Monday, March 9, 2020

2020 Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage, Manaus, Brazil, Part 2 of 3

Today, was a wonderful daylong adventure experiencing the Amazon River up close and personal. Cathy, myself and our friend Sarah Coles joined us as a fill in for Ann. We left the pier and crossed the river to swim with the pink dolphins. After this, we traveled 20 kilometers to the Meeting of the Waters...Our ride was on the Amazon’s Negro and Solimões rivers...the driver traveled until the right spot where the two rivers meet and run together side by side without mixing for several miles. From here, we started our trip down the Amazon tributaries through the jungle spotting wildlife and the large collection of Victoria Regia water lilies, the leaves of which can measure up to six feet across. Along the way, we stopped to go fishing for Pirarucu at a floating community...Pirarucu are South America’ s largest fresh water fish. Our next stop was to visit the Indigenous community...we were greeted by the chief and some members of the tribe presented a ritual, traditional dances and demonstrated a little of their culture. Sarah was able to experience a bucket list item, holding a sloth and I held the caiman, a mix between an alligator and crocodile and a boa constrictor while Cathy took the photos. We had a delicious lunch on a floating restaurant serving local Amazon Brazilian cuisine.  Behind the restaurant we walked on a suspended trail into the jungle to see the flora and fauna. The next adventure was fishing for piranhas, unfortunately we had no luck but Aldinei our guide did catch one for us to see its razor-sharp teeth. The rest of the afternoon we spent meandering along the Amazon taking time to appreciate the sights and sounds. We had a very enjoyable day with a very experienced and extremely Amazon guide Aldinei and driver Estrella. 






























































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