Dozens of dolphins, a craft lesson, piranha fishing, a school visit and ticks and monkeys

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Wednesday 27^th May 2015



After a tiring day yesterday, we had an easy one today. We took the motorised canoe downriver, then paddled about in the Igapos for a few hours this morning. As we entered the Igapos, six large colourful Macaws flew out of a tree, squawking indignantly and letting all of the other creatures know that we were there. We didn’t see any monkeys or sloths today, but we saw thousands of heron and other fisher birds, testament to how rich the aquatic life is here. We saw a couple of grey dolphin as well. The dolphins are very beautiful and we managed to get quite a good video of one of them. These river dolphin are unique to the Amazon. The greys are a pale blueish grey with a pale pink belly, whilst the pinks have the same pale belly but deep pink backs. There are a lot of them and we can see them frequently from our lodge when they surface. There are manatees as well but they are rarely seen; it is impossible to see anything under the water because it is too dark.



One unusual large bird we saw was a “Cigana”, multi-coloured with a blue crown on its head. We also saw King Heron, which are very large, white with yellow heads and blue beaks. This afternoon, Marcelo showed us how to make fans from palm. The large palms have nuts called Babacu nuts, and fire flies make holes in the shell, eat into the nuts their eggs. Marcelo cut one open and inside was a white maggot. This one will not become a fire fly, because Marcelo ate it! We didn´t fancy any ourselves! Viv made a necklace, by plaiting the “Killer Tree” sinew that we collected yesterday, and a Babacu nut hangs on it as a pendant; this one does not have maggots in it. This evening we had fish and rice again but at least we also had a beautiful sunset to watch. It would be so nice to have some fruit and veg for a change and some dessert would be nice. We could murder a bottle of wine, but will have to wait until we get to Rio!



Here at the lodge there are eight small lodges which can each sleep four people. They are very basic inside and we have one to ourselves. In fact, we have the whole place to ourselves, being the only travellers here. Most people come in the dry season when there is more chance of seeing monkeys and other mammals, but the wet season has a lot going for it. We are the only tourists navigating the flooded forest, the Igapos, which is so stunningly beautiful, and we see more of the dolphin and bird life. We enjoy the peace and quiet and the opportunity to listen to the sounds of the jungle, like the howler monkeys, who have eluded us so far; we can hear them but not see them.



We have decided not to sleep out in hammocks. There are simply too many insects hatching out after each daily deluge of rain. Viv is covered in mosquito and ant bites; every new bite makes one think “Hope this mossie wasn’t carrying Dengue!” The itchiness, however, is not such a huge price to pay for Paradise!



Thursday 28^th May 2015



This morning we set off with Marcelo to visit a village about an hour upstream by motorised canoe. Whilst there we visited the local school. Children come from miles around, by river, to the school< some leave at 5 a.m. to make the journey. The school provides breakfast as well as dinner. We were most impressed with the courteousness and good behaviour of the children. The children learn a foreign language, Spanish, from the age of 3 (as they learn English from this age in Spain). Later, at secondary level they have lessons in English also. This is really important for Brazil. At the moment most people only speak their own language, Portuguese, and to progress in business, communications and commerce, they need to understand Spanish and English. Some of the children here in the Amazonas speak native Indian languages as well.



We spent a while enjoying watching some of the children playing football. Their football pitch was covered in cow pats, most of them were bare-footed and twice one of them had to swim in the river to get the ball back! Never mind the alligators and piranha! They had a great time and a couple of them looked like future Brazilian football stars!



On our journey back to the lodge for lunch we came across a large school of grey dolphins, who were obviously fishing for their lunch. We have caught them really well on video, including one shot where six of them are all jumping together. A truly wonderful sight.



This afternoon we went piranha fishing again. Marcelo caught four, John caught two and Viv didn´t catch any today. Catching one the other day was terrifying enough, so maybe the piranha knew that she didn´t really want to catch them! As we made our way back to the lodge the sun was setting; another spectacular sunset in this big open sky. And so ends the fifth superb Mamori day!



Friday 29^th May 2015



This morning there were two huge black birds with red heads sitting on the grass staring at the kitchen door. “What are they, Marcelo?” “Vultures!” he replied casually, like one might say “Pigeons!” or “Sparrows!” There are three species of vulture in the Amazon, red-headed, white-headed and black-headed and we have seen all three throughout the week as well as many beautiful eagles. We set off into the jungle for another three hour hike. It was just as hot but not quite so humid. It hasn´t rained for over twenty four hours. On our hike we saw a troupe of six or seven Capuchin monkeys high in the canopy and we saw huge ants about four centimetres long and “leaf frogs”, who are incredibly well-camouflaged; they are about ten centimetres in length. The Capuchin were harvesting Brazil nuts. They throw the big heavy pods down from high in the trees; it wouldn´t be good to get one of those hitting the head!



Four weeks ago we bought our dog Mutley a new tick collar from the pet shop. We should have bought three, one for each of us as well. Now that the forest is a bit drier, the ticks are out in force. John killed one that was biting his arm whilst in the forest, and Viv got two off her skin in the shower afterwards. Nice! Tick bites are not nice, but at least we got them off and they are not attached, sucking our blood. The bites itch like hell. No wonder dogs scratch a lot; they are more prone to tick bites than humans. We found more ticks in our clothes later, so they had to be laid in the sun (ticks do not like the sun) before washing.



Another thing we got in the forest today was frankincense bark, which smells lovely when lit and we have some to take home. We also found a “milk tree”. The milk doesn´t have much flavour but it is full of vitamins. It was a great morning but seriously hard hiking. This afternoon we went down another river to go monkey spotting and saw two troupes of Para Cu monkeys. The Para Cu are big, black woolly monkeys. One male, protecting his family, came forward, beat his chest like an ape and bared his teeth at us.



Tomorrow, Saturday, we are going to chill around the lodge. We have told Marcelo he can have the day off! It has been a spectacular week, with unforgettable experiences that we shall treasure. All of the boxes have been ticked. On Sunday we return to civilization, retracing our steps by boat, minibus, boat and car, back to Manaus and a flight to Rio. The Amazon has been AMAZING!

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Photos

One of dozens of dolphins
We have more on video

Cigana bird...
...about the size of a large turkey