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Published: October 5th 2014
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The Amazon jungle. Just hearing those words sends shivers down my spin. My imagination runs wild with all the adventures I could have in this lush, tropical, paradise. Like so many, it had always been a dream of mine to travel to this magnificent part of the world and get lost under the canopy amongst the gigantic leafs and mosquitos. I have watched countless documentaries and made it an ambition, a bucket-list quest, to walk through the trees and float down the mighty river. In April 2014 my dream became a reality.
After doing some research, my husband Tomás, and I decided to book a stay at the Uakari Lodge in the Mamirauá Reserve. The reviews on the web were outstanding and the description on their website was exactly what we were looking for. An authentic jungle stay with minimal impact to the environment that helped local communities. It ticked all the boxes.
We were pushed for time so we booked the 4 night package (they offer packages for 3, 4 and 7 nights) which coincided with the rainy season, when the jungle floor is covered with water. Heavy rain makes the rivers burst their banks increasing water levels
by 10metres! Going during the rainy season means your feet won't touch solid ground for many days - an exciting prospect. But it does also means that you won't do any hiking and your chances of seeing a jaguar are heavily reduced.
Our trip started in the town of Téfe where we had arranged to meet the Uakari Lodge team. Téfe is a town in the heart of the Amazon jungle situated by the Amazon River - it can be reached by air and by boat. We arrived by boat, sailing along the Amazon River from the city of Manaus. The journey took 36hrs and it was uncomfortable but a great experience. You can read about our experience in my separate blog entry.
During the boat transfer to the lodge we encountered the 'meeting of the waters', saw countless giant trees and had our first glimpse of the magical pink dolphin.
This somewhat strange looking creature is thought to prehistoric (supposedly to have been in the river for some 35million years!) and was trapped in the river when the Andes mountain range was created. The Amazon river actually once ran in the opposite direction, Atlantic to Pacific,
and when the Andes took shape this changed the flow of the river and also kept the dolphins there. Although they look similar to a typical ocean dolphin apparently they aren't actually related. There is a local myth that at night the dolphins morph into men and walk the streets of towns and villages looking for young females to impregnate. Once the new mother has given birth, if her baby is a boy the dolphin father returns to snatch the baby and take him to the water to live life as a boto dolphin but if the baby is a girl she is left to lead a normal life on land. We learnt this from a presentation given to us by boto dolphin researchers. If you want to learn more about these creatures there is a research centre in the Mamirauá research called project boto!
After almost an hour, we made our way up a narrow river and the lodge came into view. It's spectacular. Five beautiful bungalows and a larger central house, all floating in the heart of the Amazon jungle. I had to pinch myself - it felt like I was dreaming. We disembarked and were greeted
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Our first glimpse of the Boto Dolphin aka Pink River Dolphin by all of the lodge employees who, one by one, introduced themselves. We reciprocated and after the final formalities were completed we were shown to our rooms. Tomas and I were given a room at the far end which had large windows on three sides that we threw open every morning to spy on the jungle. Each room has a private bathroom and balcony with hammocks to sit in and relax during your free time. Given the lodges privileged location, the wildlife spotting opportunities are endless. Cayman live in the surrounding waters, cruising by, keeping a beady eye on you while you sit in your hammock. Pink and grey river dolphins splash around while monkeys can be seen scrambling through the nearby treetops and dozens of birds of all shapes, sizes and colours fill the sky, diving down to drink from the river. It's the most peaceful place on earth - there is no other sound besides the cry of nature and at night this noise reaches a deafening pitch that I didn't sleep a wink the first night.
The daily activities are well thought out and organised. All of our activities involved either a motor boat (for travelling
longer distances) or a canoe (for exploring the waters surrounding the lodge). The guides are fantastic spotting something at every turn. We saw 5 types of monkeys, sloths, zillions of birds including macaws, herons (of all types), hawks, king fishers, woodpeckers and hummingbirds, butterflies, owls, spiders, cayman, pink and grey river dolphins - the list is endless. Traveling by canoe is super relaxing and offers the best chance of seeing animals. The lodge works with and supports 8 villages within the reserve and a visit to one is included in the activities. During the visit you learn about the village and their connection to the lodge. All of the people working at the lodge are from the villages so it is really interesting to see where they live and grew up.
The service you receive is that of a top star hotel. From the moment you send the first email to the moment you leave the staff strive to offer the best and all seem to love working there. The food is excellent - everyday a new local dish is delivered from the kitchen accompanied with mountains of veggies and salad. Fresh juice is served and there's even a
bar in case you fancy something stronger. Our main guide/host was an extremely intelligent and knowledgeable young university graduate who had studied biology. The lodge takes on graduates for a 2 or 3 month period providing them with training and work experience. There is no end to the good Uakari Lodge does!
If I went again would I do anything different? Yes! I would take a big bag of books, pens, pencils, learning material - anything to give to the local community school we had visited during our time. And secondly, book a 7 night stay!
To sum up, I think we stayed at one of the best, if not the best, jungle lodges in the Amazon. I can't recommend Uakari Lodge enough!
Some facts about the reserve and lodge:
The reserve covers an area of 1,124,000ha (the biggest flooded forest in the world) and is protected by the state
Sustainability - electricity supplied by the sun, rain water caught and stored, even some of the building are ecological - made from recycled material.
Waste is processed on site and returned to water once it has been completely treated.
The BBC made a
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Buying supplies from locals en route to the lodge fantastic documentary about this area. Check it out!
Rates as of March 2014 as follows
3 nights R$1,500
4 nights R$1,750
7 nights R$2,350
No children under 12 allowed.
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