MANAUS
29/05 - 05/06
Friday
After having a totally exhausting cultural day yesterday, we decided that waking up at 4am to get to our 6.45 am flight the next morning would be sufficient time... it was NOT! In order to get to the airport we had to catch two subway trains and a bus, but we vastly underestimated how long the public transport would take in morning Brazilian traffic. It took us double the amount of time that we had bargained for, plus by the time we got to the bus, it was already full and we had to catch the next one. We eventually arrived at the airport at 6.40 and sprinted to the airline's counter, begging them to stop everything and put us on the flight - it always seems to work in the movies. Alas, in reality things run differently and the calm assistant politely gestured that the boarding gate had closed and directed us to another lady to rebook our flights for the next day. We were devastated! How could we have been so useless to have missed our flight. The lady put us on the waiting list for the evening flight (which never came to pass) and made us pay a penalty of about R1600 to rebook the flight. We decided not to beat ourselves up too badly about our lapse in judgement and to make the best of a bad situation. Most of all we decided to learn from our mistakes and leave triple the amount of time to get to flights - especially when utilising public transport.
So we settled into our new quarters - the airport lobby - for the next 24 hours (at least we did not have to pay for accommodation :) We were actually quite productive and spent our time sorting and saving photographs, emailing and watching movies. We even got out our pillows and sleeping bags and managed to have a surprisingly comfortable sleep on the airport chairs.
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| Rox using her phone for the limited hour of wifi per device in the airport |
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| We even treated ourselves to a `Bob's burger` |
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| Joy settled in for the night |
Saturday
Finally the hour arrived and we were basically the first people to check in for the flight. As the sun rose on the second day at the airport, we boarded the plane to Manaus, ready for our jungle adventures to begin.
We were surprised that the band played mostly English cover songs, even some music from the 90's boy band, Backstreet Boys. Nonetheless we were happy to sing along to the outdated songs and tried our hand at singing along and mimicking the crowd when a few of the local songs were thrown into the mix.
As always, music and dancing unites people from all across the world and this time was no exception. We met two locals from Manaus - Fran and Rafael. Fran had spent some time au pairing in Ireland and could speak English. We got along swimmingly and at the end of the evening, Fran invited us to Sunday lunch with her and her family the next day. After the band had played it's final set, we bid our new friends farewell and headed back to the hostel for a much needed night's rest (in an actual bed).
The next day we awoke refreshed and headed to the delicious all-you- can- eat breakfast. Afterwards we did some much needed hand washing with our trusted South African Sunlight soap. Manaus is an extremely hot place as it is located so close to the Equator so we had no worries that our washing would dry in no time. After getting cleaned up we headed to meet our new friends Fran and Rafa at the predetermined meeting spot - the ice cream shop, Glacial. We were delighted to find them waiting for us and we headed off to Fran's house which was a half an hour's walk away. On the way we passed a beautiful park, Jefferson Park, and saw many locals enjoying the Sunday afternoon. We observed people playing music out of their car boots, playing sports, children enjoying a slippery slide and people of all ages flying their kites (apparently this is a big thing in Manaus as is evidenced by the discarded kite string paving the streets).
Fran, Joy and Rafael at Jefferson Park
Fran, Roxy and Rafael
Young people preparing their kites for flight.
When we arrived at Fran's house, she introduced us to her mom, sisters and her little nephew, Joe. After that the eating began... Fran had spent the morning preparing various traditional Brazilian dishes for us to sample. These included feijoada (black bean dish), Spaghetti, chicken, grilled fish, (Tambaqui), salad (cucumber, lettuce and tomato) and of course everything was topped with the popular Brazilian ground corn condiment, farofa. We also were treated to freshly blended pineapple juice and pineapple slices with condensed milk.
Roxy and Fran's mom
Ready to tuck in...
The grilled Tambaqui fish
Fran's brother kept roosters in the backyard which he bred for competitions.
