Week 10 in Brazil:
The Amazon! What an amazing trip to see a true natural wonder. We arrived in Manaus late at night and stayed in a hotel next to the airport. We then transferred to a Holiday Inn across town in the morning. We couldn't check in yet, so we left our bags and went to a church nearby. What a wonderful, loving ward. We were just temporary visitors passing through, but that didn't make a difference. They welcomed us with open arms, made sure my sons were comfortable in the youth class (including getting someone who spoke English to sit with them), and invited us to actively participate in class. After church, the Elder's Quorum president offered to find someone with a kitchen we could use for lunch and gave me his number, just in case we needed anything during the week. It was a wonderful experience for all, even those that didn't understand what was being said. On a side note, we also received a couple of messages from members of our ward (congregation) in Salvador telling us they missed us at church and checking to make sure everything was ok. I am learning how to be a better Christian from my Brazilian brothers and sisters.
Sunday afternoon, we went and walked around the Teatro Amazonas in downtown Manaus and got dinner at an outdoor restaurant. Larry and I split a filet of tambaqui, a fish commonly found in the region, and we all got ice cream for dessert. The town was amazingly quiet when we started, but people started coming out as the sun went down and the night started to cool off a bit.
My brother and his daughter had a flight delay that resulted in them missing their connection, so they didn't arrive until late that evening. We were now a group of nine people, including my family, my in-laws, and my brother and his daughter. We were so glad they made it in time for our tours throughout the week. Here is what we did broken down by day.
Monday: We went on a tour to see some waterfalls and caves north of the city in Presidente Figuerido. The first stop took us on a hike through the jungle as our guide talked about the forest and some of its history and biology. We also stopped by two different waterfalls (Maroaga Cave and Judea Grotto) and hiked through the river along a cliff edge for a time. We also got to go into a cave full of bats! After that hike, we went to lunch at a delicious Brazilian buffet and then went to a big waterfall where we could jump in the water and swim around (Iracema Falls). The waterfall was part of the Rio Negro system, which is known for its dark brown water. The kids decided it looked like we were swimming in root beer. A couple of us even got to swim out to sit in the waterfall itself. Finally, we went to a mineral spring that created a small pond. Because of the minerals coming up from the ground, the water was a pretty blue color. The whole time, we were guided by Geffson from Iguana Tours, who spoke very good English and was a fun and energetic host. By the end, my teenage sons were convinced they had a new best friend, and they talked about him for the rest of the week.
Tuesday and Wednesday: We went to stay at an Eco-lodge in the jungle. This time, we went south of the city. We first caught a bus at the hotel, then jumped on a boat at the docks. After a quick stop at the meeting of the waters, where the Amazon River and Rio Negro join but don't mix for several miles, we continued on to a port on the other side. There we jumped on a bus, transferred to a ferry, jumped in a VW bus, which drove for a while and then got on another ferry before driving past farms and small towns to a small dirt road that led to another river. There, we got onto another little boat and road up the river deep into the jungle. This is the season when the waters are high and much of the jungle is flooded, so we steered our way through trees and brush sticking out of the water as we went. We finally arrived at the lodge (Juma Lake Inn) around lunchtime. It was a crazy trip, but everyone loved being on a real jungle cruise!
After checking into our rooms and eating lunch in a floating building, we jumped into another boat with our guide Osmar. He took us around to see the wildlife, including birds, river dolphins, monkeys, and iguanas. He was amazingly good at finding the wildlife in the trees and pointing them out to us. We also did a little piranha fishing, but we didn't get to spend nearly enough time, so I was the only one to catch anything, and that was a single tiny red-bellied piranha. We then watched the sun set on the lake by the lodge and returned for dinner. That night, Osmar took us caiman spotting. Their eyes glow when hit with a flashlight, so he could see them from a distance. He also was able to catch one with his bare hands to show us up close. The next morning, we were supposed to go bird watching at 5:30 am, but we awoke to rain and thunder, so that didn't happen, but we got to see a lovely sunrise. Finally, after breakfast we went on a hike through the rainforest with Osmar showing us some large ants, more monkeys, and how to weave palm leaves and swing on vines. We then had lunch and made the long journey back to Manaus. That night, we mostly relaxed, but we did find time to go to a pizza buffet.
Thursday: For our last day, we stayed close to town and visited two parks to see the wildlife and learn more about them. Our guide was a native that had grown up in the jungle, but had moved to the city and gotten a great education about the wildlife in the parks. At the first park, which is run by the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, we saw monkeys, alligators, manatees, and river otters. Our guide also said that he sometimes saw sloths there. This got my niece Leah super excited, as they are her favorite animal. My brother offered him a R$50 bonus if he found one. We spent a lot of time looking for one, but had not found one until it was time to go. As we were headed out, we found one up in a tree about 50 feet from the entrance. As we watched it and took photos, a little head popped up from the belly of the sloth. Not only had we found a sloth, but it was a mom and a baby. That moment alone made Leah's day and Nathan was happy to pay the extra tip. Leah decided two years ago that she wanted to go to the Amazon, and saved every penny until she had enough to pay her own way there, so we were all very happy that she was able to see everything she wanted to during our trip. Finally, we went to the Museo da Amazônia, a mostly outdoor museum with trails and exhibits. We saw snakes and giant lilypads and trees. We also got to climb a 125 foot tower to look out over the canopy of the forest.
That night, we went to the temple in Manaus. Everybody was, once again, kind and welcoming and went out of their way to make sure we had a good experience. We had shown up late because of trouble getting Ubers and major rush-hour traffic, but that didn't matter. They just brought us in and made us feel at home. We even met the temple president and ran into a member from the ward we had attended last Sunday. He wanted to make sure that we knew there was a party that Saturday, and we were invited if we were still in town.
On Friday, we had to head home to Salvador. We loved the Amazon, but we were tired and out of clean clothes, so it was good to get back. Before we went to the Amazon, Salvador felt like a strange place far from home that was hot, humid, and sometimes hard to live in, but coming back it felt like our home and is cool and dry compared to the Amazon. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to see such a unique and beautiful place, and we loved sharing the experience with other family members. I am sure we will talk about this week for many years to come.
(See Sarah's posts about Manaus for all the pictures!)
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