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Well, g´day folks, it´s certainly been a while since my last entry and, as you can imagine, plenty has happened in that time. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, I left Iguazu Falls (Argentina) with a limp due to my spider bite (little b*****!) and was escorted via taxi across the border and into Brazil! The taxi driver was so concerned about my foot that he spoke to the border guards so that I would not have to stand in line, I was wisked straight though! Thank you Sergio! I arrived that afternoon at the Hostel Natura and immediately wished I´d booked in for a week instead of merely overnight, it was paradise. Reminded me of places like Maleny and Northern New South Whales, Australia truly is paradise! I enjoyed the best Caipirinha ever while relaxing in the pool and watching the sun set. Next, Aunty Alda prepared the most delicious array of foods including the traditional brown beans and rice. I met "Cookie" a boy from Western Australia and Aline from Florianopolis, Brazil. I had a 4am start to catch my flight up to Manaus (with a one hour stop-over in Sao Paulo).
The next day I was met at the Manaus airport and driver to Hostel Dez de Julho. I met with Amazon Gero Tour operator, Gero Mesquita and he introduced me to Kenrick, our tour guide. Gero´s nephew escorted me through the streets of Manaus to find some supplies. Despite my knowing only a handful of Portugese and he knowing virtually no English, we managed to find the hat, shoes and phone battery I needed before setting off for 5 days on the Amazon River.
The next day I met up with a couple (Jaqui and Blair) who were taking the tour and we set off on our Amazon adventure. We were driven out of town to Ceasa Market Port where we took a taxi speedboat out to the `Meeting of the Waters´ - this is where two rivers combine. The yellow Amazonas and the black Negro. For nearly ten kilometers, the two rivers run side by side without mixing as they are different in temperature, flow and density. It was hard to capture on film but it is quite amazing to see two different coloured waters running next to one another. We put our hands in and felt the difference. Our guide on the boat told us many myths and legends about the region and about the origins of the Amazon River itself and how there came to be dolphines in it. He told us about a man known as "Big Ant" (I forget the name in Portugese) and how he was a tribal man who had left the forest at night to enter the camps of the invading Portugese and kill them in their sleep. He was such a hero of the local native population that he is still remembered many hundreds of years later.
We arrived at Careiro Village, a tiny port (see pictures of large fish and little bags of limes) where we transferred to a white Kombi Van. Aussies would love the fact that there are new VW Kombis and Beetles everywhere in Brazil as the country recently began to manufacture them again (this may have stopped now). Anyhow, we drove for about an hour along Transamazonica road through rural pastures and forrested land with houses on stilts and lots of water around. We were told that the region had just received rain bringing relief from 40 degree heat, we felt extremely lucky to have arrived at this time. The river had experienced record high water levels and now record lows, it is a sign of the times.
Leaving the Kombi behind, we had arrived at the Araca River where another speed boat was waiting to take us into the Mamori River basin to our accommodation. Upon arrival at The Dolphine Lodge, we were shown our rooms and the communal areas, including a hexagonal hammock hut, awesome! We could hear a troup of monkeys close to the camp. That night we enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner of Pirarucu, a white river fish, it was so delicious.
The next day took us into the forest behind the lodge where we had a very close encounter with a giant Tarantula, see pictures! Our guide, Riodu (spelling please) told us all about the native tree species, animals and insects of this part of the Amazon. We swung like Tarzan on giant vines and one brave member of the tribe at a grub hiding in a nut (very similar to a witchety grub). There was a poison dart frog, magic mushrooms, spikey-trunk palms, crimson Macaws and we were shown how to turn palm fronds into shelter. One note: a machete is crucial for survival in the Amazon. Apparently, a member of the community became lost recently and used his machete to make knocking sounds on the big trees which brought the attention of his rescuers. This is similar to the "coo-ee" we Aussies are accustomed to. More delicious fish, rice, beans, salads and deserts for lunch and dinner.
Over the course of the Amazon tour, we travelled the river by boat and we surprised by grey and pink river dolphines, abundant bird life and even went piranha fishing (we caught some and ate them for dinner that night, crunchy!). There were Ringed Kingfishers, cranes, Cocoi Heron (large & grey), Hoksoi - type of pheasant bird, cormorants, eagles of some kind, vultures and many many more. One night, we took off into the darkness to spot and capture a Jacarai - crocodile! Our guide lept off the boat and emerged with a rather miffed specimen which he then proceeded to hold while balancing pracariously on the edge of our tiny canoe. After the animal had relaxed, somewhat, we were given turns to hold it, see pictures! Our guide, Kenrick, gave the animal some calming massage before gently returning it to its watery lair, it seemed quite happy.
On Christmas Eve we set off for a remote part of the jungle to camp overnight. We came ashore and brought our supplies uphill to a tiny camp where poles had been errected and scarcely more than that. I was a little aprehensive about the presence of tarantulas, examining carefully every step I took and every hole I encountered. The ten hammocks were sheathed with mosquito nets and tied to the poles. then tarpaulins were rigged overhead. Next we set about placing palm fronds on the ground to provide some kind of seating area for the rest of the evening. Our guides were cooking dinner down near the boat so we entertained ourselves with stories and beer. Beer, by the way, is mostly SKOL or BRAHMA - they are watery, nearly tasteless and have far too many nasty chemicals to mention, but hey, it´s better than water... or is it? After dinner, we set up a small palm frond which our guide had shaped to resemble a Christmas tree using his machete (see, I told you, you need a machete to survive out here!) He taught us how to make woven decorations from palm fronds and we all made stars for the tree. It was really cute because Kenrick´s (our guide) 6 year old son, Kevin, was with us and he was adorable. Other members in our group were Jeff (grew up on the Amazon river, amongst other oil rich regions of the world) and Sally (UK teacher) and her son Nick (about 10, highly intelligent and funny) as well as Tanya from Montreal and myself. We made up a hilarious version of "The 12 Days of Christmas" carol to suit our Amazon surroundings. It included versus like: On the first day of Christmas the Amazon gave to me ´a toucan in a palm tree´ and went on to mention Capuchin monkeys, piranhas, caymen, 10 swinging hammocks, pink dolphines and 12 Caipirinhas - the national drink. We were falling about laughing! The only thing that was not a laughing matter was trecking off into the unknown darkness to find a perch for you-know-what, that brought back grave fears of tarantual attacks or worse!
Waking from our suspended slumber (remember the hammocks here), we had a brief breakfast and were drifted back to the lodge for a rest before being treated to a sumptuous Amazon Christmas feast. This was a truly unique Christmas! After lunch, I bade farewell to my Amazon family and set off for Manaus where I would be catching a flight at 1 in the morning on Boxing Day. All went well except the taxi that had been arranged for me at the port to take me to my hotel was not there! This was a little problematic as it was hard to know what to do. I ended up getting a ride with a total stranger but I could tell it was safe. At the hotel, the guide that was supposed to pick me up called me and apologised and was quite terrified that I had caught a ride with a random man, I am a lucky girl!!!
So please stay tuned, more adventures to come...next stop Parallel Universe - 7 days of sun, surf, sand and psychadelic trance - woo hoo!!!
- comments
Ray Thorpe Great to hear of your adventures.How exciting and admire you for travelling alone ! love Ray
INI Great stuff. My travelbug started itchung. One nerver really gets rid of 'em once infected. Can't wait for your next blog.
Kerry forget crocodile dundee; go amazon Emma! Great to hear your light is shining bright...
kaila WOW!! WOW WOW WOW!!!
Margaret-Ann Wonderful! Sounds very exciting. xx