Brazil Adventures

Kate was invited to a conference in Rio de Janeiro at the end of November. We had been to Recife in Brazil about 10 years ago and were not that keen to go again. Nevertheless strange travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God so we packed our bags and off we went.

Photo albums for the various stages of the trip including day by day albums for the Rio Negro boat trip are found in nearby blog pages (the picture at left is me on the Tucano trolling for wildlife).

We stayed off Flamengo Beach in the Catete neighborhood of Rio for a few days while at the conference. Kate was busy with colleagues while I tramped around the area - Catete, Gloria, Lapa, and the Castelo areas. Rio can be a very beautiful city -- there are parks and public art all over the place. It can also be a bit rough. I understand the city is being spruced up a bit for some coming international events. The thing I find distressing, which was my experience in Recife as well, was the threat of being robbed. I'd be tramping around with my camera taking photos and people would come up to me in the street and tell me to put things away in case I got robbed. I never felt I was going to be robbed but was continually told that I would be. I gave up on exploring with my camera and used a small pocket camera instead. Nevertheless I would still be told to protect that camera as well.

After the conference we rented a flat just off of Copacabana Beach. Kate and I rented bicycles and explored a bit of Ipanema. Our neice Eva, who had been teaching English as a second language in Chile, arrived in Rio on her way back to Canada and shared the rest of the adventures with us. We did the "Christ the Redeemer" (on Corcovado Mountain) and the "Sugar Loaf cable car" one day. I'd advise getting to both very early in the day. We were tardy and found the crowds a bit off putting. We rented bicycles again another day and the three of us biked on Ipanema and then the length of Copacabana to Leme Beach. One morning Eva and I tried to explore the Favela at Morro do Pavao (a short walk from our flat). There's a new glossy two stage elevator to take you up into the Favela ... but the elevator was broken at the second stage, and people kept herding us away. The "look out, you may be robbed" problem I mentioned earlier.

The beaches are lovely and there's lots of them. I understand that water quality varies quite a bit -- e.g. we were told the water quality at Flamengo Beach and Botafogo Bay is bad but Ipanama and Copacabana are fine. The one thing we weren't warned about was the water temperature -- gosh it's very cold. Lots of folks come to the beach to sun bathe and never enter the water.

We had some nice meals at sea side beach restaurants where we rediscovered the simplicity of black beans with rice. Add some seafood and you're in business. We had a couple of dinners with conference colleagues. One at a at the "Meat/BBQ" restaurant - Porcão Rio's, overlooking Sugarloaf & Botafogo Bay. Kate took advantage of the copious salad bar. On the beach and at the restaurants we enjoyed good beers and plenty of caipirinha's (squish a lime with sugar, add plenty of pinga -- it's a raw white rum, shake with ice and serve).

After a week or so in Rio we flew back to Manaus which is in the middle of the Amazon basin. It's the capital city of the state of Amazonas. Manaus is (or was) known as the "Paris of the Amazon". That may be a bit of slur on Paris. It's an old city which had a hay-day at the turn of the last century when rubber was king. These days it's a large and very busy sea port. There are some very grand new buildings around the Ponta Negra where we stayed but most of the city is hard scrabble.

We went to Manaus not to explore the city (gosh Rio is probably the prettiest city in all of Brazil) but instead to explore the Amazon. We went on a 7 day boat cruise up the Rio Negro on a small boat called the Tucano. Our good friend Cindy met us in Manaus and shared a cabin with Eva. In total there were 15 clients on the boat so it was a cozy little adventure far from civilization.You can read about the trip in this letter to the agency where we booked our trip. I'll not repeat myself here. Suffice to say it was a great adventure, good people & staff with lots of things to explore. Time flew by. If you're in that part of the world do try the boat tour up the Rio Negro.

From Manaus we returned via Panama City where we had a 12 hour lay-over. We took advantage of the time there to explore (via taxi) the new and old city, the Panama canal and Flamengo Island.

Again, I have posted photo albums for all of the above on nearby blog pages. Browse those at our leisure.

The Tucano

This is a review I had prepared for Rainforest Cruises. Links to photo albums and more are in another day by day blog posting of 22 December 2012.

