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.