWF plans on running trips four times a year starting soon) – the experience is truly unique and contributes meaningfully to conservation and local communities: 60 Eco-guards have been trained and have graduated from the Congolese Institute for Conservation, most of the food is bought from nearby communities, and the building materials and labor was all locally sourced. The custom trips will depart from Bansankusu. You’ll spend a few days at the Reserve learning about bonobos (as well as forest elephants, congo peacocks, and other fauna), interacting with the local community, and participating in the Center’s activities. Click here to see the visual blog from trip participants Sigrid Johnson and Donald McMaster. For the latest news on the trips, be sure to sign up for AWF’s newsletter here.

(Thanks to Sigrid Johnson, Donald McMaster and Kate Gersh for their accounts of this trip!)

Please note that several countries recommend no non-essential travel to the DRC as it remains a difficult and dangerous place to travel.  Please be sure to check advisories before planning a trip to the region.

Off the Radar is the online magazine for adventure travelers featuring responsible adventure operators, news from adventure destinations, images and personal accounts from the field.  Sign up for our newsletter here

Professional rock climber Katie Brown has been stunning the world with her climbing prowess since she won her first international competition in France at age 14, then took the World Championships at age 18. After an intense youth in competition, Katie took time off to attend school, then found her love of climbing again as she entered her twenties.

Since then, she’s been diligently working at design school, studying yoga, and traveling the world.  Katie’s life has always included a lot of travel. Growing up in rural Kentucky, Katie traveled around Europe starting in her early teens to compete in climbing events.  When we met Katie six years ago, she was still painfully shy and leary of the spotlight from her past, but she was on her own climbing program that involved climbing for the love of it, complete with a new focus and a desire to break out of her shell.

Even though she had traveled on the pro climbing circuit, it was a climbing and bouldering trip to Hampi, India with friends that really opened her eyes.  “That trip definitely changed and shaped my perspective on life and on the world. India is so vibrant and so ‘in your face.’ It’s an incredible place and I can’t wait to go back.  I think all these trips have given me a more open mind and less ethnocentric view of the world. It has made me appreciate the value of ‘home’ but given me the perspective to identify what I value most in life.”

Katie took her first solo trip this spring, trusting the skills she had gained as an independent traveler.  “I’m usually traveling on a climbing trip with other climbers, photographers, videographers, etc. This was my first spontaneous, non-planned, solo trip. I went toAustralia and New Zealand, and was greeted with open arms by friendly people who showed me the way-and even let me borrow a car!”

Katie now carries her metaphorical suitcase of skills and perspective with her throughout her travels.  “It can seem daunting, but with a guidebook and a couple of contacts, it’s quite easy. And climbers are a friendly, helpful bunch of people!”

And even though she’s traveled the world, she still says her favorite climbing areas are the Red River Gorge in Kentucky or Yosemite National Park in the USA. “The Red was where I started climbing, and is also home to my favorite style of climbing (long, overhanging routes) so I hold it dear. As for Yosemite, well there’s simply no other place quite as awe-inspiring.”

You can read about and purchase Katie’s latest book, Girl On the Rocks: A Woman’s Guide to Climbing with Strength, Grace and Courage, in our Books We Love section.

- Off the Radar

Photos by Jamie Carpenter