Friday August 3

It was a 6 AM start this morning so we could be out on the water early in order to see the sunrise and observe as the river come to life.

At first I thought it had rained overnight since everything was extremely wet but it was just eextreme dew. There was a mist that hung over the river but even at that time of the morning it was hot.

We followed a few channels observing the wildlife and the early fishermen. There is a nice breeze when you're moving but when you aren't it is hot and uncomfortable.

We stopped at one area and did a short jungle walk. Along the way we stopped to feed some monkeys. It was pretty hilarious. You do need to see the video to do it justice.

We continued to an area that had some water lilies. They are only around for about 3 months of the year. A water lily can be up to 2 feet in diameter and the circumference has large prickly spines to protect the plant from being eaten by fish. Male plants have white flowers, female ones pink. But the flowers only bloom for 3 days so we weren't able to see them.

Then back to the boat for breakfast.

After breakfast, we set off to do some piranha fishing. Most of the river people live in one or two room houses that are built on stilts to protect from floods. Often you will see one off by its own, others will form a community of two or three together. Rarely do you see one larger than 10 homes.

Piranha fishing was something else. A long pole with a baited hook on the end. All I can say was that it was a good thing we didn't have to catch our lunch. I think l was the only one that didn't catch anything. I had a couple of nibbles but couldn't land it. But it was unfair because I was beside Manuel and he was catching them left, right, and centre. I'm sure he stole a few that should have been mine.

We headed back so we could see the meeting of the rivers before lunch. The Rio Negra begins in Venezuela and flows past Manaus to meet the Amazon 30 or 40 kilometers south. The Amazon begins in Peru and goes by several local names until it meets the Rio Negra.

The Rio Negra is bluish black, the Amazon a muddy brown. Where they meet there is a very visible demarcation line which continues downstream for several kilometers. The difference is so pronounced that it is like a child drew a squiggly line and then colored each part a different color.

The afternoon was spent repositioning from about 40 kms downstream of Manaus to about 60 kms upstream. It is an afternoon of relaxation. Just sit in the shade and enjoy the breeze.

As an aside. I mentioned that I am on the cruise with 10 Spaniards. There are three couples and four teenagers about 18.

I haven't been able to figure out how all the kids relate but it appears that two of the couples are traveling together and I don't know if each couple has a son and daughter or what but there is definitely some romance going on between two of the kids.

I've also discovered I'm not a cruise kind of guy. If was nice to relax in the afternoon but any more boredom than that and I would be going nuts.

Note to self: in the unlikely event you're ever in a country that requires malaria prevention, take the shots. I'm reminded of Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit.

We anchored for the evening at about 6 and then set out for about 2 1/2 hrs of night hunting. We found a sloth, alligator, tree boa, iguana and several birds. It is amazing how our guide can spot some of these extremely small creatures camouflaged by foliage from a couple of hundred metres away with only a sweeping searchlight.

At two points we went past areas that the fish were literally jumping into the boat. I think they must have heard about my fishing prowess earlier in the day and were mocking me. "Here, we heard this is the only way you can catch us so we'll jump in the boat for you."