There are really big turtles here!

I finally saw them last night. They are in their own pond. I tried to get a picture with my hand to show size but I got too nervous they would bite me.

Day 1 - Manaus

Breakfast was a large spread of foods I've never tried. It was hard to choose. I had tapioca crepes with dried fruit and condensed milk which was quite good. The little couscous pyramids were not very yummy. I surprisingly like passion fruit because they were super tart. They also had a guarana juice that was delicious - the internet tells me that in addition to containing a lot of caffeine, guarana can be used as an appetite suppressant and an anti-platelet.

After breakfast we briefly visited the zoo on premise. Briefly because in tropical rainforest fashion we found ourselves in a downpour. We did however find the jaguar who deigned to stand up briefly to acknowledge our presence. Tomorrow we will return for a guided tour.

Next we headed into town and visited the downtown area. We saw the outside of the Teatro Amazonas, as it was closed. We then happened upon an outdoor market where I bought a blowdart gun :)  and we also got some trinkets and some paintings.

After shopping, our appetite suppressant wore off and we headed to lunch. We went to Churrascaria Bufalo and ate our fill. The lamb was super succulent and the grilled pineapple was something to remember (and to try at home!).  It was awesome to be eating at a Brazilian steakhouse in Brazil and enjoying a traditional caipirinha.

Jaguar in zoo - this doesn't count as the one I requested.

Teatro Amazonas

Cool piece of wood in the hotel

Breakfast selections

Arrival in Manaus, Brazil

I was very impressed by American airlines today. We boarded our flight to Miami 15m late and ended sitting on the plane for an hour until they announced that a defective engine part could not be fixed and had to be replaced so we had to deplane and wait for a replacement plane. Of course, this sounded to me like we were going to miss our connection to Brazil. However, to my surprise, about 20m later they led us to a new gate and started boarding the replacement plane. We arrived in Miami only 1h20m late and made our connection without issue. The entry into Brazil was also very quick and smooth. Only complaints - particularly small seats on the planes and very limited free content on the international flight.

Our Taxi ride and check in at the hotel - Tropical Manaus Ecoresort - were also smooth and quick. So far I've only seen the interior of the hotel and am quite impressed by the hallways which are regal with spacious walkways and oversized wooden doorways.

I look forward to checking out the rest of the hotel tomorrow, including the zoo and the turtles they promised near the swimming pools.

Amazon bound

In less than 24 hours I'll be looking at the banks of the Amazon river, I'm super excited about this trip. I will be cruising down the river on the Amazon Clipper for 6 days with little excursions on canoe and on foot into the forests and waterways. A friend of mine asked what animal I'm most looking forward to seeing. I thought about this long and hard because of my prior luck with requested nature sightings (see my entries on Costa Rica) and decided on a large cat - ie a puma or jaguar. I figured they are hard to happen upon but maybe we'll get lucky and spot one checking us out from the riverbank as we float by (I don't think I actually want to run into in one while walking in the forest.

My checklist of other hoped sightings include pink dolphins, cabybara - largest rodent, caimans - surprisingly small gaitors, monkeys (of course), some birds in the parrot/macaw family (not too picky on which ones) and anacondas - again, not any where too close by.

Let's see what happens!

(Unlike most trips I won't have continued internet access so my entries may have to wait until I come back.)