do we or don’t we

27th August. Wednesday, Anderson our neighbour, recommended strongly that we do a river tour before leaving. Before we could object, he’d made a phone call and had us booked for the next morning, 9am departure. So we went. Tours like this really aren’t our thing, but figured it could be fun for the kids who needed to get out and do something. At $20 CND each, it wasn’t going to break the bank.

Anderson, the man of many friends, also organized our Uber driver, to collect us on his way to work in the morning. He arrived at 7am, 30 mins early, just as I was serving breakfast. A quick gobble of breakfast and we were out the door. City traffic is always horrendous, it took nearly 2hrs to make it to the port.

We arrived just in time to board. Of course the day was 100% in Portuguese, so we went with the flow. The tour was full, approximately 50, many of them unhealthy overweight, thus they occupied more than their seat, leaving a wee perch for us to sit on. So we moved to the very back of the boat & sat outside.

swimming with pink dolphins

First stop was to see the pink river dolphins. A paid ‘attraction’ which we couldn’t deny the kids. The workers are in the water, enticing the dolphins to come close, by throwing fish. Then coaxing them with bigger fish into coming out of the water for photos is not our idea of fun. We preferred the more organic encounter they had on the 319.

Moving on up through the channels we navigated through the waterways that are well underwater, in just one month all this area will be dry.

Feeding Pirachu fish

Next stop was to see & feed the magnificent Pirachu fish with their armoured scales. The kids were pretty excited to see them, knowing exactly what they were.

They happen to be one of the largest freshwater fish. Its armoured scales, thick and mineral-rich, act like natural shields, making it nearly impervious to predators and giving it a living suit of armour. Only these were enclosed in pens where the tourists can pay to feed them, and have that experience. Which fattens them up so they are then killed and eaten by us humans, and the cycle continued.

Not wanting to be so negative, we allowed the kids to feed them and have their fun experience. Of course there were the gift stalls all laden with trinkets and treasures you never need. Moving on it was lunch time, a beautiful buffet spread out for all you could eat. Fruits, salads, vegetables, meat, fish, rice, spaghetti. It was endless. After lunch we took a short walk on an elevated wooden walkway to a view point. On the way we saw a few different birds, including a Jacaranda and a couple of spider tail monkeys.

indigenous Village

Back in the boat our next stop was to visit an indigenous village. While curious, we know we’re not visiting a real village, but more of the ‘traditional way of life exhibit’. The villagers live in houses with electricity, running water and have western clothing, drive cars and are as addicted to wifi (just like us).

Still, they were painted and dressed traditionally. Painted our faces, for money of course, 10R each. The danced, played instruments and posed for photos, which we didn’t partake in. We feel the same way here as we did with the dolphins. It was an amazonian circus, with animals and performing actors.

meeting of the waters

Back to the boat, everyone in their seats we sped off to the point where the Rio Negro meets the Amazon.

Just outside Manaus, the Rio Negro and the Amazon run side by side, refusing to mingle over the first 6km. One is a deep, inky black, the other a muddy, golden brown. Clashing together in a slow swirling dance. The Rio Negro is warmer and more acidic, while the sediment-rich Amazon carries cooler, neutral water. The difference in temperature, speed, and density keeping them apart like oil and water until further downstream they eventually balance and blend.

Our boat stops here and every one has their turn, except us, at sitting on the bow for their Kodak moment.

That was our day, we were back at the dock by 3:30pm, after passing by the industrial port where full size freight tankers were loading from the heavily laden ships waiting to load or off load.

Another day behind us we fell asleep wondering what adventure tomorrow will bring…maybe the Opera House…