Fran helping Joe put on his shoes
Joe showing the puppy some love
We spent the afternoon chatting about our lives our countries and played a bit of cards. We went to sit in the lounge, where there was a fan! We watched some rather interesting matchmaking and make-over shows on the tellie. We were trying to play with Joe but he was still a little weary of us. Fran had told us that 3'oclock was snack time, she had snuck away and when she reappeared she announced that snacks were ready! We were presented with these delicious mini doughnuts type treats. As we enjoyed these doughy nuggets of happiness we also tried some coffee with a difference. Fran showed us that they often crush crackers into their coffee. Hmm... Kind of like dunking a rusk, just a little more mushy. It wasn't to everyone's taste (Joy).
After this we were very well fed and ready to work it off on the walk home.
Skaters trying out some moves
Children playing a rather intense football match
Walking home in the cool of the evening
Show us your pose ladies
The reflection of the full moon in the river
The park was filled with runners, dog walkers and families playing together.
We were sad to say farewell to our hosts who had shown us such a special day and spoilt us so! We felt so lucky to have had the opportunity to experience real Brazilian culture!
Monday (Joy's dad's 70th Birthday)
Today we had set aside as an admin day as we had to book a jungle tour, a day trip and book boat tickets to Porto Velho.
We first shopped around at a few tour companies to compare prices and then headed to Amazon Backpackers as we had met the owner, Armstrong, previously and felt that he was reliable but more importantly that we could negotiate a good price with him. In the end we were able to get a package deal for R$1460 in total. It may seem like a lot but this would cover all our expenses for a week and you are only in the Amazon once!
Having achieved all our goals we then decided to join our new Brazilian friend Rafa on a free ferry trip to see the 'meeting of the waters'.
After waiting 45mins, bus 713 finally arrived and we were off. We had been struggling to navigate our way with public transport but now it was so helpful having our own personal Portuguese 'mouthpiece', Rafa.... We think we'll keep him.
On the bus to the ferry
Trucks getting loaded onto the ferry
Speedboats for organised tours
Enjoying a Capuacu flavoured ice-cream....much needed on yet another scorcher in Manaus!
View from the top of the ferry where the passengers sit.
Joy looking out for dolphins and the 'meeting of the waters'
Super cute kids that were sitting next to us - all that we could communicate was that they were 7 and 10 years old.
Ahoy... Meeting of the waters ahead!
Grey Dolphin casually swimming in front of the ferry.
Rafa treated us to a local brew, Brahma is the name and Castle Light tastes the same!
We managed to capture a sneaky pic of all the action!
Ferry Captain
We eventually made it onto the land across the river and went exploring the little village (Careiro Castanho) . It was fascinating to see all the houses built on stilts and semi-submerged in water. Must be really difficult to live on the ever rising and falling Amazon River.
Roxy observing a riverside house... The whole first floor is covered in river.
The board walk
Rafa and Roxy admiring the nature.
As we walked further down the board walk we noticed a couple of children swimming and enjoying the refreshing water of the Amazon. It looked so enticing, and they weren't getting eaten by any vicious animals, that we couldn't help ourselves but to strip down to the essentials and join in!
Boys being boys, all they wanted to do was impress us by doing crazy jumps off the board walk rail into the water. The little ones became especially competitive and would shout 'maois um, maois um' (one more, one more) in order to outdo their previous jump.
Dockside bird wading around its regular fishing ground.
Titanic Moments
Rose, don't jump!!!
We couldn't wait for our jungle adventure the next morning so, like children, we went to bed early to make it come quicker!
Tuesday - Jungle Tour Day 1
We were super excited about our trip. It promised many adventures and new experiences!
On the agenda today:
Seeing the meeting of the waters, exploring a flooded forest, piranha fishing, sunset swimming in the Amazon, caiman hunting and camping in the jungle.
Our first stop was to see the 'meeting of the water'. Although we had already seen it the day before, our guide, Max, gave us a few interesting facts about why the Rio Nero and Amazon rivers do not mix for 17 kilometres. He told us it is because they have different densities, velocities and temperatures. Because we were in a smaller boat, we were able to experience the different temperatures by holding our hands in the water as we crossed. The Rio Nero was considerably warmer than the Amazon. Amazing!
