Blogs from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, South America

Its early morning on valentine’s day and we are in Manaus Brazil. Manaus is the capital of Amazonia. Spent the last two days in Cartagena Colombia doing a bit of touring. First for a wander around Bocagrande, the new, built up part of the coast and a bit like a Colombian version of Miami beach. Then a day trip to the Caribbean islands of the Islas de Rosario. The islands were disappointing. Very barren and besides a hotel on the one we visited – not much else. Also the journey back to the mainland was a bit hairy. The wind strengthens considerably in the afternoon and the hour long journey back was very very choppy. So a quick summary on Colombia. Bogota and Villa De Leva, 6 out of 10. OK but not a must see. ... read more

Ola meus amigos, gleich vorab: Es ist diesmal etwas länger geworden, also geht besser vor dem Lesen nochmal aufs Klo und holt Euch was zu knabbern oder zu trinken :-D Also los: Nach wochenlangem intensiven studieren und grübeln war es mal wieder Zeit für den touristischen Teil der Reise, natürlich von langer Hand geplant. Da in Sachsen die Herbstferien einsetzten, war es auch für Nadine und meine Schwester (Juri HUHU :-D) nebst Freund möglich, mal in Brasilien vorbeizuSCHNEIEN. (hier könnte ich jetzt eine gemeine Anmerkung machen, ich denke sie mir aber nur) Als Reiseziel hatten wir uns den tropischen Regenwald um Manaus rausgesucht. Der liegt zwar in Brasilien, aber mit ca. 5 Flugstunden dann doch ähnlich weit wie die Kanaren von Deutschland… Hatte ich beim Buchen eigentlich gar nicht so richtig realisiert. Aber was solls, den ... read more

Manaus, the jumping off point for our Amazon adventure, was a place of contrasts. For us it was a great change of weather - sunny, hot and humid so the summer gear was donned for the first time since the Galapagos Islands. Manaus, located in the centre of Brazil near the Equator, is a river port set on the Rio Negro (named for its colour) close to where it becomes the Amazon. It is a sprawling jumble of gracious, old, colonial buildings, a reminder of its Portuguese past and most in need of restoration except for the grand old Opera House, mixed with street upon street of markets and the hive of activity at the port. From Manaus travel is either by plane or boat so all goods, commercial or personal, are transported by water through ... read more

All backpackers are told that sailing down the amazonas river is a must...that it's a truly authentic experience and the cheapest was to travel like the locals...so off we set as excited as can be on what we thought would be a 5 day boat trip from Belem to Manaus. The experience went as follows: we arrived at the port 6 hours before the boat set sail to make sure to get the cheapest ticket, we boarded and strategically placed our hamocks away from the toilets and engine and once we were satisfied we gave ourselves a pat on the back and lay down to read our books and relax. It was after a couple of hours when we realised the boat had still not left that we should have realised we got more than we ... read more

WedOk so Tuesday is missing cause my iPhone is gubbed after nearly capsizing our canoe in a tropical rainstorm. Will write when Irecover Nextday......7.30 breakfast then canoe into the jungle and build a fire, cooking the rice in a large cauldron and barbecuing the chicken on sticks over the fire. All delicious. After, we visit an indigenous family farmhouse at the rivers edge. After a brief encounter with one of the pigs, in the orchard Kevin decides he really does enjoy sucking lemons. Finally found something he likes to eat Kev buys a blow- pipe. All we need to find is the poisonous frog, dip arrow in, and I'll get rid of Tricia for good. After tea, game of cards, some cold beer and some much needed sleep.... read more