Amazonas (soundtrack: strange animals)

For 5 days our buttocks were firmly planted on either the seat of a night bus, or the seat of a bus station waiting for the next night bus. From Maico to Maricaibo, Maricaibo to Caracas, Caracas to Santa Elena where we crossed the border to Brazil. Another bus to Boa Vista, and then the last leg of the bus part; Boa Vista to Manaus. We´d seen that some people had posted that you can take a direct bus from Caracas to Manaus, but as is often the case in these parts, one nugget of informnation is provided by one person, and then denied by the next - no one in the stations seemed to know anything about a direct bus. It was a tough 5 days, with little in the way of proper sleep or proper food. But we did well, and our spirits were kept high by our new sense of mission.

As we´d blitzed through Venezuela so quickly, we´d made good time, and decided to break up the trip with a stop in Manaus, an unlikely city that sits bang in the middle of the Amazon jungle.
On our first night we went for a drink with a lovely English couple we´d met in the Boa Vista bus station. They too had given up flying and had come here via boat.....though they did it the ultimate way - by sail boat!!!! It really wet our appetite for gaining some sailing skills, and I think I´ll take a course when back at home. Then you can become crew on boats that are sailing to various locations around the world to actually deliver the boat to its new owners. Apparently you don´t even particularly need the skills as sometimes they just want a few extra people to help out onboard, for company and night watch duty. Certainly got us thinking. Maybe for our return? That´d be one skill to gain for a low carbon future.

We decided to go on one of the many 'Amazon Jungle Tours' on offer in Manaus. Despite them being a bit generic and 'the thing to do' whilst in Manaus, we thought it'd be a good way to have an inter-travel break, and to at least spend 3 days in a tranquil environment with plenty of wildlife.

It ended up being a great few days. To start with we left Manaus and crossed the Rio Negro and passed the 'Encontro das Aguas' or 'meeting of the rivers' where the dark water of the Rio Negro meets the cremey coffee water of the Rio Solimoes. The water doesn't mix, due to differences in density and temperature, so you just get this sharp contrast in colours where the different water bodies meet, that continues for a few km. After another short drive in a camper van, we boarded a lanch and journied through mangrove-like areas of river, carving our way between roots, branches and submerged logs, occaisionally passing the bankside homes of river-dwellers. People bathed and washed clothes, whilst the children splashed in the brown water and waved at us.
After arriving at the rustic lodges, we imediately spotted pink and grey freshwater dolphins only 20 feet away, surfacing and rolling, their breathing clearly audible. Later that day we took Kayacks into the calm back waters, and saw loads of different birds; Egrets, Kingfishers, Herons, Ospreys, Green Parrots just to name a few. Distant thunderhead clouds loomed ominously, ocassionally emitting deep rumbles,
whilst the birds and insects sang their repetoire of weird and wonderful songs.
That night we took a boat deeper into the jungle, to set up camp for the night in hammocks. The hammocks were comfortable, but from about 4am onwards I just couldn't get to sleep - I was just too amazed at the sounds of the pre-dawn chorus and the troops of Howler monkeys roaring their blood-curdling territorial roar close to the camp.
We trecked through the jungle learning about various edible plants, Brazil nuts and rubber trees along the way. Then we took the boat to the home of a nearby riverside family and learnt about their way of life which is completely dependent on the river.
After lunch, and a swim in the lovely luke-warm river (only 30 feet or so away from the dolphins), we fished for Piranhas. Colette caught one, and i caught a few lovely catfish, but they were all too small to eat, so we gently returned them to the water.



That evening, as the light diminished, I spent a while watching our comrades, the bats, as they acrobatically launched their assult on the local mosquito population. Then we went to look for Caimen. The guide shone his torch along the river banks looking for the shining amber eyes of these little crocodiles. After a couple of failed attempts, we located one and got near enough for the guide to catch it in his hands to show us close up. It was a beautiful creature, and it was amazing seeing it so close.
After 3 days and 2 nights we returned to Manaus to continue on our mission to the WSF. The next bit of the journey would be very interesting - the quintessential Amazonian experience; Travelling down the Amazon for 5 days on a riverboat.