Brazil part three: Our trip to the Amazon.

This is the third of my Brazil blogs. Hopefully you already read my first blog in Brazil, regarding Rio. It was not my usual style, it reads as a rather gloomy warning.

So I asked myself why I cannot lighten that blog up. No matter how many times I rewrite it.

And here's the confession. Our trip here has been deeply affected by the theft. I'm not having flashbacks or nightmares. My mood has not dropped, I'm eating and drinking well. As a doctor, I can confidently say we do not have post traumatic stress disorder. But, I have been slightly on edge, less friendly to those around, more suspicious of motives, less thankful for passing conversations, less happy than we should be as self declared care free travellers.

Thankfully, by the time we got to the Amazon I was feeling much lighter and happier. Thank the lord. Believe me, two bucket list items on consecutive days is enough to cheer anyone up.

Some basic advice regarding Brazil. It is an enormous country.

I had said to Mrs NHSOTR that when we go to Brazil, I really want to see both Iguaçu and visit the Amazon. And, because she is amazing, she sorted it.

Logistics dictated we went straight from one to the other. It was possible.

But, in retrospect, let me remind you it's an enormous country. I think we both agree now that transfer day was over ambitious. Going from Iguaçu on the Argentine borders in south Brazil, to the equatorial city of Manaus in the north, near the Venezuelan Colombian borders, 2,500 kilometres, is a long way.

4am start. Flight to São Paulo, with connecting flight to Manaus, then bus into the Amazon basin and transfer boat to a Lodge house.

We arrived at Manati Lodge at 4pm. Smooth and simple, no glitch, but utterly knackered. The journey included an exhilarating boat ride up the backwaters and out onto the Rio Negro. The widest river I have ever seen.

Seventeen kilometres wide at the point we joined.

Flying in, we had seen the Amazon and Rio Negro joining. Running out of adjectives. An impressive river system.

Manati Lodge, our destination, was down a side water and was indeed isolated and exactly as I had imagined. Slap bang in the middle of bleeding no where.

We arrived. Our guide was there to meet us. He was Elmo. A guide on the Amazon for the last 45 years. Now 71 years old he was without doubt one of the grubbiest individuals I have ever met. Most of his recent meals were still attached to his unwashed t-shirt. His thinning hair poked from under his cap in stringy ringlets that he twirled playfully with his nicotine stained fingers. " We are leaving now " he instructed. What?

Keen not to miss anything, we dropped our cases into our wooden room. Dutifully we jumped into a slow boat with the rest of the residents of manati lodge. A mixed lot who turned out to be good bunch in the end (although they took a while to warm up.)

We travelled back the way we had come, three hour round trip. What were we going to see? A big tree Elmo informed us. After seeing a big tree we got back to the lodge, after about 17 hours of travelling. The big tree was big. We went to sleep.

To his credit Elmo turned out to be a very knowledgable guide and fluent in all the languages needed by our group. I forgave him his scruffy appearance, Louise was not so forgiving.

Embarrassingly, the plumbing seemed inadequate to the job. I just felt sorry for the cleaners who came armed with a plunger, a winch and a saw. We were in the Amazon.

The entire 3 day trip was awesome. The Amazon and Rio Negro are extraordinary. The organised trips were excellent. Best bits were the jungle walks, pink dolphins, night alligator spotting, piranha fishing, and swimming in the Amazon.

Mrs NHSontheRun had also arranged a private separate visit to an indigenous tribe. We were worried that this would be staged and unauthentic, but despite the costumes and the ritual dancing, it was an unforgettable privilege and one of the absolute highlights of our entire Brazil journey. Our only regret is we didn't have longer there.

As a side note, Louise was very taken by the chief, who frankly spends way too much time in the gym. She was particularly interested when the guide said his name translates as Big Snake. I couldn't see what all the fuss was about.

maybe you can?

Next, we fly back to São Paulo for a day, and then in true race across the world style we take an overnight bus to the Brazilian coast for some chill. I'm not overselling the upcoming blogs when I say they do contain some excitement!

Please comment and keep an eye out for future posts from us.

Links to other posts below.