Swimming with Pink Dolphins

Up the Rio Negro from Manaus, the river town of Novo Airão fronts the flooded forests of the Anavilhanas archipelago. At the town's floating platform, wild pink river dolphins glide in from the dark water, and visitors can slip in beside them. The dolphins are free animals rather than captives, and they come and go as they choose. The dry months of June through November bring clearer water and the easiest viewing. Pink dolphins are also reliably seen in Pacaya Samiria in Peru, around Puerto Nariño in Colombia, and in Mamirauá, Brazil.