Once across the river we were back in Careiro Castanho and took about an hour bus trip.
It was breathtaking!!!
Roxy and Max, our guide.
Our speedy boat captain
Plant that covered the surface of the water.
We arrived at our lodge where we had lunch and had the opportunity to get to know our fellow adventurers.
Chris from Poland
Roxy from South Africa
Victor and Adam from Washington
Our bird spotting is still on point
Whilst relaxing after lunch we had come up with a perfect group name.
Meet Team Farofa:
Roxy, Claire, Jimmy and Joy
Victor, Adam and Chris
Navigating our way through the flooded forest... Constantly having to avoid branches in the face and bugs in the hair.
Chris with his professional camera - guess it is justified as he does take photos for National Geographic.
We also take pretty impressive shots.... Bet NatGeo would want to publish this one...,
or this one...,
or this one! ;)
Out of the forest and into one of the many avenues of the Amazon. This was a lake like area and home to some pink dolphins which we were able to spot but not photograph. Max told us the legend of the pink dolphin which we didn't quite understand but here is what we got from it...
The pink dolphin was a beautiful creature but always hid it's beauty. But one full moon night, it magically changed form into the most handsome man. He then went to a party and all the ladies were bewitched by his glorious good looks. He seduced one lady, coaxed her to the water where he had his way with her and two days later she was pregnant and so the legend continued!
Next on the agenda was piranha fishing. We baited our small hooks with chicken skin and tossed them in. And waited!!
This one managed to escape the hook but not the boat and thus Max could demonstrate it's sharp teeth and amazing jaw strength that give the piranha its scary reputation.
After the first one was hauled in we perfected our striking technique and Joy was the next to capture a beast.
Joy with her catch... This is definitely one for the Mazeppa Bay fishing book!
Girl power prevailed and Roxy soon made her catch (now all three ladies had caught a fish).
Rox comparing choppers with her piranha.
After piranha fishing it was time for our sunset swim in the Amazon!
We went into the middle of the main channel where Max assured us it was safe to swim, no piranhas here to exact their revenge!
Being brave South Africans, we were the first to jump in.
The rest then followed but they got back in rather quickly.
The Professional photographs that Chris took from the safety of the boat. He only allowed us to have these two precious pics, for copyright reasons. Who knows... maybe the others will be published in the National Geographic... watch this space!
Later that night, after a quick dinner, it was back on the boat for our next jungle experience... Caiman hunting.
We were expecting a long night of tracking and searching for a Caiman but as we were leaving the lodge, Max quickly shuffled to the front of the boat, lay on his stomach and shot his hand into the tall grass. He stood up victorious. The hunt was over and the baby Caiman was ours!
Observing the five fingered hand
Showing us the four toed webbed feet.
No tongue but a very strong epiglottis to ensure against drowning.
Sexing the Caiman... It's a girl. We named her Barbie.
We then all got the chance to hold her.
Chris was first to hold the Caiman - he made it look easy and we all joined in
Rox was next and luckily Barbie behaved
Joy showing us the sharp teeth of the river monster
Adam being sure not to hold it too close
Once we had fully inspected her, we released Barbie back into the river. She must have been relieved that we did not eat her or turn her into a handbag or shoes!
The one-night-two-day jungle package usually involves sleeping at the jungle lodge, but we had managed to negotiate with Armstrong that our one night in the jungle be spent out camping in the wild. We were meant to join another three-day group who would have set up camp beforehand. However this message had not been passed on to our guide, Max, so he had no idea who we were meant to join or where they were. We were still keen to spend a night out in the wilderness so Max agreed to take us to a near by Island.
