The Amazonic forest, Brasil

 

Manaus

Left Bogotà our next destination was Manaus, a major metropolis in the middle of the Amazon forest. Because the lack of a direct flight we had to head first in São Paulo and from there take another flight back to Manaus: an absurd journey that has cost us nearly a day of air. Finally arrived at their destination, just off the aircraft we have been overwhelmed by a warm wet we entered early in the bones, as if not enough just emerged from customs, we were overwhelmed by a billion tour operator we offer exciting adventures in the jungle. After some dribble we were caught by Sandro, a tiny Brazilian who spoke Italian and that, as a good seller, continued unceasingly to suggest a lot of options for visiting the forest. In the end, always in the company of our new friend, we have escort in the city and more precisely in a hotel that obviously Sandro knew well and promised to meet in his office the following day. Manaus we can define for all intents and purposes a cathedral in the jungle since after her, to find another city worthy of the name, it was necessary to reach Belem on the coast. We were in one of the largest industrial centers of Brazil built along the banks of the Amazon, a port city par excellence in which the major multinational headquarters. It was already late afternoon and so discarded luggage, we went for a drink in the first bar around the corner. Vista now hour late we decided to anticipate the meeting with Sandro in the same day in order to have the entire Sunday free. Not even the time to enter the dilapidated office of Sandro and we were already surrounded by photographs, maps and letters of recommendations that satisfied tourists had made for our friend. The negotiations were tightened firstly because the time available to us was not, and secondly, not least because the money at our disposal were very limited. The final agreement included a tour of three days in an area of Amazon rainforest known to tourists for a total cost of sixty dollars per person per day: seemingly disproportionate price but when compared to other tour operators seemed truly beneficial. At the end of our trading has come into office Fernando, a young employee of Sandro, who asked us if we wanted to go on Saturday evening with him in a celebration that was held just outside the city. No one was we made repeated twice, and we accepted the proposal after a quick shower we were already on the road to head toward the party. We reached the destination with a bus, and the party was not in a precise, but it developed into a large open space where there was a famous musical group in Manaus playing live the most classic of the samba. The party was crowded with people and the atmosphere was very fun we held up in the morning so the next day we wake up in the afternoon. Come out to put something in my teeth seemed to be a ghost town: not a person, not a local open, not even a machine, only a few rats crossing the street. In a bleak after a long search we found the street vendors of skewers that for a trifling figure allowed us to fill the belly. Returning to our hotel it was time to prepare the backpack for the next day: there was not allowed to carry our bags because they were too big so we have grouped all the necessary for our survival in a single backpack.

In the morning after a big breakfast we met Marcelo, who was our guide in the next three days. Immediately entered into with the confidence we Marcelo sympathetic towards the second port of Manaus to climb on a small motor boat that has enabled us to cross the great Amazon. In the middle of the journey, we paused to admire the encounter between the two rivers; question del rio del rio preto e branco that joins in this separate part of Amazon maintain their water so different in temperature, acidity, height, density and especially (since it is the only thing that is known to the human eye) color. After the usual ritual of photos we continued browsing and have come up to shore where imbarcatoci in a van we have come across the street Transamazzonica up to a huge deck. There we waited another boat size much smaller, little more than a canoe, equipped with a tiny motor long arm, perfect way to get between the insidious waters of varying depths. Arms and baggage stowed in the small boat we proceeded with the support of current until the first stage: a houseboat that besides providing hammocks to spend the night was also the last point of supply food and water. After a stopover of about half an hour we took a long journey of more than two hours, sliding ever deeper into the heart of the forest and sights for the first time in our lives pink dolphins that all those grays are the only species of dolphin river. Accompanied by a stretch of the route from these new friends we have finally reached the home of our second guide: Luis, a native who lived with his family (much enlarged) in a hut of wood and straw built into a small natural river that we were going. Luis, who we later nicknamed wolf man because of his rough ways and thick hair that checked throughout the body, it would have been the driving of the guide, because of its immense experience in a life spent in the jungle. Be the honors of the house and the many popular brats who lived there we were invited for lunch to sample the immense pescioloni himself caught in the river and cooked into a kind of grid supported by large stones (only way to cook a family). Immediately after lunch we were given an hour in which we had to crush a nap, what proved to be impossible because of children like flies that continued to hum around threateningly. Escaped from the clutches of the children we once again boarded the small boat with us loading of bamboo canes with a hanging line: our mission was to give us dinner going to fish the infamous piranha. Mission accomplished, given that in a short time we managed to scrape together more than a dozen. Turn the canoe we were directed to the junction of three rivers, one of the most profound when it was again possible to watch the spectacle offered by the pink dolphins. The sun sets, the light and were lowered into the ambush temutissime mosquitoes that, in the environment in which we were, went to the wedding with our ankles discoveries. Back at the house of the wolf, we again entertained with marmocchietti while women prepared dinner: our evening would not have ended there, we waited a night to hunt Jacarei (whose name is identified with the many crocodiles that inhabit the lagoons of river). And so it was with the wolf man seated at the bow with a long harpoon, we started slipping in the darkness of the ill-fated hunting alligator. The technique for capturing these living fossils are very simple to do much with silence and a flashlight to illuminate the body of water until you see the red spots appear, the red dots are the eyes of prey that almost hypnotized by the light not even try to escape. Unfortunately for us and fortunately for the alligators, the evening was not successful, only a small alligator that man wolf caught with bare hands and promptly released. Dead tired and gripped by mosquitoes we returned home to mount hammocks in complete darkness and crush a well-deserved nap.

