January 2, 2015
Day 1:
Today was our first full day in Brazil and I was very anxious to see the kind of adventure we had in store for us. When our alarm went off, Jessica and I jumped out of our beds and opened the blinds to see an amazing view of the city of Manaus. We started off our day with the first of many authentic Brazilian meals. We went to a little restaurant that was near our hotel; the food was very tasty! Once we finished eating, we went to the mall. It was interesting to see that although we were in an entirely different country, Brazil’s malls were very similar to ours back in the US. After spending some time in the mall we went back to the hotel to get ourselves ready for our tour of the city.
Our tour started off with the Teatro Amazonas, also known as the “Amazonas Opera House.” The sidewalks outside of the theatre had rocks and stones that were imported from Europe. I was especially fascinated when I learned that the light and the dark stones symbolized the Rio Negro and the Amazon River meeting, which I was going to be seeing tomorrow. The theatre itself was also very cool. Although our tour guide wasn’t the best English speaker, we were still able to pick up some really interesting facts. It turns out that the theatre was made because the rich felt like they did not have anything to do in the city. We also got a tour of the costume room, which was really cool because they constructed the room in such a way that there was a hole in the wall used for ventilation. After our extremely long tour of the theatre we visited a church across the street that was very pretty. After the church we hopped back in the van and were on our way to the Port.
I was very surprised to see how polluted the Port was. There were a lot of boats in the water and there was trash everywhere. On one of the walls, you could actually see the waterline and how high the water once was! From where we were we could actually see a cruise boat, which was interesting because from the port it takes 1,000 miles or seven days to get out to the ocean. Our tour guide also explained to us that most of the boats in the Port have a flat bottom because of the amount of vegetation in the water. After our tour of the Port we went to the market. The market was very cool; there were a lot of authentic Brazilian knick-knacks. The food side of the market was a little dirty; the food was displayed out in the open so I would imagine the flies were very pleased.
Overall, today was very educational and I was definitely feeling very touristy. So far the weather is amazing!
Day 1:
Today was our first full day in Brazil and I was very anxious to see the kind of adventure we had in store for us. When our alarm went off, Jessica and I jumped out of our beds and opened the blinds to see an amazing view of the city of Manaus. We started off our day with the first of many authentic Brazilian meals. We went to a little restaurant that was near our hotel; the food was very tasty! Once we finished eating, we went to the mall. It was interesting to see that although we were in an entirely different country, Brazil’s malls were very similar to ours back in the US. After spending some time in the mall we went back to the hotel to get ourselves ready for our tour of the city.
Our tour started off with the Teatro Amazonas, also known as the “Amazonas Opera House.” The sidewalks outside of the theatre had rocks and stones that were imported from Europe. I was especially fascinated when I learned that the light and the dark stones symbolized the Rio Negro and the Amazon River meeting, which I was going to be seeing tomorrow. The theatre itself was also very cool. Although our tour guide wasn’t the best English speaker, we were still able to pick up some really interesting facts. It turns out that the theatre was made because the rich felt like they did not have anything to do in the city. We also got a tour of the costume room, which was really cool because they constructed the room in such a way that there was a hole in the wall used for ventilation. After our extremely long tour of the theatre we visited a church across the street that was very pretty. After the church we hopped back in the van and were on our way to the Port.
I was very surprised to see how polluted the Port was. There were a lot of boats in the water and there was trash everywhere. On one of the walls, you could actually see the waterline and how high the water once was! From where we were we could actually see a cruise boat, which was interesting because from the port it takes 1,000 miles or seven days to get out to the ocean. Our tour guide also explained to us that most of the boats in the Port have a flat bottom because of the amount of vegetation in the water. After our tour of the Port we went to the market. The market was very cool; there were a lot of authentic Brazilian knick-knacks. The food side of the market was a little dirty; the food was displayed out in the open so I would imagine the flies were very pleased.
Overall, today was very educational and I was definitely feeling very touristy. So far the weather is amazing!
January 3, 2015
Day 2:
Today we went on an Amazon River tour and it was AWESOME! This morning our boat left from the same port we got a tour of yesterday. It was a long boat ride to our first destination but it was a very beautiful. First, there were many floating gas stations, which I thought, were very interesting; they sold drinks too! A little while into our ride we were able to see where the Rio Negro and the Amazon River meet. It was so cool to see how the two different bodies of water could touch but not mix until further down the river. We later learned that they didn’t mix because of their different densities. Once we got closer to the part of the forest we were supposed to get a tour of, we started seeing floating villages. Because the Amazon spends a lot of its time flooded, villages must be built on stilts or on floats that sit on the water. I thought it was a little sad that several boats carrying tourists daily are able to just go through people’s villages and invade their privacy. It also made me wonder if hey were getting any type of benefits from the tour companies.
