After Campo Grande and the beauty of Bonito, our next stop was Manaus. We had a free evening in Manaus before the organiser of the Amazon 6 Days / 5 Nights experienced commenced. Manaus is a city with its main square the area of entertainment whereby you can relax, have a drink and eat good food.
While in Manaus we have tried the Tacacá from Dona Maria which is a soup made from jambu, tucupu, dried shrimps and yellow peppers. It had a weird texture and felt strange however the taste was great particularly the shrimp.
I will be separating the Amazon experience into various parts given I have lots of photos to show you and experiences to tell you. We did the experience with Amazon Gero Tour whom offered a good price but the best is that it promotes sustainable tourism while helping local people.
The activities varied from seeing the meeting of the waters (the Negro River and the Solimões River) on the way to the jungle, fishing, jungle trekking, canoe ride in the small channels, alligator spotting at night, visiting the local people house, seeing the sunset and the sunrise, seeing sloths, monkeys, birds and pink dolphins. We also went camping (sleep) one night in the forest.
The meeting of the waters
Our travelling buddies on the boat
The program proposed was the following: Expedition Package – 6 Days/5Nights
Day- 01
Departure from the hotel at 8:00 am( 8.30 as we pass in different hotels we go from your hotel to the Ceasa market/port to catch our speed boat to cross the Amazon River to Careiro, a typical commercial fishing village. On the way, we will see the magnificent "Meeting of the Waters", the junction of the Solimões and Negro rivers. After arriving at Careiro Village, we will continue on the
famous Trans Amazonica road for 40 kilometers until our arrival at the Ramal 14 village, where another speed boat/or just a motorized canoe will take us to the lodge, house boat or depends on your package straight to the native people house or to the jungle. Approximately one and half hour upstream, we arrive at the jungle lodge. Buffet lunch upon arrival. Afternoon Reconnaissance tour for better understanding of the area, with explanation about the ecosystem, flora and fauna.
Buffet dinner. Overnight in the jungle lodge.
Day Two
Breakfast. Introduction to basic jungle survival. Buffet lunch. Afternoon fishing trip (piranhas). Buffet dinner. Night tour to experience the nocturnal environment and alligator spotting. Overnight.
Day Three
Breakfast. Visit to native Caboclos dwelling to see the typical way of life of the local people and how they have adapted to the jungle. Buffet lunch. Afternoon canoe ride for bird watching. Buffet dinner.
Day Four/Five/Six
Stay as far as possible out in the jungle. Camping and cooking out. Most of the excursion done by regional motorized canoes and sometime by paddling. Daily activities. Sleeping in hammocks. At day 5 in the afternoon return to the lodge in time from the survivor's cocktail. Buffet dinner. Overnight. On Day 6 return to Manaus for a 17:00 pm.