Adventure in the Brazilian Amazon

The trip began with a drive from Rhode Island to Wayne, NJ, and uber to Newark and flight to Panama City then on to Manaus, Brazil. Arriving @2:30am. Got some shut eye in the next 3 hours before a two hour layover in Panama City – had the shortest distance between gates EVER – just two gates away.

I started listening to “State of Wonder” by Ann Patchett on the drive to Newark. I have read it before but a lot of it takes place where I am headed, so when someone recommended it, I thought it was worth revisiting. In the first chapter we learn the someone has died in the Amazon from a nonspecific fever. Hmmm, ok… then the heroine is having terrible dream from the Malaria medication… what’s next? Maybe reading it wasn’t such a good idea?

I have taken Malaria meds in the past and not had an issue. She was on a different one than I am taking, but still, I don’t need that much adventure.

View from my hotel in Manaus Brazil - got in @4am but was up with the birds @6:30 but I got some good sleep on the plane! A moth is my current roommate but I don’t think he will bother me. I suspect I let him in when I opened the window. BTW – I’m on the Rio Negro - a tributary NOT the Amazon!

First bird of the trip and it is a lifer Fork-tailed Flycatcher - the blurry photo is the first shot on my card for the trip and it shows the beautiful spread tail which I did not manage to capture again. One of them was kind enough to return and perch for me. I am on the 9th floor so I have been lucky (and thankful for my camera) to get anything.

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

This is the only bird photo in this post -- for the most part this is a travelogue. Birds and other creatures will be featured in other posts.

View from the room - Rio Negro

My view of Manaus

The view with the hotel (Tropical Executive)

First night Sunset

The morning before the tour started we birded a “Magic” Fig Tree which was near the hotel entrance.  I sat on my stool in the shade and took it all in, a wonderful assortment of birds all in one tree – beautiful!

The first part of the trip

The next day we all piled into a van and went birding at the forest’s edge in a ritzy (you know by the barbed wire on the fences).  Great birds, sloths and monkeys as we walked up a paved road. We were passed by troops training by running (they greeted us with a hearty Bon Dia – pronounced Bon Gia), a few security cars, some motor bikes and a Wood-rail.  I was glad I brought my stool along. Back to the hotel for breakfast and checkout afterwards we headed for the harbor and our floating home for the next 14 days.

The beautiful and stable "Irecema"

That's Dave (My friend from the first South Africa trip) getting ready to board

The busy harbor from the boat...

Gathering for the welcome - Ian, Luke, Karen, Catherine & Jan on the Marco Polo deck

Katherine & Mauri -- resting and Mel (on left - chatting)

Finally on the boat - tiny room, but all mine! 

Deck Plan for the Iracema

Up the stairs for the Welcome...

We had a lovely welcome on the boat, a safety talk and Caipirinhas is Brazil’s national drink. It is a refreshing cocktail made of cachaça (a Brazilian sugarcane spirit), fresh lime, and sugar. The ingredients are muddled together and served over ice. They provide hi-test, virgin and sugar-free versions, so I got to try one!  Lovely.

Waiting for the Safety drill -- anticipating a Caipirinha. From Left, Kathy, Katherine/Kate, Catherine, Ian, Mel, Karen, Mauri & Fiona

Mo, Mo Junior or Mojo -- our fearless local leader (and boat owner) -- he was our guide on and off the boat.

The review of the different floatation devices -- Walder (with the square boat cushion), Luis ( with the camo vest) and Pichi (Orange vest)

Luis is the bearer of the Caipirinhas

Dave & Helen (my South Africa trip friends) enjoying a welcome drink

Me too...

Off we go on the Rio Negro

We headed first to the meeting of the waters, where the muddy Amazon meets the tea colored Rio Negro.  The meeting of the water stretches over many kilometers.  For 6 kilometers the two rivers run side by side even when they start mixing it take @40 kilometers to completely blend. Quite amazing!          

My lousy photo where you can kind of see it...

Catherine Hamilton's amazing photo...

Most of group plied into the canoes for a short ride over to a farm with huge lily pads. A few folks came back with serious chigger bites and were itching for days.  Several more folks had some later in the trip.  I only went on shore once, so I managed to avoid them. There was also a night trip, but I passed on that as well.  Just sussing out the canoes before my first trip.  I was nervous about my ability to get in and out of the boat – it was a good 2 foot step down and then up again… more to come

Leaving for the Lily pad Farm - Mo, Mauri, Jan, Catherine, Karen, Cathy, Lisa, Mel & Pichi

Luis, Ian, Fiona, Katherine, Nina, Luke, Helen, Dave & Walder

The Lily Pads - Photo by Helen Mako

Foliage near Farm

My distant Lily Pad photos

On the way back to the boat...

