Again just a few days have past, but we already have a thousand new memories to write home about! We are now in Manaus after a quite turbulent flight from Belem. We were picked up from the airport by people from the hotel we had booked accomodation with, and it was a huge relief when the short guy next to the driver turned out to be English speaking � finally!
The next day we spent sniffing around Manaus, which is a supercozy city with hilly streets � la San Fransisco � only then with Portuguese colonial architecture, of course. The city is far better kept than Belem, and the beautiful Teatro Amazonas is lighting up just 100 m from our hotel. The place in front of the building has a beautiful fountain as a center, and locals as well as the few tourists here, are enjoying life in the little caf�s under the mango trees. At night, one of the stands close by is playing jazz music on old vinyl records, which just supplements the already hypnotising atmosphere � like taken out of an old black/white movie!
But besides this nostalgic part of the city, there are also top modern shopping malls here, which, due to the cinemas, is a huge delight for us! Finally, we could just sit down on our hinies and be entertained, without having to live with the Portuguese phrases � lovely! I let Rob choose the movie, as the percentage og girly movies was beginning to drive gender equality out of balance, but by coincidence, his choice of �Hitch� made it another girler (a funny one, though!)
The next day, we wanted to see �the meeting of the waters�, where the cola coloured Rio Negro meets the caf� au lait coloured Rio Solimoes, and the two flow side by side without for a long way, without mixing because of differences in speed, density and temperature. Once again we were too cheap to go on an organized tour, and once again it turned out to be well worth the �effort�: We rented a boat with captain and he rocked us in the speed of choice past floating Texaco gas stations and enormous freight ships to the �meeting point� which in itself was a fascinating sight: is this possible??? But even better yet: We could jump into the water, so that on our own body we could feel the difference in temperature in the two rivers that, at this exact point, flow together to create the biggest river in the world: the Rio Amazonas! All this without any other people in the range of sight, which would never have been possible on an organized tour. And once again: Just as we thought things couldn�t get any better, two river dolphins jump out of the water to disappear in the dark water the moment after. If Rob hadn�t seen it too, I wouldn1t have believed my own eyes, untill later, when we saw even more of the beautiful creatures doing the same � an unbelievable experience!!! We had to hurry back, though, as a tropical rain shower of the highest rank was threatening in the horizon.
The following day we checked out of the hotel to move north to Presidente Figueiredo, an area, that according to our new guide book, should house numerous waterfalls. We hadn�t heard about it anywhere else but it sounded promising, and so far we had had great succes with walking off the beaten track. Despite warnings about difficulties with getting around once there (an organized (and expensive) day tour would be way better � according to the tour organizer), we decided to take a bus up there and see what we could figure out. Without problems, we found the cozy hotel, that the forementioned tour organizer did recommend us (�Just say hi from George!�... whose existence the people there had only a vague idea of...) and shortly after went to see the first waterfall, which was supposed to be within walking distance (we were even offered a lift, but decided to walk). We easily found it and shortly after found ourselves in the cool running waterfall side by side with the locals. It was pure delight, and Rob was thrilled when he, together with the young guys from the village, used the fall as a water slide � who needs aqua parks?
