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We woke up in time for the breakfast bell and found lots going on around us as people were up and about already getting their stuff ready for our arrival in Manaus. After our usual breakfast we joined them and re-packed our bags once more then chatted with our friends until we pulled in to the docks. It was completely different to any of the other places we had stopped at along they way, they had been rustic little shanty towns whereas this was a proper commercial port, complete with merchant container ship at anchor as all manor of ships and boats dotted around in what I'm sure was some kind of order but looked very much like chaos to us!! Despite the size and business there were still people in little motorised canoes flying all over the place, jumping on and off of boats as they were coming into or leaving port, just as at every other place we'd been, nice to know some things dont change! Once we had docked safely we waited for the inevitable mad scramble to dissipate and were almost the last to leave, saying a fond farewell to Jose with hopes of catching up with him in the future via email for the odd game of chess. Having gotten separated from the others at some point we made our way off the boat, through a jumble of buses and cars and into a rather new looking terminal before emerging onto a long ramp that took us over an old carpark and finally to the road by some kind of market and where many taxis waited to pick people up and drop them off. Not having seen anyone who may have come to collect us we resolved to wait here a while before going and looking for internet so we could get the address to walk to ourselves. Before we had been there 30 seconds however a man came up to us asking if we needed any information, we were of course wary as he was likely a tout who would try and rip us off, however he turned out to be genuine and once we explained where we were meant to be going he got on the phone to someone who then rang someone else and within 10 minutes Rafael from Amazon Riders was there to collect us in his car. We drove to his office/hostel (the office is the front room of the building and the back 2 have bunks and a small kitchen in) where we found to our delight that the others had ended up here too and we would all be staying together for one more night, this time on dry land! We then proceeded to discuss the tour we had booked and finalise details including price, which in fact was a lot less than we had expected as he asked for 450 Reals per person but that included the 3 nights accommodation we would need in Manaus and was still cheaper than the price quoted on the website!! Not only this but we were to be the only people on the tour meaning we were getting personalised attention and a better chance of seeing wildlife as there wouldn't be so much noise and disturbance as with a group of people. Happy with this we were then introduced to our guide, Jaimur or as he prefers to be known, Mutante (as in mutant cos he is so much like an animal mutated from the jungle!) who is a 22 year old Brazilian lad born and raised in the jungle until he decided to move to Manaus 2 years ago. He took us out to find a cash machine so we could pay Rafael but after trying several we were having no luck as they didnt seem to accept foreign cards and unlike the ones in the rest of South America, didnt have an 'English' option so we couldnt understand what the problem was. Eventually he found us a HSBC and as this worked fine we were on our way back to the blissful coolness of the air conditioned office. After paying, Andy went for a shower and we spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon catching up on blogs and photos on the computer. By the time the others came back from looking round the town it was getting dark and we were getting peckish having not eaten anything since breakfast that morning. Just as we were thinking about going out to get something to eat however, Jann started preparing Caipirinha's a traditional Brazilian cocktail made from Cachacsa (sugar cane rum), lime and sugar and asked if we had ever tried it. We hadn't and so he insisted we have a drink with them and before long, the lot of us were finishing the bottle of cachacsa he'd just bought and deciding it was time to go out for food. Jann, who had been to Manaus a year or so ago, led us to the main bus station where there were lots of little stands selling huge skewers of meat or chicken for 3 Reals and others selling beer, both of which we all partook of in healthy quantities whilst chatting and dancing to the loud music blaring out from various places. All in all we had ourselves a good time partying at the bus stop of all places and it wasnt until some of the locals started to get a bit too interested in Thiare that we decided to head back for a brief chat before bed.
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