remote controlBecause there is so little development in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, there is no light pollution to drown out the sparkling stars in the night sky.Aqua Nera: an Aqua Expeditions riverboat due in 2020.they actually need—books they
can actually read,” Zugaro says.¶ And, given the experience
he has had with other Aqua
Expeditions vessels, he is lim-
iting the number of charter
guests to fi ve per naturalist
guide. He plans to hire local
guides for those jobs, to help
educate clients not only about
the fl ora and fauna they are
seeing, but also about the cul-
ture of their homeland. Local
support will also be brought in
for scuba trips, should more
than eight guests at a time want
to go diving, and researchers
studying things like black
coral will be welcomed aboard
to work while mingling with
the crew and guests, off ering
yet another layer of expertise.¶ All of that learning should
spark some interesting con-
versations when guests are
relaxing in the refurbished
interior by Dutch designer
Cor D. Rover. Breakfast and
lunch will be served in the
fo’c’sle, while dinner will beon the main deck at a table
that seats 22. Among the items
meant to spur conversation
are hand-painted, gold-leaf
plates that Zugaro had made
for the yacht, based on origi-
nal nature sketches by British
explorer Alfred Russel Wallace.
¶ Wallace was a contemporary
of Charles Darwin, and both
men worked on their own
theories of evolution. Darwin
did his research in the Gala-
pagos Islands, while Wallace
included travels in Indonesia.
¶ Which is a fi tting tie-in,
Zugaro says, to his own path
that led him from the Gala-
pagos to here with Aqua Blu.
¶ “This is the Galapagos of
Southeast Asia,” he says. “Div-
ing, snorkeling—everything.”WE ARE IN
BUSINESS FOR
THE CLIENTS,
NOT “I’LL
CHARTER IT
WHEN I’M
NOT USING IT.”THE
CHARTER
FILE