So FOUR of us (Max, his girlfriend, Claire, Joy and Rox) set out and as we paddled along the huge river the moon illuminated the water beneath us and a few of the trees along the bank. Max made this deep grunting noise in order to call to any nearby caiman. As he called we heard responses coming from all around us. They sounded very deep and rather fierce and Max was able to identify their sizes by how deep their grunts were. He guesstimated that the 3 responding were 3.5m, 4m and a huge 5m respectively (which even Max seemed slightly nervous about). Although this was a little frightening we carried on paddling as Max was searching for a clearing in the trees where he could take us ashore. As he directed us towards one opening, he made the caiman call but when we heard a response right in front of us he quickly reversed. Not the best spot to set up camp! We did eventually find a caiman free clearing and went ashore. At this point we were expecting to find an already existing campsite where we would just quickly set up camp... We were horribly mistaken! This was just an island which Max had randomly chosen. He started searching, in the dark, for trees upon which to hang our hammocks. With the use of his machete he was able to locate three spots. Unfortunately these spots were not close together at all. Once our 'camp' was set up it was apparently sleep time. Roxy enquired to whether or not we were going to build a fire. Max dubbed this idea unnecessary and in any case had not bothered to bring any fire-making tools. But what would ward off all the dangerous animals?
So with no further comfort, we all retreated to our hammocks metres away from one another to get some sleep. The jungle was buzzing with noise - insects, frogs, monkeys, caiman, everything was in full chat mode. The symphony consisted of a constant undertone of chatter with erratic screams and bursts of expression!
As we lay in our hammocks cocooned by the mosquito net, Roxy heard something running around under her hammock. What could this beast be? Then only moments later she heard a huge splash in the water and the big kind of caimans calling to one another so close to us that she could feel the vibrations of the call. She called out to Joy as she was closest to the water but there was no response! Had she been dragged into the water by the caiman? Was she still alive?
Yes, Joy was fine, just fast asleep and totally unaware of the surrounding dangers. She did wake up a little later to some other ominous sound so Rox decided to brave the dangers and venture toward her hammock and make sure she was alive. After that we decided to sleep in one hammock... Safety in numbers!
We snuggled into Roxy's hammock, which was further away from the shore, fully armed. We both had tazers and Roxy had a rather small, rusty pocket knife - we were ready to attack any animal that dared approach us! Roxy had prepared numerous counterattack manoeuvres in her head and was ready to ward off caiman, buck, snakes and jaguars (which Max had said were rare but he had come face to face with two in the last ten years and in some areas they don't leave home without a shot gun to protect against them- those were enough facts for her to consider them a legitimate threat).
We felt safer together and we're able to nap a little until we heard something rustling around our campsite! We woke in a panic and shone our torches all around and yelled out to try scare off whatever the beast may be. Our impromptu scare tactics worked and the creature scuttled off away from us. We were safe... For now. Because just as one threat had been dissolved, another reared it's head - monkeys in the trees above! Roxy tried to initiate her tazer, the noise would surely scare them away but alas our main weapon of defence was not working. She tried to initiate Joy's but it too had abandoned us in our hour of need! The torch part of the tazer must have drawn too much power throughout the night. It was at this point that our mild fear turned into full terror!
We had been watching the moon rise in the sky and were now counting down the hours as it dropped lower in the sky - waiting for sunrise!
It seemed like a lifetime but eventually the first light of day arrived and things seemed a lot less terrifying. Amazing how the unknown darkness can change everything.
As we could at least see the attacking beasts now from a distance we felt safe enough to creep out the shared hammock and take a few pictures of the experience.
Roxanne in her mosquito cover hammock, with weapons, tazer and pocket knife in hand.
Joy sleeping- blissfully unaware of the impeding doom...
At least the torch part of the tazers worked
We think the title for this section should be: 'the night is dark and full of terrors' - Game of thrones has nothing on the fears of surviving a night in the Amazon jungle.
Bravely putting on a 'smile' for the Amazon jungle selfie
As it became lighter we could finally put our camp into perspective. Suddenly our hammocks didn't seem all that far away from one another and the whole situation seemed a lot less fearful!
