The Amazon - Day 1 Part 1
Ok, so the next few posts are going to be about my trip to the Amazon. I decided it was easier to write a separate post for each day because there are so many things to talk about and so many amazing pictures to share! So here goes...
My friend Suzette and I flew from Porto Alegre to Manaus (with a stop over in Brasilia) and spent the evening relaxing. We tried walking around, but didn't seem to find much so we headed to one of the large shopping malls to grab an early dinner before relaxing in the hotel for the night. I wanted to enjoy the air conditioning and comfortable hotel room before embarking on a 5 day journey into the Amazon.
Because I'm a planner, we already had our tour set up before we arrived in Manaus. We booked with Amazon Green Tours and all trips were already planned out. Let the adventure begin...
Day 1:
We were picked up from the hotel at 8:30am. We were pleasantly surprised to realize it was just us in the group. We were told there could be up to 8 people in the group. Our first stop was the fish market where we were able to see many different types of fish.
Next, we got on a speed boat to go to Careiro Village. On the way there, we stopped to see the Meeting of the Waters where two rivers come together: the Rio Negro and Rio Solimoes.
We continued on the boat for a few more minutes until we arrived at a place where we could feed a large fish called Pirarucú. You could feel the weight and strength of that large fish as I tightly held onto the poll while the fish grabbed at the bait. We ended up eating that type of fish later in the week and it was delicious!
We climbed back into the boat and continued down the river until we reached Careiro Village.(about a 30 minute ride without all the stops).
We transferred to a van and continued down the bumpy Transamazonica road for about 40 km.
We stopped along the way to check out some huge water lilies!
After about 30-40 minutes we reached another small village and transferred back into another boat to head downstream to our lodge on Lago Mamori (Lake Mamori).
It was such a surreal boat ride as I tried to soak up all the beautiful nature surrounding me. Finally after the 30 minute boat ride we arrived at our lodge! The lodge was about 100 km away from the city of Manaus.
We did have electricity, but that was about the only perk. We opted to sleep in beds rather than hammocks and have a private room with a toilet and shower. Oh the luxuries! :) haha. We had running water for a shower, but there was no hot water and the water pressure wasn't very good. Needless to say, my showers were very quick and I opted not to wash my hair...yes I went 5 days without washing my hair. haha. We had a fan but no air conditioning. We were fortunate that the weather was not very hot during our visit.
The family who owned the lodge cooked our meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). The food was decent, but I learned that I really do NOT like tapioca.
Next up...piranha fishing and alligator spotting :)
My friend Suzette and I flew from Porto Alegre to Manaus (with a stop over in Brasilia) and spent the evening relaxing. We tried walking around, but didn't seem to find much so we headed to one of the large shopping malls to grab an early dinner before relaxing in the hotel for the night. I wanted to enjoy the air conditioning and comfortable hotel room before embarking on a 5 day journey into the Amazon.
Because I'm a planner, we already had our tour set up before we arrived in Manaus. We booked with Amazon Green Tours and all trips were already planned out. Let the adventure begin...
Day 1:
We were picked up from the hotel at 8:30am. We were pleasantly surprised to realize it was just us in the group. We were told there could be up to 8 people in the group. Our first stop was the fish market where we were able to see many different types of fish.
Next, we got on a speed boat to go to Careiro Village. On the way there, we stopped to see the Meeting of the Waters where two rivers come together: the Rio Negro and Rio Solimoes.
We continued on the boat for a few more minutes until we arrived at a place where we could feed a large fish called Pirarucú. You could feel the weight and strength of that large fish as I tightly held onto the poll while the fish grabbed at the bait. We ended up eating that type of fish later in the week and it was delicious!
We climbed back into the boat and continued down the river until we reached Careiro Village.(about a 30 minute ride without all the stops).
We transferred to a van and continued down the bumpy Transamazonica road for about 40 km.
We stopped along the way to check out some huge water lilies!
After about 30-40 minutes we reached another small village and transferred back into another boat to head downstream to our lodge on Lago Mamori (Lake Mamori).
The lodge
We did have electricity, but that was about the only perk. We opted to sleep in beds rather than hammocks and have a private room with a toilet and shower. Oh the luxuries! :) haha. We had running water for a shower, but there was no hot water and the water pressure wasn't very good. Needless to say, my showers were very quick and I opted not to wash my hair...yes I went 5 days without washing my hair. haha. We had a fan but no air conditioning. We were fortunate that the weather was not very hot during our visit.
The family who owned the lodge cooked our meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). The food was decent, but I learned that I really do NOT like tapioca.
Next up...piranha fishing and alligator spotting :)
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