Reflections on the Amazon Clipper Cruises and the Amazon

This was really an awesome trip. Boating down the amazon is an incredibly serene and scenic experience. The views are magnificent and the sounds of the jungle are great, especially at night. There weren't too many mammal sightings bit we did see many colorful birds.  I guess the amazon isn't teeming with life in the big animal sense but clearly there are tons of creatures all around. 

The Amazon Clipper Cruises: we were on the premium boat which was quite nice. I think the advantage over the traditional boat is enclosed with AC in the dining area and sitting areas. One complaint - no hot water for the first couple days because of a device failure that was repaired. Clearly the 6 day trip is a composite of the 3 day Rio Solimoes trip and the 4 day Rio Negro trips but the junction could have been more subtle than a 2 hour docking at the Tropical Manaus Ecoresort. In addition there could have been a little less repetition with the water lilies trip and the meeting of the waters bit. The Rio Negro portion is definitely the better portion with glassy waters, less insects and awesome scenery. However, in glad to have had the two for comparison. The Solimoes had more fish and hence more villages and more fishermen.  I'm glad I spent the week with the combo trip. The only alternative I would have considered is an ecolodge + boat cruise combo.  In terms of guides, Hugo was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable about the area, animals, birds, and flora. He was much better than the other guide on the trip - Christophe. 

The weather this past week has been fabulous. The forecast said rain daily but we only got rained on once and only for a few minutes. There was some reason at Night but that was pleasant. Otherwise, the weather was perfect - beautiful skies with breathtaking sunrises and sunsets.

Where to next? On board with us were some of the most week traveled people I've ever met. One couple was on a 10-month tour of the Americas and one guy was doing a 6 month tour of South America. I was very intrigued by tales recounted of trips to Sri Lanka, Antarctica, the Galapagos, and Madagascar. Many more trips to go!

Last day in the Amazon

Alas, it is over, so fast so soon. It's been a fantastic trip. In the morning we went to see the giant water lilies again. This time since it was morning the flowers were white and female instead of pink and male. We saw a number of cool birds including a flock of hoatzin, a red-crested woodpecker, and a night hawk.

We went back to the meeting of the waters but this time the Rio Negro side didn't look as dark so the contrast wasn't as sharp.

After we left the boat we had midday drinks with our new friends from the boat before their flight. We still had some hours to kill before our flight so we had lunch and then headed to the zoo in town which is run by the army and is populated by animals rescued by the army from South America. The zoo was really great (except for the equatorial heat and humidity).  We saw all sorts of monkeys, snakes including the anaconda, panthers, pumas and jaguars, lots of birds plus a harpy eagle, turtles and tortoises, and fish including the pirarucu.  The best part was that they were kept in large enclosures and when possible without fences.  I highly recommend a visit, especially for 5 reales pp.

Toucan

Black Jaguar

Jaguar on the prowl

Harpy Eagle - eats sloths

Pirarucu

Day 5 - last full day

This morning we went fishing again. The piranhas in Rio Negro are different from the ones on Rio Solimoes. There are no red ones here but there are the black ones which are the largest type, up to 5kg. Roberto, our resident fishing expert, caught two of these black piranhas. 

Morning canoe ride - glassy waters 

Passion flower

Our next excursion was a visit to an Indian village. Apparently during the early days of European settlement, ships traveling down the Amazon noticed that there were many Indians that were sick from European disease so they took them by boat to the town hospitals. Once the Indians got better they didn't want to go back to their sickly villages and created new ones in Terra preta - black earth. They came up with a new language that the mixed Indian people would speak. We saw the Indian people making farina and tapioca from manioc. We saw their pet tapir and macaws. We also saw their flat screen TVs and mobile phones and wondered how they could afford them. The only exportables we saw were the little souvenirs they made ranging from 3-30 reales which clearly doesn't buy each family a large screen TV.

Tapir

blue and yellow Macaws

In the afternoon, we went to see the pink dolphins. We paid 50 reales to take pictures with and touch pink dolphins that come up to a platform area off a floating river house.  They dolphins were not cages and allowed to come and go but stuck around because they knew they'd get feed fish by the people in the house. We all stood on the submerged platform as the dolphins came for their fish and we were able to pet them. I was surprised at how soft their skin was, much softer that the ocean dolphins I encountered in Mexico. Instead of sleek tight skin they had soft pudgy skin, maybe they were overfed :) then we tried our hands at fishing the largest river fish - the pirarucu - which we've had for dinner several times. This was an incredibly large and strong fish! No one succeeded of course.

Next we went on our last canoe trip and it was an awesome last trip. We were along the Arieu river area and saw a large ecolodge. Nearby we encountered a large group of squirrel monkeys that came very close to our boat and spent some time playing in front of us. They were adorable.
We also saw a couple hawks fishing and a sloth. We watched the sunset on the river. It was a great ending canoe trip.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Day 4 - on Rio Negro

Rio Negro is really spectacular. I woke up around 5 and headed to the top deck where I could see the glassy surface of the waters around us before anyone had a chance to disturb the surface. It was extraordinary. We headed out at 6 for a morning bird watching session. Along the way we heard the cries of howler monkeys but never saw them. We saw a number of parrots and vultures. I love seeing the half submerged trees in a submerged forest. There were also so low hanging clouds which formed a nice hazy background to the serenity of the morning forests.

