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Published: January 19th 2012
The Amazon!
View from the plane... a tease for what was coming!... So our journey through Brazil continued as we said goodbye to the beaches and relaxation and entered the Amazon! We landed about 30 minutes late in Manuas and were immediately hit by the humidity, the temperature read 32 but with the humidity we later found it out is was 43 degrees celcius! We checked into our hotel and got ourselves settled and headed out for lunch. We stumbled upon a small lanchette called Sr. Libanese and of course this had to happen! The owner was very helpful (with Liz's allergy) and chatted with us for a while in Spanish (he did not speak English). Later a few of his buddies came around and all we could think about was comparisons to the Zohan... great start to the Amazon! The next day our tour left at 8am and our first stop was on the water at the meeting of the two rivers which lead to the amazon. The Rio Negro and Rio Solimoes, so distinct that you can see the separation line above the water! After a few modes of transportation (bus, high speed boat, VW van, motorized canoe) we made it to our rustic lodge
in the middle of the jungle! We ate a hearty lunch and got prepared for our first tour around the area about 3pm. As we boarded our boat the rain started very lightly... and as we headed out further into the water it continued until we were finally immersed in torrential downpour, we couldn't even see 20 feet in front of us. Our boat driver finally found a makeshift boathouse in the middle of the water where we got off the boat and sheltered ourselves under the sparse overhang! We waited about 40 minutes until the rain let up a little and headed back to the lodge... soaking wet! The rain continued overnight and our guide told us this rain was nothing; in the month of March it rains for 30 days straight and the resulting water levels in the Amazon can increase by up to 7 meters!
The next morning we headed out to visit a local family that lives in the jungle. Their livlihood strictly depends on the season and the area they live in to grow the crops. Their main food sources are the plants/fruit trees in the jungle and crops such as manioc (like a
potato, although poisonous in raw form). Often times the areas they stage themselves in get flooded and so they are required to move to higher land within the jungle. It was an eye opening experience for us to see this way of life first hand... it makes you appreciate all the immediate conveniences we have access to in our lives! We went back for lunch and rested while we watched the rain again... thankfully the rain stopped as we headed out for our piranha fishing expedition! We stopped in a highly dense piranha area and our guide showed us what to do when you catch it... bite the piranha before it bites you! Chris caught two piranhas (one red belly - the most vicious - and the other a white piranha). On the way back we saw numerous wildlife: a large caiman sunbathing along the edge of the river, grey and pink dolphins playing and showing off in the water, a pregnant sloth relaxing in the trees and many different bird species, including kingfishers, cranes, macaws, jungle turkeys, and a spotted heron! That night was another higlight of the Amazon as we went out caiman spotting, well it was really
Piranha Fishing!
Catch of the day: red-bellied piranha the guide who did the spotting, we just reaped the rewards. We slowly approached a marshy area and next thing we knew our guide turned around with a baby caiman in his hand (about one meter long). Of all the ones he found this one was actually missing one of his web feet as it was likely a piranha bit it off. We finished the night with a drink and some stories from our guide about how he was bitten by a poisonous snake and really should have died because he didn't get medical attention until 3 hours after being bitten. Then he continued to tell us he was bitten by a three meter long caiman (showed us the stitches around his knee/leg) and then, to top it off, a tarantula... (not all at the same time though!) In his words, "welcome to the Jungle!" We headed back to our room and battled the thumb-sized coackroaches before getting some shut eye!
Our last morning out in the Amazon we went on a jungle trek. We saw a variety of medicinal plants and trees that the tribes often use. There were giant palm trees ranging from 10 feet to 50
Caiman Spotting!
Note the left arm missing hand! Poor guy... feet tall, rubber trees, trees that the natives of the land used to make clothing (our guides made fans and ropes with the inner bark) and the massive Brazil nut tree which only produces nuts after about ten years. Our guide was able to crack one open and we tried it the nuts... which actually resemble the taste of coconut! We hiked for a bit longer and crossed a number of areas where our guides stopped cause they could smell snakes... and yes there was a distinct smell in that area, but unfortunately we could not find any. We saw many other interesting fauna like a poisonous tree frog and a tarantula. Our guide decided to disturb and lure the taranula out of its hole, pick it up and show us its fangs! This seems to be a common practice in Latin America... however this is a practice I would never try! And so we headed back into Manaus (back on land) where we apparently missed the flooding of the city the day we left! We preppped and did some more planning for the next leg of our trip and said goodbye to Amazonia... what an amazing, eye opening journey,
Tarantula Fangs
Not a pretty creature, is it... with life long memories!
