last days in brazil

Back in Manaus since wednesday evening and I have decided to spend the last days as a true holiday, lazing about, sleep in hammock, watching birds, etc. Spend friday afternoon on the river but due to rain had to divert to flooting bar were we spent the afternoon eating and drinking before returning home. Invited to big family celebration in the country on sunday, aparently a cow will be slaughtered for the event and it promises to be a good day out, unfortunately also my last one in Brazil. Can't believe how quick to time has gone eventhough it feels as if I have been here months. I've made enough travel notes to write a small book and, in time, that might be just what I will do. So, I make this my last entry to the blog which has served it's purpose to a degree, and invite everyone to view my photos at a later stage once I have posted them to this site from home.

with all my love

Leen

Presidente Figueiredo

My hosts very kindly took me here in the car, and we had a birthday lunch beside a waterfall, including candles. Found a guide and driver to take me around for 2 days because there are many waterfalls and caves in the vicinity but need transport. Astonishing beauty and very wild forest, had special guide to go into forest that has been closed until recently for 4 years, walked barefoot for hours through forest and streams and quite an experience. Saw a rare 'cock of the rock' bird in the process. Reached main cave but no longer able to enter because of danger to health from the millions of bats and their droppings. Over the next days saw many waterfalls and this morning visited an immensly powerful stream and fall in quite remote place. We spotted the pawprints and urine of a jaguar, too fresh for comfort, and at one stage surrounded by makaki monkeys and blue macaws. Walked for miles through forest and only turned back when not sure what path to follow. This was my initiave because guide had told me earlier that he once was lost for 3 days in forest, and learning from his experiences it isn't something you would like to repeat just for the sake of adventure. In fact, without a guide here, you had it.

resume of last days

I have not been able to write as many posts as I would have wished but there is a simple explanation, when it rains in the amazon either the electricity cuts out or the telephone or both, and unfortunately it is the rainy season. I have stayed a few days in manaus just to get my energy back and take stock of the enormity of experiences before starting the last leg of my journey. That is not to say I go without experiences, last night I nearly sat down on a scorpion and it was not dead by any means. I was taken out to manaus for a meal and a drink by my hosts and gradually meet more and more people. Went to see a band play blues with very familiar songs, yet, never understood a single word eventhough they were singing in english. Whenever the rains stop I try to observe nature, few toucans, weaverbirds, eagles, 1m long iguana climbing to top of tree, just usual stuff? how casual does it get after a few weeks? Planning my last trip out to Presidente Figueiredo on monday which involves a busride up the BR174 a motorway all the way up to Venezuela but luckily it will only be 100km for me.

return to manaus

returned to manaus yesterday after chaotic trip via letitia in columbia, tabatinga (brazilian border) and finally a plane. Speedboat from iquitos failed to pick me up because they sold my reserved seat on the day of travel to someone else, so stayed overnight in iquitos and travelled with other company who preceded to breakdown halfway down the river, it was all good fun. Travelling through customs and police on these three country border ports is something else all together. spend today on a large motorvessel for a boattrip up the solimoes river with clive, naicee and their friends, lots of fun and a terrific meal of freshly barbecued fish and lots of beer. The owner of the boat, carlo, an italian, also playes in a bluesband which will perform tonight somowhere down the road. so, I am getting involved in brazilian social life as well thanks to my excellent hosts. Just one week left to visit some lodge in the brazilian jungle around manaus before returning. I still have wishlist of things to photograph before I leave but apart from that I am very happy with the way this trip has worked out. Considering the enormity of the rainforest I have managed to see quite a lot and collect many great experiences.

