Pink River Dolphins Trip Report 2025

Amazon River, Brazil
July 14 - 18, 2025

 July 14, 2025.

Arrival Day.

We made it! Everyone arrived on time, no flight delays, no missing gear. Happy guests equals happy me.

The river is high, and that alone has me buzzing with excitement for what we’re about to experience. I can’t wait to get in the water and connect with these animals again. 

What will we see? How many different dolphin species will appear? Will we find sloths this time, now that it’s the wet season? Can we do beach entries to frame some trees in the background? I wonder if the staff from last season are still here?

My mind is racing with questions as we ferry toward the lodge.

What I do know is this… today is a good day. 

There’s a warm breeze in the air, the river feels alive, and I’m filled with the kind of energy I’ve been craving. 

The jungle is lush and green. The water is so calm, it feels like there is two skies.

This trip is exactly the kind of emotional reset I needed.

The ride to the lodge was short, a huge contrast from last year. 

That season, the river was at a record low, the driest it had been in 100 years. 

Last season it took us forever to reach the lodge, and we had to climb a steep 25–30 foot embankment just to get there.

But this season? The boat pulled right up to the cafeteria door. Smooth. Easy. Beautiful.

And the staff? They were waiting for us with open arms. Like seeing old friends. It felt good to be remembered.

After a quick lunch, we geared up for our first water session at 3:30 PM. Time to introduce our group to the Botos, the Amazon river dolphins.

We visited the dolphin house, where habituated Botos are introduced to tourists.

Our group jumped in and immediately started playing with one curious dolphin that swam in. 

I hung back for a bit. 

In the distance, a small pod of gray dolphins (the other species of freshwater dolphins in the Amazon) was hunting. Above them, terns swooped and circled, taking advantage of the fish being chased to the surface.

The grays are shy and don’t interact like the Botos, so I stayed topside, trying to capture aerial footage while the group enjoyed their encounter. 

They had a blast, laughing, smiling, getting to know these bizarre, beautiful animals.

After capturing some footage of the gray dolphins hunting, I jumped in with the group to photograph the Boto. 

Shooting in this river is always a challenge. The visibility is terrible, and the light is all over the place—even in shallow water. 

The nutrients from the rainforest give the water its rich color, but they also block a lot of natural light.

I shot at 1/320, f/5, ISO 2000, and even then, it was tough. My settings were bouncing all over the place as I tried to dial things in. I think I can afford to drop the ISO a stop tomorrow, maybe clean up some of that noise and still hold enough exposure. 

I’ll give it a shot.

After a short while, we left the dolphin house to go look for sloths in the trees along the riverbanks. With the river running high, we had a good chance of seeing them close to the waterline. 

We did find two of them, high up in the canopy. Not close enough for great photos, but still a good start.

Then came the surprise.

As we made our way back to the lodge, we spotted another boat stopped by a small tree in the river. Just as we arrived, they pulled away. We moved in to take a look, and there it was… a young sloth, soaked and clinging to the tree. 

The boat before us had spotted it swimming. As we approached, it slowly started dropping back into the water so it could continue its journey.

It moved in super slow motion as it slowly started lower its body into the water. 

I had my underwater housing ready and fired off a few frames in the fading light. I’ve dreamed of photographing a sloth in the water for years, and finally, I had my chance. 

I was on fire, hoping one or two of those shots came out.

Stephanie jumped at the chance as well and got a few frames of her own.

We stayed with the sloth for a few minutes, long enough to observe, and snap a few images.

But we didn’t want to stress it anymore.

 So we left it to finish its crossing and motored back through water that felt like a dream.

The sunset this evening was so beautiful, so perfect. 

My soul is full. My mind is racing and filled with excitement for tomorrow.

 I can’t wait to see what the day brings.