Welcome to the Jungle

We were exhausted from the previous day’s activities and from our own proclaimed motto “no sleep till Manaus”. With little to no sleep we hit the road once again, leaving our hotel at 430 in the morning. There was little to no traffic at that time in the morning and we made it to the airport in a breeze. We have been very fortunate to have wonderful guides, as Angela our guide from Rio quickly and efficiently checked us into TAM airline. We said our goodbyes to our exuberant guide of just one day, to begin the long journey ahead.

 Finally after waiting at the airport we boarded our flight at 730 am. At this point we were exhausted and antsy to reach our destination. We were surprised to see some familiar faces of the flight attendants that we had once before. Without breakfast in our stomachs or adequate sleep it was a grueling flight. We traveled first from Rio to Brasilia and then from Brasilia to Manaus. The airline offered a selection of toffee candy and some crackers and jam as snacks. We were hungry to no avail. Once we reached Manaus we were met with hot, sticky humid weather. We quickly scrambled to change into appropriate clothing such as tank tops and shorts. Not too long after we decided to try Bob’s Burgers for lunch. The have been in business for 50 years and I would describe them as the Brazilian McDonalds.The language barrier was evident as we tried to order our food. I ordered a series of burgers, fries and shakes for the group. I know what you are thinking “how can they be eating hamburgers and fries on a trip to Brazil?!” but I assure you after a long and arduous trip, it was much needed. We were greeted at the airport in Manaus by representatives of Ariau Towers which was to be our hotel for the remainder of our trip. We made our way by bus to a nearby hotel where we had to wait for a boat to take us to our final destination. Our boat was late and we waiting for another 2 hours.

During this time a stray dog befriended us and I named her Bonita. Finally as the boat arrived and ourselves and luggage were on board, Maria asked the driver “how long will it take to Ariau?” he responded 90 minutes. We all laughed as we thought it was a joke, turns out we would spend the next 90 minutes aboard the pantera negro. The ride was smooth and the breeze blew through our hair. Sunglasses on, I decided it was the perfect opportunity for a nap. The rest conversed over a scenic trip through the amazon waterways bordering the rainforest. When we arrived at the hotel, it was nothing we could have expected.

Ariau hotel is an eco-hotel which is comprised of 8 towers directly on the Ariau River which means “Potato River” in Portuguese. However there was one of the worst floods in 50 years and the first floors of all the towers were flooded. The towers themselves constructed of wood, looked like giant tree houses directly on the water. Because of the flooding there are planks situated to get from one area to another. The main tower houses the cafeteria, check in and shops. Some of the other towers house hotel staff and the rest are for guests. There is a boatman on call that ferries people across the river from one tower to the next. There is also a yacht located near the main tower which boasts a TV, pool table and sun deck. As Joe pointed out we were MILES away from any roads.

 The landscape was amazing, like a scene from a movie and felt surreal. The hotel laid out a buffet for dinner and to go on our first excursion soon after. We met with Mike our tour guide after dinner, and there was something very familiar about him. Turns out that Mike is the same ethnic background as I and has been living in Brazil for 20 something odd years. I was immediately intrigued and delighted to see another Guyanese person in the middle of the Brazilian amazon. At around 730 at night we set out on our first of many adventures “Caiman Hunting”. It was night and we set out by boat manned by 3 men, one our guide, another who held a spot light and the other the driver. We rode through the amazon waterways in darkness. No light just the water, and the water splashing lightly in your face. The sounds of insects and animals filled the air and the sky was clear enough to see the little and big dipper. Intermittently the sky would light up with a streak of lightning. We came to a small clearing, in which the guy with the spot light jumped out of the boat. We were instructed to be quite and still. He reached into the water and pulled out a small Caiman, whom is a relative of the alligator. In the boat which was now in the middle of the river, in complete darkness except for the spot light we gazed at this amazing creature. Interesting Fact: Caiman’s tongues are attached to the bottom of its mouth and it has a protective layer over its eye to help it see in the water. We had the opportunity to touch and hold the Caiman and I was excited and the first to hold this Amazonian creature. Anne and Maria hesitantly held the Caiman as well but were not looking too thrilled. After we all had the opportunity to hold the Caiman, Mike released her back into the water and darkness of the Amazon.

We continued back into the night at times ducking under low branches back to the hotel. Exhausted yet invigorated we retired back to our wooden rooms. With no outlets, frequent power outages and the amazon right at our feet, I feel we are in touch with nature and will have the most valuable experiences of the trip right here at Ariau Towers.