last day in peruvian jungle

back in luxury lodge and said goodbye to american group. spend afternoon walking the forest just 1 guide and me. Saw amazing frogs, birds and a snake just 1 ft away from my knee, luckily small and inocent otherwise could have hurt. Explorama lodges has been a real treat, broadbased intro to jungle environment and social life and truly fascinating. Anyone wanting to see this part of Peru and rainforest would highly recommend. On return must write out my travel notes to do some justice to this trip. Make my way back to brazil tomorrow and should be in e-mail contact from then. I've started collecting some plant and flower species for Theo's collection, hope they won't get confisc. at airport. It feels like I've been away for months having such busy days from 5/6 in morning till late, going to rest a few days when back in manaus. Have taken many exiting pics especially yesterday visiting monkey sanctuary, and boys will really love pics of tribes, Yagua and Bora indians. One pic eluding me is of brazilian morph butterfly, very large and heavenly blue, might have to catch it and nail to tree to get picture (joke) but otherwise large collection of species so far.

return from lodges

just returned from various jungle lodges some quite remote into the peruvian jungle. obviously no electricity or running water but many trips into the bush and day excursions. wildlife too numerous to explain but very exiting especially fishing for piranhas (they are delicious) and don,t worry about their numbers, there are millions everywhere. Bumping into a yellow bellied anaconda on the path was also a nice suprise, just a small one about 4 meters. Boatsman also cleaned some piranha teeth to take home (for the boys). I have been trekking into the jungle with 2 american couples which is also an experience, but they are very nice. Went on several night expeditions on boats into creeks and lakes which is scary, if not terrifying. Loughing frogs and tree snakes galore and at one stage boatsman hit cayman with peddle which caused some commotion. Last night I went to sleep and large owl just flew in under the roof and sat 3meters away from me observing for 10 min. The house parrot keeps me company at night but wakes up earlier than me unfortunately. I have 1 more full day here and we returned to the luxury lodge this afternoon. Travel back to brazil on tuesday morning with the fast boat.

first days in jungle

Arrived in lodge yesterday morning and numerous exellent experiences since. Went fishing today and cought 3 piranhas plus encountered a boa constrictor on the path but luckily appeared quite docile. Forest is absolutely terrifying but amazing, poison arrow frogs galore and more ants you care to encounter especially the bullit ants which are very active and very large and quick. Went for night walk and saw caymans, tree spiders and very, very large frogs. The temp quite high when no rain and extremely humid. Been in contact with some of local tribes, the Yagua, very pleasant and not too touristy. I will stay here for another night and then move on much deeper into the jungle, about 100miles, and possibly camp out for 1-2 nights. Not actually shure if the right thing to do, but comfy when a good guide around. Amazon river is truly magic and wild, sheer size incomprehensible and so are the distances. 5 weeks is not enough to even get idea. Closest nat. reserve worth visiting is 300km away and just no time to get there. Time in Peru, as in Brazil, is a different reality and already have to start thingking about return closer to Manaus.

peru at last

Flew to trabatanga on friday and had to wait 2 days for connecting boat. Amazing place with no roads and thousants of bikes. Busy harbour and on border of peru and colombia. Great 2 days wlth locals speaking spanish. Sunday 4 am boat to iquitos arrived 17.00hr and what a place. It is very busy and yet laid back exept for loads of streetkids who will rob you blind before you notice. went out today and met with local indian tribe ´bora´but a bit contrived. also encountered first crocodile and boa constrictor. Typical touristy day. Last night had crocodile for dinner. Tomorrow going into jungle for 4 days with explorama. Food in peru unbelievable, only dolphin is of menu because protected. 40C plus now and waiting for storm later garanteed. Visited marvellous market downtown called beneim, part of iquitos, hope I didn´t catch disease but very fascinating. Typing here on spanisch keyboard with worn keys, gettong on my nerves. I will try to find another cybersafe.

2 days of relaxation

flew back to manaus yesterday and booked a new trip to peru for friday. My regular lodgings were full so some friend offered his boat to me, great time. Whole vessel to myself. Fly out to trabatinga on friday (border with peru) and then have to make my way to iquitos which is another 500km. Still long trip and some unchartered waters as it comes to border issues and drug problems in that region. Luckily I am dutch and single so no obvious connections there???Today thursday a day of 2 halves, spend morning on ornithological pursuits, toucans, eagles and many varieties that are not in the spotter guide, then 2 kinds of monkeys. Went for a walk after that for lunch( about 15 min. walk) and had to spend 4hr eating and drinking in bar because couldn't leave due to tropical storms and massive downpours. Now it is dark and another day over, these have been some restfull days. Peru trip is going to be my last long trip before returning to manaus and visit some local ecoparks.

