Blogs from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, South America - page 7

Sophie woke me early as she had suffered sore eyes yesterday and after a night's sleep her left eye had gunked over and was plastered shut! After a dozen rinses with mineral water she was able to open it again, but it was still puffy and swollen. Not fun in the sweltering heat. The morning's activity was a trek into the jungle, requiring long sleeves and trousers... sooo overkill in this heat but a definite requirement with all the mosquitoes. We went the whole hog and looked very hot with our trousers tucked into our socks! But at least the bugs could only go for our hands, necks and faces... 95% DEET to take care of that (thanks Lucy!) Luckily most of the time we were shaded by the thick foliage; the plant growth was just ... read more

We managed to fit in breakfast at Pensao Sulista before we were picked up at 8o'clock. Unfortunately my not so good stomach from the day before continued and it was time for some Immodium to pull me through! Pedro from Amazon Gero tours drove us to the port, stopping along the way to explain the city and favela redevelopment. Whilst his English is non-existent, same as our Portuguese, another opportunity for Sophie to speak Spanish was appreciated. The road leading up to the port was lined with a fish market selling all manner of different fish from 3 metre pirarucu to the Amazon mud fish, always sold alive! We headed down to our little speed boat and met Otsun our guide for the journey, and Harry and Ghia, an Indian couple from Chicago. The tour really ... read more

Sundays in South America are closedown days. After the language barrier reared its ugly head again and we were dropped off at the wrong hotel (so frustrating not being able to communicate) we explored the town to find nothing open whatsoever, aside from a small cafe where we had a dish I will soon be/am already bored of: chicken, rice and beans. When someone struck up a conversation with us in English I naively entered into it, but of course no-one speaks to you unless they want to sell you something - he was a jungle tour operator. At hearing what hostel we were staying at, he spun us a story about going there for breakfast every day (as if) and said he would meet us there tomorrow and take us to his office. We spent ... read more

Oi! As Greg mentioned, we arrived safely in Manaus! Our boat was not overloaded and looked pretty safe (however this didn't stop me from imagining every exit plan and hoping that if the boat went down we'd be in a narrow section of the river). But none of that materialized, apparently Peru boats are much worse than the Brazil ones! On Saturday, we started off our 3 day adventure on the Amazon with a full day of waiting at the port for tickets and then to board the boat. The boat is meant to start boarding at 4pm, but people start putting their luggage in the queue as early as 8am, so we arrived at 11am to get our bags near the front of the line (as recommended to us). Our wait till 4pm was made ... read more

Tuesday, March 2 to Monday, March 8, 2010 Day 1 - We begin our 900 mile from the Atlantic Ocean to the town of Manaus. The current in the Amazon moves so fast that at the shore line the river acts like a vacuum sucking the vegetation and shore line into its flow. Consequently the river is the color of pale chocolate milk and we’ve seen lots of logs and bushes flowing down the river. It is the rainy season here and it is HOT - 90+ degrees with 90+ humidity Day 2 - Alter do Chao The village of Alter do Chao enjoys a lovely location amid lush vegetation above the Tapajós River. The small settlement consists of rustic native cottages dotting the fringe of a tropical forest. Thanks to its beautiful sandy beach and ... read more