We went to wake Max and Claire who were happily cuddled in their hammock and did not seem to have felt the same panic we had from the night before. They calmly told us that there had been a cute armadillo running around the camp the whole night. That same armadillo was what we had envisioned as an antelope-sized killing machine! After sharing our horror stories with them, which they dismissed as nonsense, we packed up 'camp' and headed to our little boat to return to the lodge. Boy, did we have some tales for the other foreigners... They were in for a detailed play by play of our night!
Rox never thought she would live to see the light of another day
Wednesday - Jungle Tour Day 2
After a quick brekkie and much needed shower to wash the terrors of the jungle off, we set out to go on an eco-walk and meet the legendary anaconda.
We stopped at a local house and took a wander around the garden. Max showed us all the fruits and trees that grow in an typical garden in the Amazon.
Sampling a coffee bean that Max had foraged for us.
Banana blossom
We definitely don't find this colour of hibiscus at home.
Super tall mango trees... Unfortunately not in season (much to Joy's disappoint)
A rubber tree - the reason why Manaus was put on the map in the first place.
Slashes in the bark in order to get optimal rubber out of the tree.
Oozing rubber
Trees in the Amazon all need a decent root system to anchor them during the rainy season where they are submerged in water for months.
Max demonstrated how Amazonians traditionally climb trees in order to get the best fruit that hangs right at the top.
Our feeble attempts to mimic the master:
Victor trying the fruit of the cocoa plant
Adam and Chris putting their heads together to get us an orange - the innate hunter gatherer skills coming out strong!
Hut where they turned the manioc into Brazil's beloved farofa
Jimmy testing the equipment.
The Amazon's version of the African Violet
Roxy sampling the home-made brigadeiro (chocolate)
Max had to use his full strength to stretch out the anaconda.
It felt like liquid in a solid form... Smooth but not slimy.
We got to hold the tail end of the anaconda and even though it is a smaller part we still got to feel the raw strength of this purely muscular animal.
She was not happy to be out of her box and was constantly hissing at us.
Annie, as we named her, was then placed carefully back in her box and we headed back to the lodge for our last meal with Team Farofa. The others were all staying on for longer trips and thus after lunch we said our goodbyes and just us two Amazon warriors headed back on the speedy speed boat towards Manaus, leaving the jungle in our wake.
After having survived and having our fill of the jungle, we decided to dress up and treat ourselves to an evening of civilisation.
Good restaurant, Good drinks...
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| Joy and Ross from England who had also just returned from the jungle. |
And Great company!
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| Roxy and Rafa |
We had planned on soaking up even more culture by going for a show at the theatre but we were all really exhausted and decided to rather just play with the props outside instead - tomorrow is another day.
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| Coach driver, Rafa riding lady Roxanna in her carriage. |
Ross and Joy at the entrance, that's as far as we got.
There was a statue in the centre of the square that depicts all the ports in the world that are linked to Manaus' harbour.
Each of us standing at our home port.
There was a local band playing samba music in the square.
After an enjoyable evening of culture, we headed back to our hostel for a night in safe and stable quarters.
Thursday
Our agenda for the Day Trip included:
Seeing the meeting of the waters (AGAIN), feeding the 'big fish' of the Amazon, holding a sloth and an anaconda, swimming with pink dolphins and visiting a native Indian tribe.
We boarded our tour boat which was filled with Brazilian people, but luckily there was space at the back where we spotted some 'gringos' and went to sit with them. One of them actually turned out to be a fellow South African - the first we had met thus far on our trip.
Bridge spanning the width of the Amazon
Rox and Stuart from South Africa (Cape Town)
Roxy, Joy and Dave, from Australia.
Meeting of the waters... Again!
Next stop was a local home where they kept casual pets of baby sloths, caiman and a not so baby anaconda.
Dave cuddling the baby sloth.
They had really sharp nails as Joy got to experience as it clung to her bare shoulders.
Joy's dream of seeing this pathetic animal was realised!
It looked super happy to be getting so much love from all the people. In our minds it even looked to be sporting a little smile.