some advertising

If anyone reading this has the idea of going to amazonia I must recommend my first stop at Clive and Naicee Maguire´s guesthouse. They are wonderfully friendly and very knowledgable about Brazil and Manaus. Furthermore they can get you started with the right contacts and help out to book things or find out what goes from where at what time. These are essential logistics and can be vary hard to obtain especially if you don´t speak portugese. Travel to anywhere is possible if you have the time, by coach or boat, but roads can be far and few between and the rivers go where they go, no choice. Their house is also situated on the edge of the rainforest and I probably saw more wildlife in their garden than I have sofar. Also they operate their business close to european standards of hygiene and comfort. That is a world removed from the rest as you start to travel.

my next plan.

Sao Gabriel is a great place for a day so I just booked a ticket to fly back to Manaus tomorrow morning. I feel I need to get to Peru otherwise run ning out of time. Plan is to fly from Manaus to Trabatinga on the Peruvian border and then by fast boat to Iquitos. I would love to have another slow-boat trip but this will take a week. Flying not that cheap but consider the distances still cheaper than at home. Also they speak spanish there and that will help greatly. Getting quite proficient in spanish as nobody speaks any english and very few speak spanish. One friend on the market today said he knew someone english, but what he ment was he had seen someone english once. I made mistake on getting a taxi to the airport to buy a ticket because it is just a clearance in the forest and certainly no offices. As it turned out the agent ´TRIP´sells tickets and is right next to my hotel. Would have been a wasted journey if it had not been for the taxi trip (half hr each way) through rainforest. Saw butterflies the size of dinnerplates around a farm growing flowers. Great big yellow ones. There is surprizingly little wildlife around towns but also very insects, mayby lucky I travelled at this time of year.

sao gabriel da chacoeira

This is frontier town par excellance, hugh military presence and a fantastic setting on the river. Time has only just begun here and as I wandered around today people are so friendly and unassuming, it´s great. Met many people from the boattrip in town who live here. There is nothing here, shops sell usefull things like food, hardware, shoes etc, but nothing ostentatious. Boys will be pleased to know that jungle knives (3ft long) are about 6 pound but noway I can get those to UK. There are also no restaurants or bars of any significance, just communal places for mass cooked food etc. There is a local market with some produce and some people operate a ´bring your own food´BBQ. Such a shame I cannot produce any pictures yet because connection is very slow. I found a cafe selling just fruitjuice and bread with cheese (grilled) and that set me back 50 pence. I tried to get some money out from the bank but it didn´t want to know so ended up changing dollars in a local shop. It is strange to be the obvious foreigner in this town but nobody will bother you, not even shout out to sell you things. When in contact the first thing they ask is ámericano`, and when I reply ´no I am dutch´they are very pleased. Wander why?

some more today

Still time left on my internet cafe credit. Spend my time on the boat trying to interact with fellow passengers mainly indians returning home with goods from Manaus. River boats are special, they take massive loads of cargo and empty space is filled with people swinging from hammocks. Once the boat is loaded, movement on the 2 lower decks is near impossible and all life evolves around top deck. We left in a terrific electric storm with heavy downpour and it was near dark. Life on the topdeck therefore limited but enjoyable. I only found out during the night that my hammock was not really build for sleeping. You automatically get forced to one side and is very uncomfy. Luckily place so crowded that hardly space to fall out of it, but all of that later. I arrived today in port and took a lift to town centre and got a room. Really in the middle of nowhere and soon will get something to eat and drink. It is incredibly hot and humid, much worse than Manaus but have airco-will sleep. I keep a diary of events and experiences because so much going on that I lose treat otherwise, can´t believe it´s only a week since I left. Also wonder how wales did in the rugby this weekend?