Already the first day we had arranged with a motorbike taxi driver that we could rent his bike for a day for around 15 Euros, and it stood ready for us at the hotel at 9 o�clock sharp. We were equipped with a map over the area, and some recommandations of specifically beautiful waterfalls, and off we were! Five minutes of riding, and then it started RAINING!!! Already wet, we rescued ourselves under the roof at a hotel, where we could sit the rain out, and whereafter we started walking down the dirt road to the waterfall closeby. After a very beautiful walk through a little stream through the rain forest, we came to the waterfall, which wasn�t so big, but still charming. Further along the river and through the jungle, we came to a bigger one, where we could even swim! And further on, we came to a cave, where the bats were flying around us. Realy a nice trip, but we were hungry and wet, so we went back to the bike, got some food and went back to the hotel to change. Next stop was Samuel (we should just say hi from Johnny from the hotel...) so he could show us the cock of the rocks, a bird which the area is famous for, and a cave nearby. Samuel vaguely knew someone called Johnny, so he got his nephew to show us the cave (the bird wasn�t out because of the bad weather). After a Brownsberg-like walk through the jungle, we came to a waterfall, falling over the entrance of a huge cave. The guide had brought a strong flash lamp, and the three of us went into the dark � again, again no other people around. The bats flew over us, while we went through the dark tunnel through pebbling water to our ancles, but surprizingly, these were not the only life inhere: At one point, the guide lifted a stone that turned out to be the home of a little fish which swam out, obviously confused by the sudden light. Closeby, we were presented with a little shrimp, and we were more than thrilled, when there � deep in the dark � we discovered a glas-like flat frog with tiny eyes. The camera was glowing, becuase Sam (our frog guide from Brownsberg) HAD to see this! The cave in itself was very beautiful, and extremly deep: after walking for around twenty minutes, we had to turn around, because further on (!) there were too many bats.
After the amazing experiences in Presidente F. we went on to Balbina, where there should be a care center for manatees, that live only here in the Amazon. These threatened mammals are brought to the place by locals, often youngs whose mothers have been killed, having been hurt, mistreated or even tried killed. They are hunted because of their meat, skin, or simply for pets, as they are just adorable � often by people who have no idea of how to keep them. When we came to the bus station in Balbina, however, noone knew about the place, but Portuguese spoken Salvatore from the restaurant closeby, waved at us to follow him and showed us the 15 minute walk to a woman who had stickers of manatees on her car. This was not the place, though, but she worked there, and offered us a lift, if we could wait an hour or so! Salvatore showed us back to the restaurant, and on the way, he showed us different fruit trees, such as banana and mango. He let us taste three different kinds of mangos and at one point he even climbed up a tree to get us one! All for two white noses he just met, and couldn�t even understand!
After delicious fish in Salvatores restaurant, the woman picked us up, and the even better English spoken intern was also in the car. They drove us the quite long way to the center, where we were introduced to the extremely cute animals. They were just about to be fed, and when she asked us if we wanted to help, we were speachless � how lucky could we be?! The little fellow came up to the surface and I had to hold his chin, so he could drink. He looked up at me with his little eyes and even blinked at me while I cuddled his soft skin. Their skin is very soft, not rubber-like like dolphins would be, but more like human skin, just cool. There were big ones and small ones and even a pregnant female! Besides, they had giant river otters, normal otters, two colourful aras, huge river turtles and last but definitely not least: two tapirs freely walking around having a good time! And then there was the little baby manatee, that was lying on his back all the time, showing us his pink mark, which is individual, just like finger prints. It was super cute, but actually he had become a little bit crazy as a result of mistreatment: His human foster parents hadn�t given him enough water to swim in, and even now under better circumstances, he still felt most comfortable upside down. But at least now he is a happy nutcase, deciding for himself how he wants to lie! And all this was presented and explained by the intern, who answered all our questions. The price? Not a penny... We asked if we could give a donation for the good cause, and were drowned in thanks and smiles in return, and I definitely had to bring a T-shirt as a memory! They even gave us a lift to the bus, and while we were waiting for it at some kind of guard post, we had one of the mangos, that Salvatore had given us. When the �guards� saw it, they threw a coconut-like fruit to us, that we were supposed to smash and taste. It was delicious, and they happily showed us another fruit that was a bit sour, though. We are still overwelmed by the friendliness and hospitality we have experienced the last few days, and we are so happy, that we decided to go on our own!
We are now back in Manaus, where we went to the cinema once more, after having booked the plane ticket south to Porto Velho for tonight. We hope to be at the Bolivian border crossing somewhen tomorrow and after that many hours of bus or boat travel south to La Paz are waiting for us. Doesn�t sound too thrilling, but who knows � we might have a lot of fun on the way!
Take care, everyone, and let us know what is going on!
Rob and Berit
PS.: New pictures on the web site!