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Published: November 3rd 2007
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Porto Velho
Train museum Leaving the Pantanal, we had 1400 km to cover to get to Porto Velho and we had to do it in 2 days to meet up with Carlos again for a jungle trip. It was a hot trip. The landscape was sometime stunning with farmland dotted with palm tress and patches of forest. But a lot was burnt and ugly. Somewhere during the first day the sun disappeared behind a think layer of smoke. This got thicker until we stopped for the night. There was a petrol station and a patch of orange dirt across the road. Pieter spotted a hotel and went to ask the rates with Lucy and Luke. It was R$30 (US$15) for 2 hours. It was a 'love' hotel and they came back giggling. So we settled on camping on the patch of dirt which appeared to be a rubbish tip at the end of small runway. At least there were facilities at the petrol station which we shared with lots of truckers who were also staying the night. The next day the sun never really came out, it was just an orange ball hiding behind the thick smoke. We arrived in Porto Velho just after sunset.
Porto Velho
Train museum Porto Velho is a grubby city but it had a bit of charm. Down by the river we found lots of restaurants with lots of stay cats to feed. We found out the jungle trip got cancelled. The private boat was not going to make it due to trouble on the river, a barge being sunk trying to rescue a boat stuck on a sandbank. And because of the low river level the public boat to Manaus would take longer. Some of our group decided to fly ahead to Manaus to do a jungle trip from there. But we were in no hurry and decided to take the public boat with Lucy and Ana.
Pieter would say that it was the trip from hell and I would just about agree. We were squished on a little riverboat with a one-armed white-haired captain, hammocks everywhere, you could move with disturbing the people around you. And meal time was a fiasco with some extraordinarily rude people taking double and triple helpings while others were waiting. Only two loos for 70 people and the loos also had showers inside so it was always steamy and you had to wait ages for
Porto Velho
The library people to finish having the shower before you could use the loo. We did switch boats to a bigger boat in Manicore. More people but also more toilets and a more organise and fairer meal time. Sadly we noticed that the ship crew and the passengers had little or no respect for the environment .. all degradable and non-degradable material was tipped overboard.
And now for the good bits. Lying in your hammock watching the river we often saw pink dolphins. And was lovely to just relax and read. There was a bar on the second boat and we would buy a drink and sit at the front of the boat enjoying the cool night air. We were adopted, especially me, by a lovely old lady of 74 who was travelling with her daughter. She gave me magazines to read .. in Portuguese but I could look at the pictures and read a few words, and she read her bible with me a bit. We didn't understand much of what each other said but it was nice to chat all the same.
5 days after getting on the boat we disembarked at the Manaus. Oh the relief when
we arrived at the hotel and were able to have a nice shower and a bit of space to ourselves and go our for a meal that didn't involve chicken and rice. We even enjoyed a visit to the very civilised shopping mall, Amazon Shopping, where it turns I am a size 50!! They really don't do big here, all the ladies are quite small.
Our first evening in Manaus was a Sunday and in the plaza in front of the theatre was a lively scene of alfresco bars and restaurants and live entertainment. There were a couple of stages with comedy being played out by brightly coloured actors. There was a big screen with seating in front of it where they were showing Mary Poppins. You had to pay for a seat but could stand and watch. There were lots of families and people looked very happy in the lovely warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Manaus is not an especially beautiful city. It does have a nice municipal market with some tourist shops inside. And there is a ton more tourist tat in a nearby plaza where we eventually found the tourist information office. There are some museums.
Porto Velho
Passenger port. Our boat was the Ana Dark. We really enjoyed the Palacio Rio Negro which was beautiful with a fantastic main staircase. The floors were alternate dark (Jacarandá) and blond woods representing the meeting of the rivers (Rio Negro which is black from organic material and the Amazon is a little murky brown - we passed over the point where they meet on the boat just outside Manaus and it was amazing to see the distinct colours pushing up against each other with little and slow mixing). The house was used by the governor on infrequent visits but if you are there on a Friday night you can go to a free piano recital.
The most important attraction in Manaus is the Amazon Theatre. Built in the 19th century when the rubber boom allowed for such an extravagance, the huge pink opera house is topped by a spectacular dome of french tiles in the colours of the national flag. We took a tour for R$10 each which was private because no one else arrived at the same time. The main theatre is beautifully decorated. Upstairs is a little museum with various objects. But best of all was the ballroom. We had to put slippers on to
Porto Velho
Loading and unloading the boats protect the original wooden floor and slid into the modest sized room. It was very ornate with angels around the bands balcony and paintings of forest scenes on the walls and an amazing scene on the ceiling. The main angel was said to follow you with her eyes and we and we were made to slide across the room while watching a naked lady who became thinner with a longer arm as you moved. The illusion was easily seen.
We ate quite well in Manaus. Twice we had dinner had yet another fantastic churrascaria, Bufalo's. Would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Manaus. See our Curitiba blog for an explanation of this type of restaurant. The thing that makes me wonder is why they always serve chicken hearts. I never see many takers.
That was the end of our Brazil experience. It was varied and interesting. Next stop was Venezuela.
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