Manaus and the Amazon, Brazil

On Tuesday 17th July I left Sao Luis and made my way to Manaus, the capital of the State of Amazonas. To say that Manaus is pretty much in the middle of nowhere is bit of an understatement... I had to take three different internal flights in order to reach the place! I arrived at around 9:30 pm that night and took an Uber from the airport to my accommodation, Local Hostel Manaus, which had been highly recommended online. On arrival, I managed to speak with the hostel reception staff and book myself onto a 2-day/1-night Amazon tour, leaving the next morning. I would have loved to have spent longer in the Amazon but time was of the essence...

I was picked up early on Wednesday and our tour started with a speedboat ride to see the 'Meeting of the waters'. This is where the dark waters of the Rio Negro meet the muddy brown waters of the Rio Solimoes (or Amazon River). It was quite spectacular and reminded me of the meeting of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean at Cape Reinga, NZ.

The speedboat carried on to the small fishing village of Cacau Pirera.

From here we travelled by minivan to another small village, along the way stopping to admire some giant lily pads.

Our next mode of transport involved a lovely old riverboat.

We were on the riverboat for about an hour, winding our way through flooded forests. I'm amazed the trees actually survive with their roots fully underwater, but I guess, like anything, they have adapted over time.

We arrived at our lodge on the banks of the river. It was a very cool place with a large communal dining room, a couple of shared dorms, as well as some individual little huts. 

I had paid an extra $20 for the privilege of my own hut, and it was well worth the money, mostly because I'm a fan of having my own bathroom!

The view out my window was also very nice.

We then had an hour or so before lunch to chill out, either on the floating jetty, or in the hammocks dotted around the place. We were warned that, if swimming, we were to stay close to the jetty as the river was full of caiman.

My 'new' (although by this stage, rather well used!) Havaianas looked right at home in this environment!

After a tasty lunch we went out exploring on the river in the wooden boats.

After finding a suitable spot we pulled in for an hour of so of piranha fishing which was great fun!

We stayed out long enough to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

Once back at the lodge we had a very tasty and substantial dinner. I had made a couple of friends on the tour in the form of Eduarda (known as Duda) and Luiz, who you can see below. Both of them are Brazilians, and both of them are absolutely lovely people, not to mention loads of fun!

After dinner it was back onto the river to go caiman spotting. Our guide spotted one, and literally leaned over the side of the boat and plucked it out of the water with his hands. We were given the opportunity to hold it if we wished, and I decided it was too good an opportunity to turn down... Although this might have been a case of dutch courage from the couple of very strong caipirinhas I had drunk during dinner! If I look a little bit terrified, it's because I was!

After breakfast the next morning we were out on the river again.

We moored up and went for a walk in the forest, learning about some of the vegetation.

We didn't see a huge amount of wildlife on our travels, bar a few monkeys, and some glimpses of the famous Amazon river dolphins. I really wanted to see a toucan, but had to settle for this rather impressive bird of prey below.

Our last stop involved visiting a family who permanently live in the Amazon, and learning about their way of life. It's incredible how self-sufficient they need to be. It was my first time seeing cashew nuts growing in the wild. 

We then headed back to the lodge for lunch, followed by a bit more free time while we waited for our riverboat to return. From here we did the initial journey in reverse, arriving back in Manaus early evening.

On Friday 20th July I had a free day in which to explore Manaus. One of the most iconic buildings in the city is the Amazon Theatre, which was set on a rather grand square only a few minutes walk from the hostel.

I also went for a good walk to the historic Adolpho Lisboa Market, on the banks of the Rio Negro. The market was constructed in the 1880s, and was a really interesting building.

I'm a sucker for strolling markets while travelling, I find them fascinating.

I also admired the big old boats, on which you can travel to Belem on Brazil's northeast coast over 5 or 6 days. Conditions are pretty basic and most travellers choose to sleep in a hammock, but it would have been an amazing adventure if I had had the time.

That night the hostel was putting on an all-you-can eat bbq, so I enjoyed that, before taking an Uber to the airport for a 3:30am(!!!) flight to Foz do Iguacu, where I was super excited about visiting the Iguacu Falls!