On Wednesday I took my first canoe ride.  I embarked from the side with entailed stepping down from a narrow platform, but there was a long steel handle to hold on to.  Getting in was a little awkward, but ok.  Getting back out was much more awkward and required me to use my strength only.  More to come.  A very productive birding morning on the canoe. 

There were two outings later – one to fish for piranha and one to find a monkey.  I did not go out again…pacing myself.  Art lesson in the afternoon, but I could not resist the pull of birding.

Today's catch Piranha -- and dinner!

At our leader’s (Fiona) suggestion I used the back platform to get into and out of the canoe.  I had to rely on the boatman’s strength to assist and he was quite able.  I still struggle to pronounce his name, which is basically John (João) in Brazilian.  Pronounced “zhwow” Catherine (bird guide & art teacher) has a Brazilian friend with the same name and she calls him J-Wow.

João

This morning was the initial foray into the flooded forest. Always had to be alert in the flooded forest for Iguana’s diving out of the trees into the water (and sometimes into people or canoes – but thankfully not for us).  They make quite a racket when they drop and we were hit with several splashes.  Because the water level was so high, a lot of what we might have walked we took the canoes through.  Made for long canoe rides, but most of the time we didn’t get out of the boats.  There are not always clear paths to get through the flooded forest, at times machetes were required. My favorite shirt got ripped on thorns, I am hoping to repair it.  Lots of thorns & spikes & bugs on the foliage we went through.  It was the first time, so we were all very careful of contact.  As the days went on we were in a flooded forest almost every morning, by the end we were much more casual about it.

You can see the spikes (very sharp) on the palm trees

In the afternoon, most folks took a walk through a town and I met them on the canoe at the far end of town.  I was waiting for them to finish is this little patch of shade.

Off to the Floating forest

Then we traveled through the floating forest which are massive, moving rafts of interwoven aquatic grasses and vegetation. Over time, they accumulate organic soil dense enough to support actual dwarf trees and small forests. 

There was a small channel through the vegetation which moved up & down with the wake as the boats went by.  At one point, A fish jumped out of the water & landed on my arm, smacked my shoulder & flopped into the canoe. Horrified, but this morning my bum shoulder feels better... could it be the fish? I am going with yes! My Miracle Monkey Fish cure! (been back almost a week – and my shoulder is still good!) – Brazilian name for my miracle fish Arowana.  Google says “It leaps up to 6 feet out of the water to snatch bugs, bats, and birds from low-hanging branches.”  Now I get it…

Mo retrieving the fish -- me with my feet up on the side of the canoe, looking concerned...

Looking at the fish...

My photo - with Fish (my name for it) Nina and Lisa (concentrating)

Mo with his trophy (which he threw back)

A picture of me taking a picture of the fish

Trimuphant Mo!

My shoulder is still good!

At the end of the Floating Forest was the Enchanted lake – some folks had their first swim. We enjoyed some refreshments and a beautiful sunset. 

Enchanted Lake

Mauri's first swim

Nina's enjoying the water

Fiona looking contemplative

Dave's first float

Mel's float

Katherine's swim

The sun sets on the Enchanted Lake

The ride back was mostly in the dark.  3:45 wake up call in the harbor for a van ride to the tower in the morning.

The goal of being up the tower (for those who climbed 40 meters) by dawn was realized. I sat with the van driver and at times Luke in the woods at the foot of the tower for a lovely morning full of birdsong and a nice coffee at the end.  It was nice to have a morning not on the canoes, which were starting to irritate my bum & cramp my legs… and it’s only been a few days.

The Tower

People on the top platform

Close up of platform

Signs at the bottom of the tower.

We left the Amazon today and headed up the Rio Negro, one of the Amazon’s largest tributaries. I am almost settled on the boat, but still keep misplacing things.  I think I might have not brought enough sunscreen.  Hoping to find a better way to organize things before the end. A nice canoe ride mid-afternoon.

Then a swimming opportunity off the big boat this time.

Ian & Katherine

Mauri

Fiona

Dave

Helen

This morning we had a birder’s only boat – Mo Junior was the driver and a paddler (and machete wielder in front – found several Cotinga and had another “Magic” tree filled with Tanagers – we stayed out a while because we kept finding birds. 

Dave with Bins...

Helen, Dave, Me & Mo - Birder's Boat

The afternoon canoe...

My bum aches – so I skipped the visit to town and a hike to a field because I was tired and afraid of chiggers.  More folks have picked up bites.  Swimming off the boat (apparently that helps relive chigger bites).  There is a taxonomist who studies and classifies microscopic marine creatures and she won’t go in, because she knows what is in there.  I’m with her…

Tonight we had a special visit at a camp just off the boat where the crew prepared a lovely barbeque at a camp that belongs to Mo Junior’s (our host) Father.  There are platforms where people sleep in Hammocks.  Hmmm also not for me, but interesting.  I felt lucky I made it across the “makeshift” bridge and back on to the boat.