   

We came back for breakfast and then tucked our pants into our socks (to prevent any invasion) and headed out for a jungle hike. There were surprisingly few mosquitoes but other little bugs. We had a special guy with us who wielded a machete and showed us the way. He showed us how you can make DDT from a plant stem and we saw a bug land in it and instantly die. Apparently, locals used to dump this liquid into the river and catch all the fish that suffocated from the poison which they then treated by drying or boiling for long periods to remove the poison. He also taught us how to spear a jaguar and how to make a blow gun. Along the way we saw 2 toads and a large tarantula.  We drew sap from a rubber tree and a gum tree - which I tasted and it was sweet and sticky. We didn't get bitten by ants but saw fierce colonies of bullet ants and combat ants. 

common toad

Bullet ants

Tarantula

  

After lunch the boat moved further down the Anavilhans archipelago. The narrowing water ways with elongated islands were gorgeous. We parked at the tip of an island. The view from the boat is everything I imagined from a riverboat on the Amazon - serene waters, trees abutting our boat with narrow waterways on all sides - magical Amazon beauty.

We went for a boat ride around the archipelago in the afternoon into evening. In addition to the great views of the water and trees, it was the trip of colorful birds. We must have seen at least 5 macaws, 6 toucans, and a few parrots. We also saw a sloth moving about! It was actually climbing along a tree limb and upright grasping on with his arms and standing on his feet. We also saw some hawks and an eagle. Despite all that we saw, the best was still just the sheer sight of the riverbanks and the reflections in the mirror like waters.

toucan

2 Toucans

 

After dinner, one of the tour guides - Christophe - gave a lecture about the Amazon including its history and cultures and current environmental conservation issues. I thought overall the talk was good but had several complaints. First of all, the dude was German and used all German slides for an English speaking tour group. He said he was just using it for the pictures, but how hard is it really to translate a couple slides when you're an English speaking tour guide? My other issues were content based so I won't get into it. In any case, I thought it was interesting that they put together a lecture, but it should have been optional.

Day 3 - heading up Rio Negro

Today was supposed to be a quieter day, which it was, but there was also plenty of excitement. We started the day by going to the meeting of the waters where Rio Solimoes and Rio Negro meet. Together the swirling of the brown water (which the locals call white water) containing silt from the Andes Mountains with the nutrient poor black waters looks like stirring milk into coffee.  We also saw many other boats including the passenger boats traveling along the amazon which locals take and bring their own hammocks. Our guide said it was 350 reales pp for hammock space and 400pp for a room.

Next we passed the port of Manaus where we saw many container boats and river boats. The numerous floating gas stations were also interesting. We also saw a cruise ship docked at the port.

When we arrived at Tropical Manaus, we headed to the seaplane dock where we went for a 30min flight over the meeting of the waters and Manaus (1400 reales split among 4 people). The flight was awesome. I rode up front with the pilot. I took a number of pictures and some video. I did end up getting a bit nauseated but that was due to the humid heat in the little plane and the sharp turns he took. The view however was great. I especially liked the view of the tributaries and the meeting of the rivers. We were able to see all the way to where the rivers combine to form Rio Amazonas.

Meeting of the waters

Where the rivers meet and form Rio Amazonas

After our flight, we returned to our boat where 7 additional people had joined our number - now up to 20 + 10 crew and 2 guides - and we headed up the Rio Negro which is an entirely separate ecosystem from Rio Solimoes. We were told that the water would be still like glass and the flora would be completely different. We headed up to the first tributary - Rio Cuieiras - and docked there for dinner.

After dinner we went on a night canoe trip. The water here is truly amazing. The water is still like a mirror reflecting the trees and sky above. My friend said it looked like polished onyx at night. We saw several snakes, two frogs including a poisonous one, night hawks including two baby ones our guide Hugo picked up.  He said he saw a large rodent but we didn't see it. The sounds at night were also different with a chorus of frogs and the occasional howler monkey in the mix. The scenery was truly magnificent.

Day 2 - absolutely amazing Amazon

Today was our first full day and it began super early at 5:30 for wake up. The weather was fabulous so we took the canoe out for bird watching. 

Sunrise

Canoe view

We saw so many birds including my favorite bird which is brown/red with light green tipped wings. It may be a kingfisher but not sure. We saw all sorts of hawks and herons, ospreys and egrets, hoitzins and parrots... We saw a lizard in a tree, 3 toed sloth, squirrel monkey, another monkey - maybe howler, caiman and more. It was a great trip and we didn't get stuck in the waterways. I also really like the trees with intricate roots and the curtain of vines from some trees. 

3-toed sloth

After our early morning trip we came back for breakfast and then headed out to visit a nearby village. It had a population of 200-300 and was the largest village in the area with a school that serves neighboring villages. We saw the kids taking the school boat. The town appeared mostly primitive but most people did have a satellite dish. We learned about many plants including a pod like cacao that makes a great refreshing drink (which we tried later) and supposedly great ice cream. We also visited Anna`s house where we learned more about the village people and met her dogs and Amazonian parrot. Along the way we saw festive parrots and a Scarlet macaw.

Festive Parrots

Amazon Parrot

After this was a great lunch and some free time. I spent some time chilling in the jacuzzi - literally the jacuzzi water was cold compared to the air and felt nice and cooling though the water was river water and silty brown. 

Later in the afternoon we went piranha fishing in Janauca lake. We used bull hearts as bait. It took me a while and one broken line to figure it out but I finally caught a piranha. Fortunately the boat staff took it off the line for me. The ride back was majestic. The lake was peaceful and serene. The sun was no longer beating down on us and the breeze was refreshing. The sunset was stunning.

Fishing spot

After dinner (no fish because while one of our cooks was trying to clean the piranhas she was injured) we went out for a night canoe trip. The lake was beautiful by moonlight.  We saw a bunch of caimans - big ones, baby ones, and Hugo even caught a couple to show us. We saw a 3 toed sloth again, some nighthawks, a lizard in a tree and heard awesome night jungle noises - a chorus of frogs and cicadas with birds and crickets chirping in.  The ride was very enjoyable and not at all scary, except for when we thought Hugo was going to get bitten by a caiman.

Sunset

Caiman