Peruvian Perfection

Cruising the Amazon with Aqua Expeditions … and exploring Machu Picchu with Inca Rail

- Steve Leland

Cruising the Amazon

Under normal circumstances, one would be hard pressed to find any commonality between intrepid exploration of the Amazon, luxury cruising, and culinary creativity. Then again, cruising with Aqua Expeditions is anything but common. Scheduling a 4-night sailing out of Iquitos, Peru, on the Aria Amazon proved to be a bona fide bonanza: treated as royally as kings of the Amazon jungle and, by an enormous stroke of luck, sailing on what happened to be one of the company’s signature hosted theme cruises.

Hosted by world-renowned chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, this food fest was more than enough to awaken anyone’s sedentary taste buds. Schiaffino is the highly regarded proprietor of Lima’s acclaimed Amaz and Malabar restaurants, both listed in the prestigious Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2017.

Personal interaction with the chef encompassed cooking demonstrations, pisco and chocolate tastings, discussions on sustainability initiatives as well as question-and-answer sessions. Throughout the cruise, Schiaffino concocted dishes spiced by indigenous Amazonian ingredients and seasoned with refined references to the revered cuisine of cosmopolitan Lima. His inspiring talent and tireless approach to Peruvian cuisine has earned him the position of executive chef of the vessel, with his creative presentations offered on every Aria Amazon cruise.

Infused with the ancestral traditions, color, and aromas of the region, the menu selections read like a hallucinatory gastronomic glossary: solterito salad with Inca corn and Andean cilantro, causa with freshwater shrimp escabeche, yucca gnocchi, grilled