Salvador da Bahia Our next stop was in Salvador. We were scheduled for a 2pm flight on January 10 and barely made the flight for a number of reasons. The first being that our driver (from the hotel) got a flat tire on the car not even 5 minutes after leaving! So we had to get in the nearest cab, transfer our bags, and of course all the while it was pouring rain. Partial success back on the road, only for a short time... the debris in the roads, fallen trees and flooding resulted in a longer ride to the airport. Arriving at 1:05 for a 2pm flight, no problem, except the wait to check in. Long story short, we boarded our plane at 1:48pm, needless to say the flight did not leave on time! Because of the two hour time change back to the Atlantic Coast we ended up arriving late into Salvador. We crashed pretty much right away in our little pousada. We woke up the next morning to a wonderful breakfast on a small veranda. Our time in Salvador had memories but definitely not as good as some previous ones! The
Salvador do Bahia
Climbing one of the many hills to get to Salvador Centro next day Chris started his battle with the toilet, which ended up lasting a total of three days... Ciproflox to the rescue! That morning we walked to the main centre of Salvador and the surrounding Pelhourino area. We toured around and got a feel for the town, very historic with a predominantly African culture. We retired early and relaxed with dinner at the hostel.... stirfry, mmmm!
The next day there was a local festival going on, which we heard and read was not to be missed. The festival was called Lavagem do Bonfim so we attended and let me tell you the Bahians of Salvador know how to have a good festival. The festivities included a parade of musicians, countless vendors, live capoeira shows, and of course what festival would be complete without beer! We left about mid-afternoon and headed out to Barra of Salvador to see the beach, lighthouse and general area. To be honest the beach area was not all that impressive in Barra but we strolled along the beach and hung around to watch the sunset at the lighthouse. We summed up our visit to Salvador with a visit to the Carmo church, where there is
Lavagem do Bonfim
Looking down onto the festival in the streets below a sculpture of Christ (made by a slave with no formal training) inlaid with over 2000 rubies to represent the drops of blood - very impressive!
Foz do Iguaçu With great anticipation to see yet another UNESCO world heritage site, we arrived in Foz do Iguaçu. We checked into our hostel, which was very accomodating with helpful staff. Our first objective was to get some food and so within two minutes of walking down the main street we found a lebanese shwarama restaurant and then another, and another. Needless to say we had shwarama for lunch... delish! We relaxed and prepped for the next day visit to the falls, and then headed out for a drink on the hostel patio. We met an Aussie couple who recommended a local Churascurria down the street, where they said there was a lot of meat! We splurged and went to eat there and what an experience that was! The salad bar alone had about 15 different items, ranging from salad, rice, hummus, potatoes and pastas. And then the meat arrived slowly but constantly, seriously every 30 seconds a new waiter came to our table with a different spit of meat: chicken,
Large billed Toucan
This is the culprit who attacked Chris! lamb, pork, ribs, chicken hearts and every cut of beef you can imagine; BBQ cheese, four cheese lasagna and even grilled pineapple. (We are so sad cause this night we did not have our camera).
The next morning we packed up our stuff and headed to the Iguaçu National Park to visit the Brazil side of the famous falls. Our first stop was a bird park, where the highlights included Chris being attacked by a large beaked toucan, the extremely loud macaws, and a parrot who made friends with both Liz and I as he rested on our shoulders and chirped loudly in our ears! After enjoying the aviary we headed to the main attraction, the Iguaçu Falls. It took about an hour to get in but we finally boarded the bus to take us to the start of the hiking trail. We saw a number of animals along the trail (such as lizards, butterflies and giant spiders) and we stood in awe when watching the waterfalls from the various viewing platforms. The final and most impressive portion of the Brazilian side tour was a walk out to the deck looking into the Devil's Throat portion of the falls
Iguacu Falls
One of the largest in the world! (where we got a little damp from the misting of the powerful falls - this was quite welcome given the tropical heat!). Our day complete, we made our way to the border...
Next stop... Argentina!
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Mum
non-member comment
Amazon Segment
Hi there, you guys are sure having a trip of a lifetime, and you have my admiration for being a lot bolder than I would ever wish to be! No desire to be amongst tarantulas, or sleeping with cockroaches, thank you! But that little parrot and the macaws are lovely, the falls, too. You sound like you are really doing it right, and I hope you just keep on having all those great experiences... and no more runs, so to speak! Mum xo