Out of Town Trip

The final must-do for people visiting Manaus is take a trip about 2 hours away to a city called Presidente Figueiredo, home to many cachoeiras (waterfalls). Our friends Debora and Mark are always game to get out of the city, so they went with my brother and me. Unfortunately, Jay had to pass cause he had to work.
We left on a Friday morning by taxi- very reasonable and easy compared to a bus- and arrived in time for check-in and lunch. We stayed at a rather charming place called Pousada das Pedras that was filled with lots of flowers, plants, jungle animal carvings, and hammocks.
After a typical self-service lunch, we headed out to explore a nearby cachoeira. The trail through the forest to reach the waterfall was about a 20 minute walk, and along the way, we stopped to pose with this thick, hanging vine.

Once we reached the water, we had to cross part of the stream and try not to lose our shoes in the process! Here is Aaron up to his knees in the water. 

We hung out in the water for the afternoon and cooled off before heading back before the sun set. That night, we had dinner near our pousada at a very cozy Italian restaurant.  We all split a pizza, decided it was so good we wanted more, and ended up having 3 pizzas in all! It was all homemade and fresh, right down to the basil on top that the chef picked from a plant inside the kitchen. If only this place was closer!!

After getting through the night on an incredibly stiff "bed"- looked like a bed, felt like a plank of wood with a sheet- we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast and headed out for another cachoeira. This place was actually a nature reserve and was well cared for with labels on every tree along the trail. 

At the entrance to the park

After a 30 minute hike through forest, we reached our destination to find that we were the only people there. Considering we went on a holiday weekend, it was very fortunate and unexpected. The waterfall was especially beautiful, too. 

Cool effect from a foggy lens :)

Can you spot Waldo? 

We stayed in the water until we were hungry for lunch and caught a taxi to take us to our usual lunch place for grilled meat and all the fixins before heading back to Manaus. All of us slept part of the way back except for Aaron. Having permanent shot-gun ensured that he had the best view for all of the crazy drivers out here who pass on a solid line or on an uphill, pass on the right shoulder, etc. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss! 

It was so nice to spend a couple days away from the city in the middle of waterfalls and rainforests with some of my favorite people.  I'm already looking forward to going back for some of that yummy pizza!