It was a short hour-long flight from Santarem to Manaus. We had booked a transfer through our hostel as we were arriving in the dark, so taxied smoothly into the centre of the city of four million.
The hostel was strangely set out. Our room was by a terrace at the end of a flight of outside stairs. Unfortunately the smokers liked to congregate around midnight and yabber loudly. The room was comfortable enough but the common spaces were stinking hot even with the fans on.
It was a short walk to the main square by the opera house. We went to a free show of folk dancing accompanied by the philharmonic orchestra on our first night. they had two more nights of free performances. The theatre seemed smaller inside than the one in Belem. We forgot the camera so didn't get any shots of the inside.
The restaurants had tables outside so we could watch the goings on in the square.
One afternoon there was zumba to a LOUD live band. Another time there were artists with their creations on easels, a blow up pink dolphin, and children playing games.
We took a day bus tour of the city with our translator Lucy. Her English was dreadful but she did her best. The tour was to get an overview of the huge city. We saw some of the houses owned by the rich rubber barons and they are now museums.
The Amazonas Stadium where some of the last World Cup Football games were held. nearby it was a Carnaval school and the point where the parades begin during Carnaval.
The Punte Negra bridge now opens up access to the other side of the river. There was a checkpoint on the other side where the police checked for drugs coming from Peru and Colombia.
We stopped for ice creams at the Rio Negra beach where a LOUD band was playing as part of a baptism ceremony. It was overlooked by new and middle class looking high rise apartments. Quite a flash area.
On another day we did a tour to see the meeting of the waters. It is a place where the River Negro meets River Salimoes.
The rivers have different temperatures and ph levels and carry different materials so they have different colours. It takes 17 kilometres before the two colours mix.
There was a Russian woman and a German family on the boat trip and we got our commentary in English which was great.
We went by a floating village. The houses are on huge native timber logs that has a toxic sap that burns the skin.
We stopped at a floating souvenir shop and they had some captive sloths.
an anaconda
and caiman
that people rushed to pose with and gave the locals a donation for the privilege.
There was a pool where you could buy fish and try to lift up the huge river fish as it sucked, as it does not have teeth, the bait off the rope. It made a loud noise as it sucked the fish.
We headed to another part of the river and some people swam with the pink dolphins.
We ate at a floating restaurant and visited the huge water lilies watched by the monkeys.
From here we took a night bus to Boa Vista and will go onto Bonfim heading out of Brazil to Guyana.Ciao ciao Brazil.
The hostel was strangely set out. Our room was by a terrace at the end of a flight of outside stairs. Unfortunately the smokers liked to congregate around midnight and yabber loudly. The room was comfortable enough but the common spaces were stinking hot even with the fans on.
It was a short walk to the main square by the opera house. We went to a free show of folk dancing accompanied by the philharmonic orchestra on our first night. they had two more nights of free performances. The theatre seemed smaller inside than the one in Belem. We forgot the camera so didn't get any shots of the inside.
The restaurants had tables outside so we could watch the goings on in the square.
One afternoon there was zumba to a LOUD live band. Another time there were artists with their creations on easels, a blow up pink dolphin, and children playing games.
We took a day bus tour of the city with our translator Lucy. Her English was dreadful but she did her best. The tour was to get an overview of the huge city. We saw some of the houses owned by the rich rubber barons and they are now museums.
The Amazonas Stadium where some of the last World Cup Football games were held. nearby it was a Carnaval school and the point where the parades begin during Carnaval.
The Punte Negra bridge now opens up access to the other side of the river. There was a checkpoint on the other side where the police checked for drugs coming from Peru and Colombia.
We stopped for ice creams at the Rio Negra beach where a LOUD band was playing as part of a baptism ceremony. It was overlooked by new and middle class looking high rise apartments. Quite a flash area.
On another day we did a tour to see the meeting of the waters. It is a place where the River Negro meets River Salimoes.
The rivers have different temperatures and ph levels and carry different materials so they have different colours. It takes 17 kilometres before the two colours mix.
There was a Russian woman and a German family on the boat trip and we got our commentary in English which was great.
We went by a floating village. The houses are on huge native timber logs that has a toxic sap that burns the skin.
We stopped at a floating souvenir shop and they had some captive sloths.
that people rushed to pose with and gave the locals a donation for the privilege.
There was a pool where you could buy fish and try to lift up the huge river fish as it sucked, as it does not have teeth, the bait off the rope. It made a loud noise as it sucked the fish.
We headed to another part of the river and some people swam with the pink dolphins.
We ate at a floating restaurant and visited the huge water lilies watched by the monkeys.
From here we took a night bus to Boa Vista and will go onto Bonfim heading out of Brazil to Guyana.Ciao ciao Brazil.
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