We have traveled into the Amazon basin twice before in Peru; once in Manu near Cusco and the other time upstream from Iquitos. Each was fun and rewarding, trips we will remember fondly for the companions (few) and the birds and wildlife (copious.) But in my mind the Brazilian Amazon would be the ultimate, the remote pristine rainforest we all imagine. It was not to be.
There is no shortage of opportunities to get there, either on a river cruise or at a lodge, and Manaus is full of tour operators, guides and nefarious touts willing to part you from your money. Most of the legitimate operations offer the same program; morning and evening canoue cruises in small boats to see the sunrise and sunset, jungle hikes, caiman spotting, pirahna fishing, and an overnight stay in the forest. If you wish to do anything different or have a private guide it costs more, much more.
Sunset in the Amazon
"Only a fool blames his bad vacation on the rain." Travel writer Paul Theroux had it right there. But whoever said things are better "the second time around" missed the boat. It rained. Often. Sometimes torrentially. But we expected that and were prepared. The river is rising about two inches a day and is expected to peak in July. Last year was a record flood and the proof can be seen 30 feet up on the tree trunks. This year's flood is expected to even higher!
People came and went every day and it was crowded when we arrived. Our companions were an interesting mix, mostly young folks from Denmark on their "break year." They came to Brazil mostly for Carnival and visited the Amazon in a "while we're here" spirit. The most impressed ones were two brothers from Iceland for whom any tree was a mystery and an entire rainforest was a phenomenon. We also had companions who were of our generation, a couple from Warsaw, Poland and a single guy from Lisbon. They were well-educated, much more so than I, fairly well-traveled and an interesting diversion during the storms.
The accomodations were pretty good, solar-powered individual cabins, cold showers, of course. There was a tower for relaxing and watching the sunset and where you could see birds in the canopy. Food at our first lunch was good and plentiful. Dinner looked much like lunch and lunch the second day looked like last night's dinner - only less. We ended up leaving before we were reduced to half-rations.
Crested owl
Amazon Antonio's doesn't specialize in birding but Christopher was pretty good. He negotiated the canoe through the flooded forest, spotted several birds that he couldn't always identify and stabilized the boat so we could actually see and photograph the birds. Maybe this section of Amazonia isn't a haven for birds, maybe it's the wrong season or maybe we have just seen too many. More probably, we were spoiled by our time in Peru and just expected more. Even without birds, floating through the flooded forest is spectacular. Rio Urubu is tanin-stained "black" water. It is blessedly mosquito-free and reflects light like an onyx mirror. It was often impossible to tell where the tree trunks ended and the reflection began.
Black Water Reflections
One of the reasons we selected Antonio was because you can stay on after your package for a reduced rate. But with the dwindling food, lack of birds and promise of more rain we decided it was more economical to return to Manaus and stay in a nice hotel. When we got back Hotel do Largo, where we stayed before was totally booked but they found a room for us at Hotel Manaus, a much nicer place for the same price. So here we are, doing not much of anything and waiting for our flight to Bogota on Sunday.