Our boat was approached by a smaller boat of “poachers” carrying an anaconda, an alligator, and a sloth! As much as it shames me to say, this was an awesome experience! Who can say they held a sloth?! Although it was a really cool thing to do it was also very sad. It was sad knowing that these animals were captured and forced to be touched and handled by crazy tourists like myself. I’m curious as to how they captured these animals and the techniques they used to do so. Later that day we were also given the opportunity to swim with pink river dolphins! That was also very sad we could see that they were kept in captivity and forced to interact with tourists. We could also see that there were scars on their body, possibly from propellers.
So we finally reach our hiking spot! I was a little disappointed to find out that we would be hiking on a wooden path. I also expected our “hike” through the Amazon to be a bit more rigorous. However, the scenery was very nice and there were a lot of different plant and butterfly species. There were also HUGE lillipads, maybe about the size of a small table. After our hike we had another delicious and authentic Brazilian lunch. We got to try some of the native fish, which was also very tasty! Then, we got to shop around for some souvenirs, many of which looked handmade. After lunch we went to an Amazon village. This was probably my favorite part of the day. The villagers welcomed us with dancing and music and then pulled us up to dance with them! It was such an awesome experience! After dancing, we got to walk around the village, which was really cool. A woman in the tribe asked us if we wanted her to paint our faces similar to theirs, and of course we said yes in a heartbeat! That was a really nice end to a really cool day. Although this tour wasn’t really what we all expected, it was still a wonderful experience. And hey, that just gives me an even better excuse to come back to the Amazon!
Once we got back to the hotel, we showered, and got ready for dinner. For dinner we went to a restaurant that had very loud, live music. After we ate, we went back to the hotel and relaxed after the long day we had. Another great day in Brazil!
Day 2:
Today we went on an Amazon River tour and it was AWESOME! This morning our boat left from the same port we got a tour of yesterday. It was a long boat ride to our first destination but it was a very beautiful. First, there were many floating gas stations, which I thought, were very interesting; they sold drinks too! A little while into our ride we were able to see where the Rio Negro and the Amazon River meet. It was so cool to see how the two different bodies of water could touch but not mix until further down the river. We later learned that they didn’t mix because of their different densities. Once we got closer to the part of the forest we were supposed to get a tour of, we started seeing floating villages. Because the Amazon spends a lot of its time flooded, villages must be built on stilts or on floats that sit on the water. I thought it was a little sad that several boats carrying tourists daily are able to just go through people’s villages and invade their privacy. It also made me wonder if hey were getting any type of benefits from the tour companies.
Our boat was approached by a smaller boat of “poachers” carrying an anaconda, an alligator, and a sloth! As much as it shames me to say, this was an awesome experience! Who can say they held a sloth?! Although it was a really cool thing to do it was also very sad. It was sad knowing that these animals were captured and forced to be touched and handled by crazy tourists like myself. I’m curious as to how they captured these animals and the techniques they used to do so. Later that day we were also given the opportunity to swim with pink river dolphins! That was also very sad we could see that they were kept in captivity and forced to interact with tourists. We could also see that there were scars on their body, possibly from propellers.
So we finally reach our hiking spot! I was a little disappointed to find out that we would be hiking on a wooden path. I also expected our “hike” through the Amazon to be a bit more rigorous. However, the scenery was very nice and there were a lot of different plant and butterfly species. There were also HUGE lillipads, maybe about the size of a small table. After our hike we had another delicious and authentic Brazilian lunch. We got to try some of the native fish, which was also very tasty! Then, we got to shop around for some souvenirs, many of which looked handmade. After lunch we went to an Amazon village. This was probably my favorite part of the day. The villagers welcomed us with dancing and music and then pulled us up to dance with them! It was such an awesome experience! After dancing, we got to walk around the village, which was really cool. A woman in the tribe asked us if we wanted her to paint our faces similar to theirs, and of course we said yes in a heartbeat! That was a really nice end to a really cool day. Although this tour wasn’t really what we all expected, it was still a wonderful experience. And hey, that just gives me an even better excuse to come back to the Amazon!
Once we got back to the hotel, we showered, and got ready for dinner. For dinner we went to a restaurant that had very loud, live music. After we ate, we went back to the hotel and relaxed after the long day we had. Another great day in Brazil!
January 4, 2015
Day 3:
Today we met one of Tait’s friends Davidson. He is a nineteen-year old college student who interns at the US Embassy in Manaus. He also speaks six different languages and has meet Barack Obama twice! It was nice getting to talk to someone our age, and getting his perspective on current events happening in Brazil was very interesting. Davidson took us to Ponta Negra, which is a beach in Manaus. The beach was very crowded and was not very clean. He also brought us to a little ice cream stand that had a large array of flavors that I have never heard of. As we were walking around the beach it started to pour! We were all dripping wet but the storm passed quickly. After spending some time at the beach, we got on a bus and went to the mall…again. After we walked around for some time we went back to the hotel. For dinner we had Pizza Hut, which surprisingly tasted the same as the one back in the US. Today was our last day in Manaus; we leave for Rio de Janeiro at 1:15 a.m.