The very first weekend Jay was in Manaus, we took an awesome boat trip with friends on the Rio Negro and Rio Solimões, aka the Amazon River. We started out early at the dock downtown, and one of our friends got to work finding someone with a boat. That part was fairly easy, but it took some friendly negotiations to agree on a reasonable price for the six of us.
Once that was settled, we climbed aboard the small speed boat and cruised down the river to see the "Meeting of the Waters". All but one of us had seen this before, but it was still so cool to see it again. Because of the density of the two rivers, when they meet, they flow side by side for miles without mixing. Oh, and we even saw a dolphin frolicking when we stopped the boat to take pictures. Unfortunately, there is no photographic evidence of that, but you can take my word!
On our way to the next destination along the river, a small boat of natives pulled beside us with lots of indigenous animals for us to hold. Jay and I both preferred to watch our friends hold the huge snake and crocodile, and I should have known better when the guy handed me a sloth. Granted, they do look kind of cute, but they use their sharp claws to hang onto trees all day long, and in this case, to hang onto my legs! It was my fault for not holding him the right way, but how many times do you practice holding a sloth?!
We continued on up the river to Vitória Régia, which should have been full of beautiful 3 feet wide lily pads like last year. However, because of no rain or too much rain- I can't remember now- there was only one small and shriveled lily pad. The trip there was still worthwhile though since we had a great buffet lunch of fish, chicken, salads, fresh fruits, rice, and beans at the floating restaurant.
After a satisfying lunch, our boat driver took us down the river to see a beautiful part of the river where the trees are submerged in the water. It creates a very peaceful and quiet setting- we even turned off the motor on the boat to take advantage of the serenity there. There is one enormous tree in the water, and our driver told us that the locals hit it in certain patterns as a form of communication in the jungle.
The final part of the day was full speed ahead in the boat back to the port in Manaus. It was so much fun feeling the wind on our faces. Such a nice break from being so hot and sweaty, although we got hot again on the walk back home and just had to stop for some ice cream!
This was such a memorable day and an experience we will definitely share with any of you who come visit! And we won't make you hold any wild animals :)
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