Our first day in the Amazon was one not to forget. After our red eye flight and early arrival into Manaus, Brasil, we took a taxi to the Tropical Hotel. I had stayed at the Tropical on my last visit and it is unique as it sits on the Rio Negro and has a small zoo and an excellent pool.
We were met by our guide Captain Mo Jr. and his fiancee Jenny. He is the classic Brazilian with fantastic stories, wealth of knowledge and a huge smile. We were taken straight to the boat, the MV Dorinha. It is an amazing boat that holds 24 passengers and has all teak wood. We all toasted on caprihanahs which are full of sugar but felt we would be impolite not to finish the concoction.
Clayton has been enjoying himself, taking loads of photos and taking in the sights. After lunch we quickly departed Manaus and heading south to the Solomon river. Manaus is a thriving metropolis with about 1.7 million people. We immediately set anchor at the wedding of the waters and passengers Kiev Faber, Bob Baker (whom previously skied to the South Pole with me in 2000/2001), Clayton and myself launched swan dives and front flips off the top deck of the MV Dorinha.
The wedding of the waters is a unique phenomenon where the Rio Negro meets the Solomon River. The PH balance of the Rio Negro is much higher than the Solomon, so when both rivers run side by side for close to 75 miles the waters stay separated. The Solomon is the color of muddy brown, and the water of the Rio Negro is dark. The consistency of the waters are also very different. We swam from one side to the other and could feel the difference in texture and temperature. The muddy Solomon was several degrees cooler than the Rio Negro.
After a brief swim we ventured down the Solomon River and exited the Dorinha and we all got into the wooden dugout canoes for a several hour wildlife excursion. We saw howler monkeys and spider monkeys jumping and flying through the trees. The Amazon Rainforest is so full of life. We saw Macuas, herons, vultures, Watsons (which look like big prehistoric chickens that fly), sloth and a lot of insects – bugs and spiders.
It was an amazing first day. Clayton and I are exhausted from not getting much sleep and we had some fantastic food on the MV Dorinha with fresh fish, chicken, salad, and manioc flour(which is native crunchy flour that they eat at every meal.) The sunset was amazing over the rainforest and the sunset was around 7pm. We pulled up the anchor and are heading further south to a new location. Dinner is being served and we will do an evening excursion this evening if I can stay awake.
The Amazon is an incredible place. An awesome day meeting new friends and old,
