Category: Brazil

Brazil – The Final Dash

So my time in South America has come to an end. Decided to pack up stumps, book a flight and make a move. Before leaving I crossed into Brazil, from French Guyana, where I would catch a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Morocco before heading towards Europe.

For the last couple of weeks I was in South America I had beautiful glistening fingernails, nail varnish is definitely underrated. I honestly didn't think that getting my first ever paid manicure would end in this way. Not that I notice these sort of things but since when did men start wearing nail polish? My manicurist thought it was normal, she must have, she put it on. I thought "nah, she's not putting on nail polish, it must be something else that will get removed before this ends". How wrong I was. The distressing part was not that it was applied, but rather, how long it took me to take it off. Every time I would think about getting it removed I wouldn't be in the position to do so, and every time I was in the position to do so I wouldn't think about it. After all there are lots of pharmacies in Brazil. I honestly started thinking that my subconscious brain was telling me something that I didn't yet know about myself. 2 weeks of nail polish that you think (I think I think) you don't want to have on is a long time to have on. The lesson learned is don't get a manicure, it is far too confusing.

So from the nail polish town, Oiapoque, I caught a bad overnight bus to Macapa (10 hours, bumpy dirt track for a long period, arriving at 4am without a hotel. Not fun but part of the backpacking repertoire). Macapa is situated at the head of the Amazon where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. The river here is more like a ocean, quite rough and very wide. I came here not for my last view of the Amazon but rather to catch a plane south to Sao Paulo, another overnight experience which you try to avoid. I hadn't been in Sao Paulo since 1994. Really enjoyed my stay, walking around and unsuccessfully straining the brain trying to remember any sights.

After a few days I took a far more sociable day bus to Rio de Janeiro, my last stop in Sth.America. On previous visits I had done most of the touristy jaunts so except for a gondola up Sugarloaf my days were spent walking along Copacabana beach or the streets that were squeezed between it and the nearby mountains. It was in these streets that I found somewhere to stay and it was here that my landlord, Pedro, invited me out on his sailboat with his family, Anna & Marianna. Had a great afternoon on the boat, cruising past Sugarloaf to the other side of the harbour, beers were plentiful and another great memory was added to the plethora of previous ones which will define my adventure in South America. Oh yes, the nail polish came off my second last day in Rio. Morocco and nail polish combination, maybe, but I wasn't going to risk it.

Brazil – The Amazon

As I mentioned in my last blog, to leave Columbia I was going to take a boat along the Amazon. I really thought that this was going to be the most boring part of my trip so far, remembering that these boats are not cruise liners, they are basic boats for people and cargo movement. It did sound adventurous though...'Cruising down the Amazon'...evoking movie like thoughts of piranhas, monkeys and snakes dangling from trees. But my sensible self had major doubts. The trip to Manaus, Brazil would take 4 days, 3 nights. I had splurged on an air conditioned cabin which cost around $US250 rather than sleep outdoors on a hammock which was a quarter of the price. My reasoning was that with my camera gear open on the deck, the chances of a 'problem' over 4 days was too great for me to take the risk. Food was included (hello chicken, beans and rice) and so the only thing to do was to keep myself amused for that period of time. The boat left from Tabatinga, Brazil which is joined to Leticia, Columbia without a true border. So for the second time this trip I could walk back and forth from country to country without any passport formalities. So on the day of departure I left to Tabatinga from Leticia without a great deal of enthusiasm for the trip ahead.

There were 2 other tourists on board, Michelle and Sebastian, both Germans, but not travelling together. They took the hammock option which turned out to be a good deal as there wasn't an over supply of passengers on board, probably around 40 others. This gave them enough space, without overcrowding. I think I was the only passenger on board who used a cabin. My main memory of the trip would be how I could go to my cabin, spend a few hours in it, and when I got out the view would be so identical to when I went in. Brown river surrounded by green jungle on both sides for the entire 1000km journey. Only when we arrived at a town would 'action' occur. These towns were isolated and would only receive goods via boat so when we arrived there was a lot of loading and unloading going on as well as the changing of passengers. So other than sleeping, eating and the nightly ritual of playing cards (games of 500) with my German friends, my time was spent on my tablet (no Internet of course) or walking around the decks. Was it boring? Sort of, but I was disappointed when the trip finished. Boat life gets you into a routine, no decisions to make, easy living. Quite the opposite to backpacking around the continent.

So we arrived in Manaus, quite a strange sight, such a large metropolis surrounded by 100's of kms of jungle all around. This city was a boom town in the past when rubber plantations were big business. This brought with it riches that a particular bloke used to build, with European designers and materials, an ornate and 'are you sure you're not in the wrong place' grand theatre, the "Amazonas Theatro". Beautiful and intricate. So the camera went into overdrive, sort of anyway. I am having big problems with the lens that I use the most, not communicating with the camera body, creating either no shots or totally over exposed ones. Not happy, but nothing I can do for a few months. My other main memory of Manaus will be that Indios Manoas Hostel's last ever guest will be me. I was told that 5 years ago they used to have so many tourists they would be sleeping on the floor, but gradually the tourists have dried up (in the middle of a rainforest, irony?) and so it was time to close the doors. Shame, but a life time first for me.

Onwards and upwards. Left Manaus on a 12 hour bus north that took me to Boa Vista where more unfortunate Venezuelans slept in the open escaping their country's plight. From there I caught a bus immediately to the border of Guyana.