Next on the touch farm list was the anaconda. We had had our fill of snake stroking the day before so convinced the gentlemen to try their hand at it.
We could see Dave was not in his happy place, but good on him for sticking it out.
On the way to lunch we drove past these impressive giant Lilly pads.
A delicious buffet lunch with a wide variety of all you can eat Brazilian specialities. We were unfortunately last off the boat and therefore had very little time to gobble down the scrumptious cuisine.
Tummies full and we were back on the boat for a 2hr trip towards the main attraction, swimming with the pink dolphins.
As there were only 10 life jackets and they did not want to overwhelm the dolphins, we had to go into the water in shifts.
The dolphin whisperer/fish provider would dangle fish just above the surface of the water. The dolphins would then rise out of the water to claim the bounty and the surrounding floaters would have the opportunity to see/touch these oddly beautiful mammals.
They would very gently take the fish and we were able to get a few touches in. They were smooth and slimy, much like touching the inside of a litchi.
It was Roxy's dream to see these majestic creatures so she tried to stay in as long as possible... Even without a life jacket (rebel). As she was treading water, much as the fish whisperer did, and not providing fish, a dolphin swam up against? her from behind.
After the fish were finished we were back on the boat, off to visit the indigenous Indian tribe.
We had been told by other people who had done the tour before us, that this was quite an authentic tribe as they communicated amongst themselves in their indigenous language (even a Brazilian local could not understand them).
The leader of the welcome party.
They were all dressed in traditional gear and even though we knew it was only a demonstration, the three dances were all derived from their traditional ceremonies.
All the woman were bare breastfed, which some of the other visitors were a bit taken aback by but this was a sight we were accustomed to from holidays spent in the Transkei in South Africa.
Little boys playing traditional instruments.
The welcome dance.
This video depicts the farewell dance where the people leaving, us, were encouraged to join in.
After the exhibition we were told that we were welcome to take pictures with the tribes people and explore the village, which we took full advantage of.
Joy with one of the little ones.
Joy and Roxy with the Chief who graciously allowed us to try on his larger-than-the-rest headdress.
As we explored the homestead, we discovered the pet tarantula. Today's fun game... Throw stones at it.
Luckily this deadly beast was tied up by a thin string so Joy felt she could get close to it.
We spied a local dish on display and were encouraged to sample the grubs. As they only eat coconut, we were promised that this is exactly how they would taste... They did not!!!
One last pose with a young warrior.
Local lady displaying her wares.
Last view of the bridge before we docked at the Manaus harbour...what an epic day tour.
As we had missed the theatre the night before and it was our last night in Manaus, we decided that we could not miss the free classical show that was showing at the Amazonas Theatre that night.
We stood in line for about 30 mins to secure our pleb seats in the upper balconies of the building. The theatre was a magnificent piece of architecture that had been restored several times.
Ornate chandelier
Decorated pillars and velvet covered banisters surrounded the theatre.
And we even saw some familiar faces... It's Chris from Team Farofa.
Hand painted ceilings
The three balcony levels of the theatre.
The paying audience sat on seats on the ground level. Stuart had bought a ticket the day before and we were able to spot him in the crowd below. We had planned to meet up with him for drinks after the show.
It was a full harmonic Orchestra with violins, cellos, flutes, trumpets, drums etc. and of course a passionate conductor.
The music was so beautiful! Who would have ever thought that we would be treated to such musical wonders in the middle of the Amazon jungle??
As planned we met up with Stuart for drinks but because it was Corpus Christi (60 days after Easter) , a public holiday, there were no caipirinhas left but we happily ended our evening with a Bramha instead.
Friday
We had an amazing adventurous week in Manaus but now it was time to check out and board our 4 day boat trip to Porto Velho.
Checking out/taking over Hostel Manaus with our super helpful manager, Eryco.
Fantastic --Entrepid Travellers ---have you got used to sleeping in the hammock ?
ReplyDeleteFind a squash court somewhere in the Amazon and we'll bring over a team .
Enjoy -Griff