In brief we had a wonderful adventure cruise on the Tucano Dec 8-15, 2012 out of Manaus and up the Rio Negra in Brazil. There were 15 passengers on board (4 in our Canadian party, 2 Swedes, 2 Brits and 3+2+2 Yanks) and we all got along well. We were well served by the 8 in crew who worked long hours and were always cheerful. Everyday was chock a block full of adventures starting very early in the morning with a 5:20 wakeup, a 6:00-7:00 canoe trip (it's a narrow motorized boat not a "canoe"), then breakfast at 8:00, a 10:00 hike or shore visit, then lunch and a rest in the heat of the day, another canoe trip at 4:00-6:00, then dinner at 7:00, and finally an evening canoe trip (sometimes a talk instead). The day ends with tired but happy folks crashing into bed and a sound sleep around 9:30 or so at night -- no drunken evenings baying at the moon on this cruise.

The weather held. We had a few showers, some quite severe and entertaining to watch. We enjoyed a lightning storm one evening around dinner time. There was rain on some canoe trips were people got soaked, others where the weather was threatening but dry. But mostly it was sunny. And hot. And humid. Dripping wet humid. Hikes at 10:00 were always a dripping wet affair -- not from the rain, but from the sweat and humidity. I'd sometimes have a cool shower on return just to be refreshed. We visited a fishing village (where we met lots of kids), the ruins and old town at Velho Airao (where we got a soaking rain storm and ate fresh mangos which fell at our feet), the town and shipyards at Novo Airao (where the Tucano was built) and several forest walks.

Our rooms were very comfortable and well tended by Teresa the housekeeper -- rooms were tidied and beds made early in the morning when we were off on canoe trips. Air conditioning at night worked well -- I don't know if I could have taken the heat and humidity other wise. The "hot" water showers were a bit of a waste of time and a bother for the ship to manage (you could have hot water or you could have electricity and air conditioning). The river water was more than warm enough for showers. Twin beds couldn't really be pushed together to make a double, didn't even try. Overall rooms were more than adequate. They're not luxurious, it's not a huge cruise ship, but more than enough. Especially when you compare with the cramped boats we'd see go by ferrying people from town to town. There they slept in hamocks in the open with a shared bathroom. Each cabin has it's own private bath with flush toilet. A palace really.

Our captain Flavio navigated us up the Rio Negra seemingly by memory alone.

Sometimes by spotlight at night! I had asked about GPS but no they navigate by landmarks they recall. This can be dodgy at this time of the year when the water is very low. There was one dangerous rapids we went through and other times you'd see rocks and sandbars which would make navigation difficult. Flavio did well. We would occasionally see other boats -- locals fishing, ferry boats, tugs pushing sand-barges -- but mostly it was a solitary affair. The mechanic Flavio kept things humming on board and sometimes accompanied us on canoe trips.

One thing we especially liked was the food. Vilma, the cook, kept us well fed with an assortment of fresh fruits, vegetables, etc. Simply prepared but very tasting (when we got home I ran out to buy a mandolin to slice cabbage and vegetables to make salads like Vilma's). We had fish from the river several times and a couple of roasted turkeys. We learned to like manioc and experimented with different fruit juices -- some of the local fruits are very tasty, others not so. And local fruit based ice creams. All good to try. Perhaps the hiking and boating had us extra hungry. In any case we ate and slept well. There was plenty of wine, cold beer and sodas for drinks at reasonable prices. We brought some pinga, rum and fruit juice of our own. I enjoyed the caipirinha evenings where we learned about mixing lime, sugar and pinga. I had brought some pinga that I got for $4R at the Super Marcado in Manaus, another passenger was telling me about buying some at a bar where they charged him $40R for a bottle!! The thing about pinga is it's all raw alcohol -- it's a cheap white rum with tequila overtones. It's not a fine drink, so you shouldn't spend a lot.

Edivan and Souza were great guides with very good English. We enjoyed them both. The daily canoe trips to spot birds and animals were always fun and both guides have "eagle" eyes able to spot birds, flora and fauna at incredible distances. Souza spoke at a couple of evenings (instead of a night time canoe trip). Once on the fruits and nuts (which we got to see on tramps through the forest) and another time on the beliefs and superstitions of the natives. Both seemed to have good connections with the locals at the villages we visited. Locals would sometimes come to the boat to buy/trade for diesel fuel. One time we met some locals who needed some medicine for dysentery -- everyone on board was well equipped and more than happy to share. None of us came down with bugs of that sort (although one of our group came down with a flu/cold which she brought with her).

The deck hands, Pakita and Chakal, would sometimes drive the canoes for Edivan and Souza. They were great guys as well, always helpful, quick to laugh and fun to be around. They both joined us swimming on the creek. But otherwise were kept busy tending the canoes, washing our footwear and tending the ship.