Boat to Camp (that's me crossing) Photo: Karen Reczuch Parker

Beautiful table set for dinner Photo: Karen Reczuch Parker

I am starting to have some cold symptoms which last the rest of the trip, but never really blossom – I think they might have been allergies, because they completely disappeared since I have been home.  Not sure what I’d be allergic to, but I was not the only one – most of us foreigners had some kind of symptoms.

Rainy morning and into afternoon. We started the morning with Luke finding an Ornate Hawk Eagle. We went out during a break in the weather for @4 hrs 2.5 of which were raining, hard. I mean pouring – I have never been out in a storm like that raining in sheets, a deluge – let alone on a small boat. I am a little surprised we did not have to stop and bail the boat. A true Amazonian soaked to the skin experience!  You have to experience one of those if you go – can’t complain (well maybe a little – it took 4 days for my sneakers to dry). It is part of the adventure! 

It was really, really raining...

That being said, both of my devices were not charging because of moisture (even though the iPad was not outside – guess the moisture just came inside too), was a little worried that my iPad just stopped charging, fortunately it all got resolved in a few hours.  In the meantime, watched the amazing Catherine Hamilton do an art demo – I learn something new and useful every time I watch her paint.

Cleared up a bit in the evening, but still lousy light for photos. 

Most of the trip has been challenging for photos 1) it is almost always overcast which renders the birds backlit and a difficult shot to begin with, 2) I am in a small boat, that is almost always moving and never under my control, so it is difficult to keep the lens focused on what I want a photo of, 3) I am sitting, so that is no way to “ride” the movement of the boat.  All of these factors combined proved to be rather frustrating and I’m happy I got any photos – that was just lucky.

Yesterday rain, today pestilence- (supposedly) stingless bees are swarming about the boat, inside and out. Ah the joys of the Amazon! Care to guess what is next?

Lovely morning on the canoes in a flooded forest. Not sure what the rest of the day will bring, but it is a beautiful day… less overcast than usual. 

I noticed that the bar had a Manomet sticker on it. Manomet is the organization that I do the International Shorebird Survey for. I mentioned it to a friend back home that works for them and that night Mo tells me he heard from someone at Manomet that someone they knew was one his boat. Small world, us birders

Had a lazy afternoon on The Iracema (the name of the boat) - some folks went into town and got to Mo’s family’s hotel where they can see Night Monkeys and Tarantulas – no thank you! Quiet and lovely to watch the sun go down on the boat.

Another boat we saw from the town dock

Jan - relaxing and birder on the "other" side of town

Sunset views

Meanwhile Karen tripped over a root in town and did a face plant.  Thank goodness it wasn’t more serious – she just needed a few stitches (and they are in her eyebrow).   Meanwhile – I’ve got a very swollen left ankle and a somewhat swollen right ankle – pales in comparison. 

The longest excursion yet included lunch and a swim in a waterfall relieved to be back on the boat now - there was not restroom available. We are out for @7 hours.  First birding through a flooded forest then up a tributary to a waterfall.  We were told there were rocks to sit on and that we’d have a barbeque there.  We had a lovely barbeque, but the rocks were underwater, so there was no where to sit unless you brought a stool (I did).  Chicken stew (complete with river water – well boiled) and Roasted Pinapple (whole fruit placed on the fire, then skinned and cut up) – it was amazing! Folks had a swim and the water displayed amazing colors.  It was the only time I got out of the canoe and on to land the entire trip.  Part of that was by design (mine) but part of it was fear of insect bites.  It was a challenge to out of and back in the boat – but one that I met.

Exit door on Iracema

Birding in the morning - Cathy, Mel, Catherine and Luke

Off to lunch

Canoes at lunch spot -- where one escaped, but Dave captured it!

Dave (after his triumphant canoe capture) and Helen swimming (again)

The colorful roiling waterfall

Nina concentrating on sketching

Back in the canoes

Luke (one of the guides) was called into service paddling in the front of the canoe while we were in the forest. At one point he was trying to dislodge a log that was stuck on the canoe, lost his balance and fell on Catherine.  She broke his fall, but hurt her knee in the process.  At one point when we were in the forest, another canoe (which has a long wooden “point” in the front) ran into my spot and folded the back of the seat down on me – although I was concerned I hurt my back, I recovered quickly, but it was a bit scary when it happened.

Flora

We had to take our shoes off on the boat (so as not to take only detritus on to the boat) when we get off the canoe after a landing.  The deck was really hot – so another good reason not to get off of the canoe. It was a lovely evening on the boat

Early to bed and a different morning - breakfast on the top deck waiting for the Jaú National Park Service “gate” to open.  We had to get off of the boat to sign in with our passports at the park and on the way back onto the boat – I whacked my head on the boat.  Felt stupid, it hurt a bit, but was fine later that day.  I’m also having some issues with my knee (although I didn’t do anything stressful to it), may just be overuse, so I am happy to have a day basically on the boat. 

