Blogs from Amazonas, Brazil, South America - page 10

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

Sure enough Thomas (the tour guide we met yesterday) found us at our hostel this morning. We didn't see him at breakfast, but he came knocking on our door (literally!) soon after. We tried to shake him off by saying we had some calls to make to book flights to Iguassu Falls, and also to bring our flights home forward. On the point of flying home early - a tough decision but one that had to be made as we are running out of money (no doubt due to splashing out on the Galapagos trip! Worth it.) We figured we needed two weeks to see the jungle, Iguassu Falls and Rio, and would fly two weeks early, only cutting Pantanel wetlands and some beach towns off the itinerary. Thomas, desperate for our custom, offered to let ... read more

It was in the height of the Mundial, daily football matches dictated our actions for the day. We set down in a cheap hostel, in a big room with many thick mattresses, not very far from Manaus' docks. We were seven who stayed together from the boat journey Tabatinga to Manaus. It was a lovely journey well set and organised, a cruise compared to the rough boat I had in Peru. Although we were on hammocks there was enough space between them and a nice breeze cooled the sweltering heat and calmed the humidity. At the roof balcony there was a little canteen that served burgers, ice cream, coke, chocolate, tea and coffee, AND we had a TV set with the Mundial on - floating on the Amazon and watching the Mundial for four days - ... read more

Having found out that the 3 day boat trip from Manaus (the halfway point on the Amazon river, between Belem on the east coast of Brazil and Tabatinga, the Brazilian border town between Brazil, Peru and Colombia) to Leticia in Colombia was actually 6 days, I boarded the N/M M. Monteiro on the 27th February, complete with hammock and a bag full of snacks that were to get me through the best part of the next week. The previous day I found out that the official price for the trip was 340 Reais (about £110) however what looked like a legitimate gentleman outside the port was selling tickets for the same trip on the same boat for 300 Reais, so naturally I opted for the cheaper option, using the saving to purchase my hammock, a double ... 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