Next Episode!! Nearly there!
At around 3.00 pm on Wednesday, we arrived in Manaus at a busy port with cars, lorries and taxis everywhere! We had been warned that the tax drivers inside the port overcharge for the journey to your hotel and certainly one who approached us would not put on his meter and wanted R$50 and the one we got outside on the road only charged R$20!!!
At around 3.00 pm on Wednesday, we arrived in Manaus at a busy port with cars, lorries and taxis everywhere! We had been warned that the tax drivers inside the port overcharge for the journey to your hotel and certainly one who approached us would not put on his meter and wanted R$50 and the one we got outside on the road only charged R$20!!!
Our room at the hotel was lovely – very spacious (yes including the bathroom!) and with a balcony from which we could see over downtown Manaus. A short rest and then off to the supermarket for supplies. On the way back I thought it would be nice to walk past the Amazonas Theatre and cross the square in front of it – making the other 2 sides of a square – only problem was we could not tell which road to go down then and definitely walked a lot further than necessary
Unfortunately we realised in the evening that we were suffering from upset stomachs which incapacitated both of us all day Thursday and as we were still quite bad in that evening we decided to postpone our trip for a day until Saturday. (Rather a shame as I had hoped to have a bit of a tour round Manaus on Saturday but luckily nothing was booked!) So Friday was a quiet day but I felt up to rinsing out some clothes and drying them on the balcony. Luckily the air-conditioning in the room was very good so at least we could be comfortable there.
Bright and early Saturday we and 2 other guys from the hotel were met and driven through part of the city to a small pier near a hotel in lovely grounds (can’t remember the name at the mo!) where we met up with everyone taking the tour that day. There were about 15 or 16 (including 2 young children) of us and we were directed into 2 boats with a guide. Our guide had been born nearby along the banks of the Rio Negro. He was working hard to move on and his boat was a really classy looking speedboat carrying 7 and the other boat more like a motor launch but almost as fast!
It was a real touristy trip; it was MEANT to be eco-friendly but..……!
We started off zooming up river – banging and shaking about with the lady next to Chris not feeling too good!
Not quite as fast as the flying boat tho!!
We started off zooming up river – banging and shaking about with the lady next to Chris not feeling too good!
Not quite as fast as the flying boat tho!!
The first stop was at a place where we could swim with dolphins. Well, it was not really swimming as we were on a ledge round a river hut but the dolphins were free to come and go as they liked – but they also knew very well that they would be nicely fed if they stayed around!!
It was actually quite amazing; they were the pink river dolphins with loooong snouts and very many pointy teeth! A guy was feeding them in the water and we could get in with them and stroke them – very soft and silky not slimy at all – WONDERFUL! They were so strong and could easily have knocked us off our feet – in fact if they just brushed past you it could unbalance you!! They can be quite vicious to each other apparently and if a third or fourth one turned up the guy would throw a fish off some distance to encourage them to swim away. We were very lucky as later in the day we saw 3/4 playing in the river - jumping and twisting in the air just for the fun of it - show offs!!! |
After a quick shot of coffee off we went again this time to see an “Indigenous Community”. Again, set up for tourists as the actual native Amerindians live further into the rain forest and no-one can go there without a permit.
We arrived and were greeted by one of the men and shown a brazil nut tree – huge! Up to 200 ft high!! And possibly 500 years old!! Although a single mature tree can produce over 250 pounds of nits a year, due to a number of reasons (including the inevitable deforestation) they are under threat. Interestingly it is the little agouti (the small overgrown guinea pig look-a-like) that can penetrate the nut's seed case and bury some of the nuts that germinate - sometime many years later.
It was also quite funny as our guide had been really taken aback when he heard that we had sailed across the Atlantic in a 10 metre boat – so small to him as his motor-boat was about 8 metres (although a very different style) and he kept checking that we could sleep on it, eat on it etc!!! He just could not get over it and told the Headman and his wife who were both quite shocked and amazed as well – it was good to be able to give them something back for the show of their culture. There have never been sailing boats on the Amazon so the concept is quite difficult for them to understand even though they have spent all their lives on the water!! And could probably swim before they could walk!
After a time to purchase mementos we were off again for lunch. On the pontoon to the boat there were some amazing caterpillars more of which we saw again later.
After a time to purchase mementos we were off again for lunch. On the pontoon to the boat there were some amazing caterpillars more of which we saw again later.
We then moved on to a hut (on stilts this time) where a lady and her 3 children were looking after a sloth, baby caiman and an anaconda!!! I did hold the sloth but passed on the others! The sloth was free to move round the hut as it pleased and I am sure that he/she could have easily (but probably rather slowly) climbed away if he had wanted. We think he was quite young and had probably been ‘rescued’ in the forest. He was quite amazing as he gripped with long claws with all four legs – often at impossible angles. The claws did not dig in but just due to the strength alone they left marks for quite a while.
Next on the agenda was fishing!! But not your ordinary kind of fish – these are the largest freshwater scaled fish – the pirarucu. This was not really very nice at all – a number of the fish were kept in a small compound – deep but small. Everyone was invited to take a rod – really just a largish stick – with a string attached to it. On this was tied a small (dead) fish as bait – no hook though I’m pleased to say!! You could then fish until your bait was taken - apparently there was a huge pull on the stick as the fish grabbed and hang on but it was not something I wanted to try. Chris did and ALMOST got his out of the water! The fish looked rather like dog-fish but had beautifully coloured red edged fins.
It was then off to see the Meeting of the Waters where the Rio Negro and Rio Solimeos meet. The two rivers meet to form the Rio Amazonas and due to differences in flow, acidity and temperature, they do not mix for a number of miles and clearly show the dark waters of one and the lighter waters of the other (can’t remember which way round although logically it would be the darker waters of the Rio Negro!). This is meant to be very impressive but having seen a similar occurrence at Alter do Chao which although not so long was in fact far more marked and obvious, it was a little underwhelming – at least on the day we were there!
A fast ride back to the pier where we had boarded and that was the end of our Rio Amazonas trip – what a day!!!!
A fast ride back to the pier where we had boarded and that was the end of our Rio Amazonas trip – what a day!!!!
The next morning we packed our bags again and booked out of the hotel. As our flight was not until later in the afternoon there was time for a short wander round – looking at the Amazonas Theatre again and nearby squares before taking a taxi to the airport – what a wonderful stay in the Amazon rain forest!
Next stop Rio de Janeiro!
Next stop Rio de Janeiro!