Breakfast on Marco Polo deck

Iguana swimming nearby

It was a beautiful morning and we’ve been lucky that most of the rain has been limited to overnight or when we are motoring to a different destination.  It did rain a lot prior to the departure for the afternoon walk – they said would be 2 hours and ended up being 4 hours – I was glad I did not go. 

There was an evening walk scheduled to try to see a Rufous Potoo – but it ended quickly when they heard a Jaguar growling – several times.  Back on the boat with a great story to tell.  They were not expecting a Jaguar – a little out of their range.

Still in the National Park the next morning & it’s been a bit rainy. I’ve been nursing my bum knee and wanting to avoid stressing it but get in & out of a canoe or sitting low for a few hours at a time. Had a nice morning solo bird, stationary on the boat.

A type of rainbow I have never seen before - no real arc, just a wide swath of color! This photo does not do it justice! Beautiful from the Rio Negro!

Then there was a traditional rainbow

Very early morning bird on the Iracema we are in a tributary – the group went out at 5:30 (still dark) for a listening tour in the canoes, I stayed on the big boat and listened as well.  Mo & Clayge brought a huge fish to the boat pretending they had caught it – they bought it (it’s a 1/3 the price here than in Manaus) I am babying my knee again today. The group went on another hike, but didn’t stay very long – they were looking for a rare Capucinbird but it started teeming rain again, so they came back early.

Respite from the rain after hike - Photo: Karen Reczuch Parker

From left - Lisa, (Part of) Dave, Helen, Luke, Fiona, Cathering, Mauri, Pichi, Luise, Mo, Cathy, on ground - Mel, Nina

After a few days of nursing my less than perfect knees I am back in the canoe again!  New birds, lovely flora & monkeys. We did not get wet! Best bird of the day was, alas, a heard only Capuchinbird. They are odd looking, but sound like the monster in the TV show Lost! - eerie.  A talk about how to draw birds!

The second part of the trip

What a morning

Clege scores a big fish

A very big fish (Fiona is 5'9" tall)

Sunset

with raindrops

The group doing our best Jaguar imitations

I started a new book – River of Doubt – a few days ago.  It’s about Theodore Rossevelt’s trip to the Amazon and up a river far to the south of us.  Again there were many challenges, scary challenges, so maybe not such a great book to read for this trip… ah well.

Second to last morning yielded some great birds from the canoe in a flooded forest and a cactus in the middle of a river! It started with another stingless bee swarm.  I spent the afternoon on the boat with a few other folks, birding and chatting – it was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. 

The habitat that makes photography so challenging

Beautiful Exotic Flota

What the Marco Polo deck usually looks like -- lots of drying clothes

Helen warding off bugs!

Blue skies

Storm's a comin'

The beach -- prestorm

Swim

Sunset

We arrived at a beach (although not the one we wanted because it was crowded on a Sunday). Some folks swam off the boat, others took a canoe to the beach and walked about.  A quickly approaching thunderstorm put an abrupt end to that – serious cloud to ground lightening and thunder.  The nighttime canoe excursion was cancelled.

Last morning Canoe trip had lot’s of Mammals to Fiona’s delight, but nice birds too. Particularly the Sunbittern we saw in flight several times but I only got photos of it perched, they will do, it’s a beautiful bird.  It was almost 4 hours, then we were off to see the Pink Dolphins. Folks swam or more accurately were in the water with the Dolphins while someone fed them.  They are really interesting looking creatures.

More photography challenges...

What we affectionately name Butt Fruit

Unfortunately even in deep Amazonia -- there was trash (we picked it up whenever possible)

The afternoon was open so we could pack – it was raining anyway.  We finished with a lovely dinner on the top deck.  Another barbeque – delicious and was all the food on the trip.  They did magic in a tiny kitchen. 

The whole crew was lovely –  Boatmen – Walder, Bartender – Cleide, Canoe Driver – João, Boatmen – Pichi, Assistant Cook – Ani, Cook – Nilsi, Captain – Mica, Canoe Driver – Luis.  Everyone of them is helpful and strong (I can attest to that because each of them helped me on or off the boat at some point) and of course Mo Junior. 

Of course it is the people who really make the trip and my guides and fellow travelers were stellar as well – wonderful, interesting people who were great company.  I miss them all. Shout out to Ian for bringing strings to re-string the guitar on the boat, waiting patiently while they relaxed and finally held the tune. He serenaded us several times - so talented an artist and songwriter! Thanks for adding to the experience!

Guides – Mo Junior, Catherine, Fiona & Luke

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