Blogs from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, South America - page 13

I have to say that our entry into Brazil was one of the most pleasant and welcoming experiences we have had on our trip so far. The trip across the Venezuelan border down to Manaus was really long. First we traveled from Cuidad Bolivar to Boa Vista in Brazil, then another overnight bus from Boa Vista to Manaus. On the first bus we were kind-of adopted by a Brazilian family! The shared family photos with us (all of which were random family members standing behind a birthday cake!), they helped us purchase food, ushered us to sit with them, share their drinks, etc... and before leaving took lots of photos of us :-) After almost 2 days of traveling we arrived tired and yet again smelly to Manaus. We booked into our hostel and had some ... read more

We crossed the boarder from Venezuela to Brazil and I swear everything felt just the little bit better. We had to wait to get our passports stamped but the ladys came out from their lunch break to do it and were very smily and chatty - a big change from Venezuela where they just steal your stuff and stop you for no reason. From the boarder we continued to Boa Vista, we travelled in a jeep with a man called Frank who kept finding excuses to touch my leg when we were driving. We were all quite minging from the night before- Nightclub, beer and lots of Rum- so we decided the only thing to do was to get back on the wagon so we drank a number of beers throughout the day. After making good ... read more

Manaus - Heart of the Amazon (dramatic music...) Sounds impressive huh? Conjuring visions of machete-wielding, moustachioed-types wearing short-leg safari suits, pith helmets and smug expressions? It's at the intersection of two rivers, rather impressive in their own right, the Rio Solimoes and the Rio Negro. And it's a monster. The closest you'll get to wildlife in downtown Manaus will be slowly shimmying up one of your pubes after an ill-advised night-in with a Danish girl sporting artificial dreadlocks. Or a hands-on experience with a 6-inch Nematode coughed up by a 4-inch kitten (- that story still to come another time!) We went in search of jungle, animals and authentic indiginous experiences, and to be fair, all three were in evidence. No Leopards or Anacondas, but plenty of birds, fish, monkeys and other uniquely Amazonian experiences. Also ... read more

I am in an Ibis Hotel ... basic and clean ... not as fancy as an Ibis in Europe. The only draw back about this hotel is that it is some distance from the centre. I thought of taking the bus. By watching the roads and the bus service I came to a very quick solution that I would be much less frustrated by simply taking a cab. On the morning of my only full day in Manaus it finally stopped pouring rain after mid-day. I took a taxi to Teatro Amazonas. It was definitely worth the six day trip up the Amazon. In total since Rio with two flights and six days on the river (minus 6hrs), I have travelled 8566kms to get here. When the Opera House was originally built it stood in ... read more

We didn’t get around to doing some of the things we were going to, such as the zoo, mainly due to laziness! The climate kind of makes you that way!! Also, getting information about various places has proved much more challenging than we expected. We did find our way to the banana market which was interesting. The huge piles of bananas were quite extraordinary, as were the heaps of watermelons and papaya. About half an hour from the Cathedral on the 120 bus is the beach resort of Ponta Negra. It seems strange to find sandy beaches on a river, but the Rio Negro has several. At this time of year there seems to be only one small beach actually in the town, but that’s not what we went there for. We were looking for Marina ... read more