Blogs from Amazonas, Brazil, South America - page 9

With a little knowledge of Portuguese and minimal idea on what to expect at Brazil. We figured, that instead of venturing to popular places like Rio, Salvador and Sao Paulo. This time around; we might as well try something different and push ourselves way out of our comfort zone. We ended finding a place called "Xixuau Xiparina Reserve" where eco-tourism was a possibility and a chance to connect with locals of the region. Getting there was quite rough; an 18-20 hour boat ride sleeping and resting on hammock beds and another 6 hours on a small boat venturing into local communities; something that your normal travel book that can't prepare you from. In fact, we met few individuals that were amazed that we didn't bring any guide books. The way I see it; it just adds ... read more

Pour arriver a Manaus au Bresil, on prend un autre bateau (beaucoup plus luxueux que celui du Perou,mais aussi beaucoup plus cher!), pour 4 jours de voyages.Dans la salle des hamacs c est toujours bien plein, mais les repas sont un peu plus varies! On rencontre Sebastien , un colombien, John, un anglais,et un couple d Italien, Loreta et Andrea avec qui on restera sur Manaus. Manaus...ville portuaire...qu on a pas trouve plus chouette que ca!et on commence a se rendre compte que la vie coute beaucoup plus cher. On passera quelques jours a se ballader dans la ville et a faire quelques expositons...rien d exceptionnel. Il aussi temps de decider comment va t-on rejoindre Rio de Janeiro, il nous reste plus qu un mois avant de prendre l avion de retour pour Bruxelles...en bus trop ... read more

It's been a while since I updated the blog, but this week has been crazy. It seems like we've done too much to write it all, but I'll try to give some of the highlights. We flew into Manaus, Brazil which is right at the heart of the Amazon. It was blazing hot and humid and exactly the climate you'd imagine here. We had a little over a week here and we really wanted to commit all of it to a hardcore jungle adventure and go as deep into the Amazon as possible. The first tour operator seemed great. It was everything that we were looking for. It began 100km from the city of Manaus in the Juma Reserve. They promised loads of hiking, camping, animals, and all the adventure we were looking for. They also ... read more

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