Amazon jungle was my dream for many years. Proper preparation had to take much time and money.. So it happened almost spontaneously) My birthday was approaching, and not just another one, but a kind of milestone, while I had no intention of celebrating it. Thus, I decided it was time.
When the unbridled and unquenchable craving for the unknown breaks free, it is important not to omit some details in order to get the most during the adventure. In the case of the wild nature of rainforests this means, first of all, finding a quality guide, the one whose experience would ensure that we get into all the wilds and get acquainted with all fundamentally important local inhabitants. Piranhas, pink river dolphins, anaconda, caiman, sloth, arapaima and indigenous people were required.
The solution was found through online search and feedback analysis: Carlos the Jaguar. Cheerful, loving his work, knowing the Rio Negro with all its tributaries and surrounding thickets like his own front garden, even married to a woman from a local tribe, Carlos solved the problem perfectly!
Outing 1: to the starting point.
We had to cover the distance of about 13,000 km (why don’t we say 13 megametres?) just to start the adventure! Please keep in mind the fact that we had to leave from a city highly developed, but very crookedly connected with the rest of the world. There’s even no direct flight to Madrid where the main part of the route begins. Then, having flown over the ocean and dispersed the fog with the wing, we found ourselves in Brazil, but not yet in the state of Amazonas! Brazil has the fifth largest territory in the world. It would take four days by car to get from São Paulo to Manaus, like for example from Moscow to Kemerovo - almost half the length of Russia, just to give an idea of the scale.
All flight connections were confirmed and all air tickets were issued. Two weeks before the departure, we purchased a direct flight São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) - Manaus (MAO) on January 15, then 18.01 to Foz do Iguaçu (GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes), and on January 21 from Foz do Iguaçu to Rio de Janeiro via São Paulo Viracopos (Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras).. But to keep us from getting bored while travelling, something went wrong.
At the check-in counter of Guarulhos airport they gave us boarding passes and we walked to the boarding gate. On the part of the staff, apparently, the “tropical” approach to business took its toll, and we by that time had been on the road for 45 hours, so we were thinking more about completing our air travel and boarding the boat than about our passports. In short, when boarding the plane, it turned out that they were missing. I was sincerely surprised why the employees, who saw our passports in front of them and knew the flight we were going to, did not want to simplify the situation and hand them over to us. Taking into account the long connection and short memory, we managed to figure out where the passports were left only after our flight took off without us.
As always, such an incident provided invaluable experience. For example, the following skills were acquired: “Find the right card and call from a pay phone in São Paolo to an Amazonian guide in Manaus through interference on the line", "Procure tickets to Manaus via Brasilia, speaking almost no Portuguese in a place where almost no one speaks any language other than Portuguese" and "Demand and receive free meals and refunds of the unused tickets under those conditions”.. Transfer in the Brazilian capital was a success. We ignored our physical exhaustion, feeling only the delight of being somewhere far away.
One way or another, 12 hours later than planned and a little more than 2.5 days after leaving home, we finally were on the Rio Negro! Moreover, a super bonus was revealed: instead of a small boat initially negotiated, a two-deck authentic Amazonian ship was waiting for us. Carlos just timidly asked if we wouldn’t mind if, in addition to his assistant, his wife and son went with us. The entire upper deck was ours! Downstairs, besides a toilet and a shower, there was a large table where breakfasts, lunches and dinners were served. The chance to have a rest on the ship was the compensation for our efforts. But, of course, as you will soon find out, the impressions of the next few days became the real reward. Given it was already past midnight, our pilots took the vessel to a hidden backwater, where we happily fell asleep in hammocks on the upper deck to the sounds of the night jungle.
