Take Risk: The Brazilian Amazon: Mosquitos & Piranhas & Ants, Oh My!

¡Hola a todos!

On the Amazon river

Since before I began planning my adventure, I had anticipated the sensation of floating down the middle of one of the largest rivers in the world, surrounded by the Amazon rainforest and all of its creatures. Instead of doing some tour of the river, I wanted to float like the locals do and that is exactly what I did.

My Brazilian Amazon experience consisted of two things: a public boat ride from Tabatinga to Manaus down the Amazon river (check here for more info) and a three-day tour of the jungle around Manaus.

Also, just in case you're wondering what happened to Venezuela, I will provide an update on that. Based on the amount of time I had left, the money it would cost, and the wavering security of the country, I decided not to venture into Venezuela this time. I`ll catch Angel Falls on another trip to South America! Now back to Brazil...

From Leticia into Tabatinga

In our hammocks - with Ines and Ben

From Bogotá, I flew into Leticia (on the border with Brazil) and made my way to Tabatinga to buy my boat passage to Manaus. At the hostel in Leticia, I met a couple from Portugal and a mother and son from Los Angeles. I spent the next two days getting to know all of them and ended up traveling with the two from Portugal. One task before I could make my boat trip was to buy a hammock. Because I was pressed for time, I hadn’t thought about buying one, but luckily, I ran into a guy from Israel who had just done the trip and needed to get rid of his. I bought it for about $5.00.

Then, I went with the Portuguese couple to buy passage to Manaus, a four-day, three-night trip with all meals included (R150 or about $75). This is what it looked like:

Boat situation

Boarding and loading the boat

Two levels of people, all in hammocks (One level also had cargo)
One level with a “bar” and snack area, including the deck to mingle on or escape the other two floors
Mess hall with meals times of 6 a.m., 11 a.m., and 5 p.m. (the bell rang at each meal time and you rushed to get in line)
3-4 people in hammocks in 2 meters (about 2 yards) of space, three abreast and with luggage stuffed under your hammock or tied to a pole
Hallway of bathrooms and showers
Cabins for the big spenders (about R500 or $250)

People

With David, Michelle, and our Peruvian friend

An American couple from Reno and Oakland/San Francisco - Both enjoy adventure and were traveling throughout Brazil. David spoke some Portuguese. After the anticipation of dinner was over, David, Michelle, and I spent every evening on the top deck playing cards and watching the sunset.

A Portuguese couple - Ines and Ben first helped me navigate Brazil and slept in hammocks beside mine. Ines wants to spend her life traveling and intends to do so.

A missionary family from New Jersey - They spent the last four years in the jungle and were returning to the States for one year. They spent the last 15 years doing four on, one off. Their youngest daughter was good at cards.

Two philosophers from Plata del Mar, Argentina - They were on vacation from their teaching duties and also revising one of their professor`s papers.

A Peruvian lawyer - He spoke neither English nor Portuguese, but was a great storyteller. I had to translate for the American couple.

A local guy visiting his sick father - He spoke English, so we were able to communicate some.

Activities

One of the many photographed sunsets

Watching sunrise and sunset every day

Getting to know neighbors

Playing cards (including baseball, game taught to me by 11-year old child from the missionary family)

Reading and reading

Planning for next adventures

Watching the shore of the Amazon

Eating meals (something everyone looked forward to!)

Napping a few times a day

Learning some Portuguese

After four days of boat life, we were ready to be back on land. Right as we reached Manaus, we were able to see the “meeting of the waters” a cool phenomenon where the waters from one part of the Amazon (black or steeped tea color and dirty light brown color) meet. It´s really beautiful.

Manaus & Jungle Trip

Meeting of the waters

In Manaus I enjoyed the city with the American couple, Michelle and David, by touring the old theater - Manaus used to be the Paris of the Amazon. Then we parted ways: Michelle and David flew out to São Luis, to view famous sand dunes, and I decided to do a three-day jungle tour even though I had done a tour in southern Peru with Laurie.

The jungle tour showed me a completely different view of the Amazon basin. Not only was it Brazil instead of Peru, but we covered much more ground, or water, and saw more of the river and its tributaries. The Peru trip was focused on a specific, but wildlife-filled lake off of one of the Amazon tributaries. But on this tour we began by taking a car, a boat, a van, and then another boat, in total two hours, to get to our destination. We passed by some new vegetation, including silk-bearing trees. Again, I stayed in a cabin. This tour included our tour guide, Matias, Emily, an American studying Portuguese in Salvador, Brazil, Habib, an Australian coffee expert, and a Dutch couple, Tom and Masja, who joined a day later.

Wildlife & Piranha Fishing

Holding a caiman of 1.5 years

The guide was excellent. On this trip, we saw some monkeys, sloths and many birds, learned about medicinal plants, and drank water from a tree root. We also held a caiman (similar to an alligator), which we searched for at night in our boat. The guide grabbed it from the weeds in the river. Additionally, we swam in the Amazon (all limbs still in tact) and fished for piranhas (but not in the same part!). Fishing for piranhas was quite interesting as we used simple poles with raw chicken as bait. I caught two, but unfortunately, mine were both too small to eat, so had to be thrown back. Oh well. When Tom, the Dutch guy, caught his first fish, he accidentally dropped it into the boat. Emily, who is not very fond of fish, freaked out as it flopped around behind her. I think I would have done the same, especially after seeing the guide give a piranha a leaf, which the piranha devoured automatically as a reflex.

Each morning, we ate a smorgasbord of delicious food and then doused ourselves with DEET in preparation for walking through the jungle. At lunch and in the evenings we talked travel and played cards. The guide even taught us a game. The last day, we visited a family living in the Amazon, saw their pineapple and manioc plantation, and played with their dart pipes. The guide also created a few crowns out of palm tree leaves and gave them to Emily and me.

Back in the City

Our group - with Habib, Emily, Tom and Masja

Afterward, Emily and I (the rest had a longer jungle tour) were whisked back to town where we hung out at a local bar until her flight. We also tried a bizarre local soup called Tacacá, which contained manioc goo and leaves akin to spinach that had anesthetic properties. My mouth actually became slightly numb when eating them. I stayed an extra day to remove the DEET from my clothing and prepare for my next destination, Salvador.

Observations

Spanish helps a lot in understanding Portuguese - Everyone told me that I should speak Spanish slowly and Brazilians would understand me, but I wouldn't understand their Portuguese. I found that I actually could understand them and began communicating fairly quickly.

English vs. Spanish - More Brazilians speak English than Spanish. In fact, they generally prefer it.

Brazilian coffee is bitter - When compared to the coffee in Colombia, the Brazilian coffee is still good, but it is much more bitter!

Brazil blew my budget - I had heard it all along, but didn't experience it until I arrived. Brazil is very expensive. In many cases, it is like going to Europe, or at least being back in the States.

Next: Out of the Amazon - Salvador, Lencois, Rio and Ilha Grande!

Ciao,
Ashley