boat trip

Left friday morning for boattrip to Sao Gabriel Da Cachoairo. Sign-in time, i.e hang hammock at 11.00am and sail at 18.00hr. Unbelievable trip for 3.5 days through the jungle and only just finished today. A journey back into time with local transport and local customs and which lasted for ever for various reasons. Planning to right up my travel notes when I return so I can do some justice to my experience. I have traveled over 1000km in rainforest up Rio Negro and just enjoyed a shower and fresh clothes in local hotel. 99% of people are indian here and little spanish or english, the centre is like a western film but fortunately the cyber cafe is right next to the hotel entrance. Going to spend a few days here to rest and maybe make it into the highlands with a guide. I am completely exhausted from the trip and experience over the last days and concerned that travelling is going to take up so much time that I might not make it to Peru. The distances are incredible and transport is efficient but far and few between. Now that I am back in contact will post some more info over the next few days.

a day on he river

early start today(7.00AM) speeding down the river negro to where it flows into the 'white river' semoilinas. At this stage the rivers form the amazon with the white water coming form the andes and the black water from equador. At this point the river is possible 4-5 miles wide. Pink and grey dolfins pop up and it is a spectacular sight to see the waters mix (called locally the meeting of the waters). Went on up the white river strewn with plants and treetrunks flooting down to reach lake januari. Magnificent lake with floating houses and restaurants dotted about, ponts with victoria regis water lilies, and saw my first tiny caymans. at some point took pictures of harpy eagles, huge with white heads, but gave up after a while because they are everywhere. Flora and fauna is mesmerising and this is all just outside the city of manaus. Booked onto boat today which will take me tomorrow night to Soa Gabriel da Cacheoira on a three day trip. This is basically a local tansport ship loaded with goods and people going non stop into the forest for 850km. On return (next friday) I plan to stop a few days in Barcelos before going back to Manaus. Unlikely to post any more info for a while but it will be an experience.

2nd day

today woke up to the cacaphony of jungle noise. After fantastic breakfast drinking cubuacu, mashed fruit reminiscent of lumpy joghurt but nothing I ever tasted (in a nice way) I had a lift into Manaus. The most exotic experience one could have and you can,t pretent you are anything other than a foreigner. It feels intimidating at first but it is curiosity mainly as most people appear to be from the amazon region. The city is organised chaos, nobody speaks english or spanish and it is very busy. Once in the actual port it feels like stepping back in time. The bustling environment of loading goods, peoples hanging around offering services, captains flocking spaces on boats, old seadogs, prostitutes, beggars, it all feels overwhelming especially in the heat. What looked easy in my research back home is a big undertaking in reality. You can get anywhere you want but it takes time to find out who goes where and when and for howmuch. The distances are staggering and boat travel is measured in days/weeks depending on many factors. I feel I need a few more days climatizing before I embark on a trip carrying all my lugage. Footnote: infrastructure in brazil is basic so do not expect photos until I find a faster link, presently on dial-up which took 0.5 hr to establish.

arriving in brazil

after arduous night-flight of 12hr arrived in Sao Paolo without sleep and 3 hours lost in space. First suprise is that the brazil is just as smoke free as europe in airports so I rushed out at the first opportunity to the front exit; bang slap into a sauna. The humidity hits you like a damp cloth. My connecting flight was a 2hr wait but paid off as they seated me in business class on the flight to Manaus. I would not pay for the privilige but you can appreciate the experience of laying down with your feet up, food and drink on demand and remote tv and music and games, but most of all a sleep. On arrival in Manaus my host and his wife were waiting for me and it was the best decision I ever made. Not only is the climate daunting, the dense heat is overwhelming, but you,re immediately in the bush. Clive and Niacee (who is local) took me to their guesthouse which is fantastic, bordering within yards onto pristine jungle. Getting my breath back seated in the garden, very large vultures (uguru) circle around and royal eagles (6ft wingspan or more are on the prawl for monkeys in the treetops. Just a bit later an iguana crawls out to eat some leaves followed by toucans attacking the ripe papayas much to the annoyance of Niacee. By this time I have been here 2hr.

trial post before I leave

found lodgings on-line, sounds promising, can't wait to get there.