The next morning we were woken up by the five children who went to school and made us breakfast again rose in the canoe to go even deeper into the heart of the Amazon forest where we spent the next night. The course was very tortuous and difficult, passing through low waters, broken tree trunks, grass cutting and a wild forest repeatedly killed by a wolf sound of machetes. Arrived at its destination has begun the construction dell'accampamento using some special bark our guides have obtained the strong ropes with which we have linked together some poles to build a roof under which to pass the night. Terminate the operations of preparation dell'accampamento we left together for a hike in dense jungle in the hope of being able to see some wild animals: there are rumors of the presence of anaconda, jaguars and sloths in addition to countless species of colorful birds that were crowding the forest. In reality all that we have not seen anything if we exclude the presence of a toucan and ara giants on the tops of the trees. One thing was certain, the forest was impenetrable, and if it were not for the machete's clever wolf there would be moved to a single step. Back at base camp so surprised by a hint of rain, we turned on the fire to prepare dinner based on rice, cassava flour and a chicken as they wisely stick to a course and browned on the flame alive. Consumed dinner at five in the afternoon, the day did not provide other activities until two the following morning when the wolf man we would again lead to hunting of Jacarei. So we spent nine hours lying in our hammocks also wrapped in unnecessary mosquito net waiting for the two in the morning. This hunt has proved even less successful of the former in terms of catches, but more exciting for the landscape and the full moon which is reflected in dark waters of the rio.

The next morning, discard the camp, we were still on board our canoe to go into a branch of the river where the dead according to our guide would be particularly easy to spot wild animals. Also this time nothing if you exclude the usual rumorosissimi parrots that fly between the branches of trees, it was high time to return to housing because of the wolf in an attempt to sighting had lost more time than expected. On the way back we paused to visit a school that involved all children in the neighborhood and a few photos we have taken over the ritual journey. We have not even had time to eat properly and healthy whole family because at five in the afternoon the same day we had to already be back at the port of Manaus. Wolf man leave us recovered boat and motor explained we did head for the return. Will, perhaps for the excessive ardor with which the guide led the pirogue, the fact is that right in the middle of the immense river, the engine has started to do with you and them to just you, shut down, forcing a stop to forced to repair the damage done and divide faster than before. Unfortunately, the repair was only temporary and arrived on the same houseboat where we had done to same supplies, we moved into a new boat in the company of other tourists, leaving our boat moored there. After an hour of slow rise against we reached the point of docking, the usual bridge after it started and from there to turn a van we got up to the great Amazon, which we crossed to reach the port of Manaus. Thanked and dismissed our guide Marcelo we returned to the hotel for a shower and do to cure the many wounds procurateci from murderous mosquitoes. The next day we took a trip to the city, in its main market, this time full of people. We have not done much else because we were still suffering the blow of the past three days in the wild jungle. The next day was time to leave the Amazon at a time of São Paulo to start our exploration in the Brazilian coast.