Jouney to Manaus

I was in such a rush I didn't transfer my blanket from my big bag to my carry on. Big mistake. I was in the front row again on my journey from Manaus to Santa Elena, the border town on the Venezuelan side. I had two seats to myself the whole journey of 21 hours. The scenery was beautiful along the way but the most memorable part will be the temperature. I am not sure but I would guess the bus was set to 40 degrees farenheit or 5 degrees celcius. I was in shorts, t-shirt and sandals. I was wondering if it was just me but everyone else had taken all the clothes out of their bags and were wearing them all at the same time. It was the bus of the human wardrobes. I curled up in a ball to stay warm, which didn't do the trick. Finally, I settled on taking one of the head covers off the seat and putting my arms in there like a pouch and putting my backpack on my feet. For someone who very rarely finds himself cold, this was quite an experience. I was very happy when the sun came out because it warmed me a little and I felt a huge sense of relief when the bus made its first stop around 9 in the morning. I felt my legs thaw a little with each step down the stairs. About 30 kilometers from the town, we were stopped by the Venezuelan military, which made us take all of our stuff off the bus and empty the contents onto a table. I was the last in line. South Americans seem to have no problem cutting in line but a real problem waiting their place in line so for anger management reasons, I find it best to just plan on going last. By the time they got to me, the search was very half hearted and he didn't even make me empty one pocket. We made it to the town of Santa Elena, a few kilometers from the border at around 12:30.

After getting off the bus in Santa Elena, I found that no buses were permitted to go across to Brazil. I waited a long time for customs at the station where I thought they were going to search my contents again but after I waited the long time, they just waved me through. I was glad to not have to empty my bag again but I can't understand why they wouldn't wave me earlier instead of making me wait such a long time. I was confused about what to do but a Spanish girl, Marta, and her Brazilian husband, Andre, were very helpful. They told me that I needed to hire a cab to get to the border. I paid 40 Bolivars (about $18.50 or $9.00 depending on the exchange rate) for a cab driver to take me and actually walk me through the process. It was quite nice, he seemed to know all the guys and I would walk right in and out, until I got to the Brasilian side. Brasil's border is closed from 2 to 3. This was not the most positive news as I didn't know when the last bus out of town would be. Fortunately, it opened and I managed to elbow my way to second in line, despite actually being the first one in line before. Once in Brasil, it was just a 200 meter walk down a dustry road to the bus station. I stopped at an ATM bank but found that none of the three types were working. Fortunately, there was a bus leaving at 4 for Boa Vista on the way to Manaus and they could book a bus from Boa Vista to Manaus from this station. And to make matters better, the station took Bolivars, Brasilian Reals and American Dollars. I was on the bus at 4 and feeling like quite the success.

The bus to Boa Vista was only three or four hours and I had two seats to myself. The travel was sort of humorous as the young girl was taking pictures of me. The funny part was that she waited till it got dark and thought she was being inconspicuous as she held her phone backwards well above her head. A career in counter-intelligence is not in her future. It is interesting how many people will take your picture in South America without asking permission. The irony is that I have always been happy to take pictures with others and I am sure that they come out better than the "sneaky" ones.

I spent nearly three hours in the Boa Vista bus terminal. Getting off the bus, I met two American couples probably in their seventies. I asked them what in the world they were doing there and they said that they only lived two hours away from Boa Vista. I am guessing they were missionaries of some sort. No matter what they were, I thought it was prety neat that they were there. I think a lot of Americans from generations older than myself who may read my blog would believe my travels to be beyond their capabilities. However, these folks were doing it. I was incredibly hungry, so I had to get some cash. I followed behind the American travelers and they had a full on celebration when they received their cash. I didn't understand then what the commotion was about but I would later. I got my money and sat down for a well-deserved hamburger and coke. The bread was different than any bun I have ever used; it was sweet, firm and quite good. Afterwards, I went into the Eucatour (the bus company I was using) to charge my camera. The workers there were very gratious and didn't mind helping at all. I stayed in the office for about two hours, reading a little from my book but mainly watching the people who came in.

My bus was at 10:00. I had an aisle seat for the first time in South America (that I can recall). It was only supposed to be a twelve hour bus ride, which in my experiences thus far would be regarded as a short jaunt but it would be the culmination of three full days of travel. Having a large part of the journey taking place in the cover of night, it would not be one of my more memorable experiences. The only real stop was at around 2am when we stopped for a restroom and food break. I struggled to force myself out of the bus just to stretch my legs, as walking had been a seemingly occasional luxury recently. I ordered a little food. I wasn't hungry but felt my body would appreciate the nourishment. Within fifteen minutes, we were back on the bus and I was fast asleep. The next morning when I awoke, we were driving through the rainforest. Two things struck me instantly: the plants were so thick and the trees were so close that it formed a barrier to entry for anyone without a machete; also, the earth was a bright red. I had always heard that the Amazon Rainforest had poor soil for growing, which is why the slash and burn method is employed but can only be used once, but this red clay still surprised me. At around 7:30, I saw a sign for Manaus indicating it was close ahead. I was excited because at the pace we were traveling we would be there well before the 10am target. However, we were stopped by the military police shortly thereafter. They looked in the large baggage compartment, then came on the bus asking for seats 33 and 34 to exit the bus. I thought they had found drugs or something and was expecting stereotypical grungy drug mule looking guys like you would see in the movies to come forward. Instead, two little old ladies made their way off the bus. We were stopped for the better part of two hours before the two ladies got back on and we rolled our way to Manaus. We arrived right on time.

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