Trip to the Interior

Over my July vacation I also made a trip up river to a small town called Anori. I went on a wood river boat called a recreio. People bring their hammocks and sleep in them for the overnight trips, which is what mine turned out to be. It took 17 hours to get there and about 15 to get back.

It's hard to believe there are a fair number of people who live on the eadge of the river out in the middle of nowhere. I actually attempted to explain to a Brazilian what the "middle of nowhere" or "no meio de lugar nenhum" means, and they agreed that we were in it. I feel like I am in the middle of nowhere when I am in Manaus, but that is nothing compared to what life is like in the interior of Amazonas. We're talking some serious isolation.

The boat ride is pretty comfortable, although I found out only too late that the food served on these boats is not exactly sanitary. (Let's just say I lost a couple of pounds after this trip unintentionally.) Anyways, it was a one in a lifetime experience, and I now I say that I have been river boating on the Amazon.

So here's some pictures and a video from the boat.

Presidente Figueiredo

In July I had some vacation time and went north to Presidente Figueiredo about 2 hours north of Manaus. I went with some friends and we stayed at Marupiara, a ranch that is owned by some of the students at my school. It was gorgeous. There are waterfalls everywhere and lots of forest.

We did some hiking in the jungle, kayaked in the river, and bathed in the waterfalls. Totally tropical paradise. Some of the streams are so clean you can actually dirnk out of them.

We took one hike to get to a waterfall that took about an hour. It was really cool to walk in the forest. We didn´t see any animals really, but the plants alone are amazing. Our guide showed us this vine that holds water inside that you can cut open and drink. The best part about the trip, it was warm but not hot because of all the trees and there were almost no mosquitos. Amazing.

We did see some animals at a refuge in Balbina. They had manatees, river otters, turtles, macaws, and many other types of birds.