Two adventures dear to us where about swimming -- Kate, my wife, is part fish. One day we took a canoe trip up a narrow tributary (where we saw a cayman -- one of many on the trip) and swam in a narrow creek with clear swift moving waters -- cool by local standards. Others continued up the river for a hike, Edivan and the Swedes stayed with us for the swim. Another day we swam on a sand bar on the Rio Negra itself where the water is very warm -- that same water we showered in. We talked to Edivan about swimming more often (why can't we just jump off the boat and swim). He expressed a concern about safety -- deep waters and critters in the water. I understand the concern but we would have liked to swim more often.

The trip ends in Manaus with a morning spent fishing for piranhas. We caught some and ate them that night. There was another forest tramp and this time we did get to see some monkeys high in the trees (often times on the boat we could hear howler monkeys in the distance) and a sloth up close -- it had fallen from the tree. And we saw the meeting of the rivers where the black Rio Negra meets the cloudy grey of the Amazon. Some music, a singer and more caipirinha's to close off a perfect trip. 

Some comments/suggestions for those thinking about taking this trip. Firstly, do go, it's well worth it. But be aware of a few things:

1.  You're going to spend a lot of time bird watching. Be prepared with good binoculars. 
2.  If you want to see birds, animals, etc. up close and personal go to a zoo (eg. at the Tropical Hotel). 
3. We were at the end of the dry season where the water is very low (some 17m lower than high water) with steep river banks exposed. At high water you're going to be able to canoe right into the forest. Perhaps the end of the wet would be the ideal time to go. 
4. You are roughing it a bit, it's not luxurious. Don't expect hot water and hot showers. Do expect good food! 
5. We stayed at the Park Suites which is right next door to the Tropical where the tour departs/ends. I'd recommend the Park Suites, it's a very short walk to the Tropical lobby. 

 Gosh, I've rambled far more than I intended. I hope this helps.

 PS. We got a good deal from Rainforest Cruises, others paid as much for bunks.

Panama City

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We went through Panama City on our trip to Brazil in December of 2012. On the way back we had most of a day to see the city. We rented a taxi and saw the old vs new city, the Panama Canal and had lunch on Isla Flamenco. It's a pretty spot.

Here's an album of photos from our visit.

Manaus

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We flew through Manaus Amazonas on our way to Rio de Janerio in November of 2012. On the return leg we did a week long boat cruise up the Rio Negro (another album). This album shows some of Manaus. It was once called the “Paris of the Amazon”. There is some lovely stuff to see, but it's a hard scrabble port city.

Rio Negro - 7

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Friday December 14, 2012 of our week long trip on the Tucano exploring the Rio Negro. Around Manaus - catching piranha, jungle walk, sloth, caught in the rain, meeting of waters, Manuas.

Here's a photo album of our adventures that day.

Rio Negro - 6

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Thursday December 13, 2012 of our week long trip on the Tucano exploring the Rio Negro. Morning canoe, town of Airao, shipyard, caught in the rain, making caipirinhas!

Here's a photo album of our adventures that day.

Rio Negro - 5

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Wednesday of our week long trip on the Rio Negro.

Bird watching in the morning, a deserted old town, rain in a village, a swim from a sand bar.

Here's a photo album of our adventures that day.

Rio Negro - 4

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Tuesday December 11, 2012 of our week long trip on the Tucano exploring the Rio Negro. Swimming in a creek, exploring big trees.

Rio Negro - 3

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Monday December 10, 2012 of our week long trip on the Tucano exploring the Rio Negro. Fishing Village.

Here's a photo album of our adventures that day.

Rio Negro - 2

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Sunday of week long trip on the Tucano exploring the Rio Negro. Morning canoe adventure where Eva is “attacked” by a dog fish, morning jungle walk, arriving at Fishing Village.

Here's a photo album of our adventures that day.

Rio Negro - 1

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Saturday of week long trip on the Tucano exploring the Rio Negro in December of 2012. Departing Manaus, first canoe adventure exploring the channels. Evening talk on fruits and nuts

Here's a photo album of our adventures that day.

Rio de Janeiro

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We arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Nov 30, 2012 and stayed at Flamengo Beach for a few days -- Kate had a conference. We then moved to a little flat we rented just of Copacabana Beach. Our neice Eva arrived from Chile and we did Christo Redentor and Sugarloaf.

We rented bikes and explored some beaches. Lots of fun, beautiful city.