Starting early (when don’t we?) by 07:30 we’re in a small car driven by a hulk called Nava, and his English speaking grandfather Mike, across the new-to-us bridge built in 2011 - happily we can see our gorgeous ship is already at anchor in the distance - and are heading along the AM-070 54km west of Manaus to a tiny hamlet on the banks of the Rio Ariaú. After we cross the Ariaú we take a comfort break, during which time we see Nava buying a few gallons of petrol, then head back under the bridge and down to the river’s edge. A third man, Caesar who is a local, appears in a tin boat and the others start to load up food, water, tarpaulin, even a machete appears at one stage - short clips of “Deliverance” are playing in my mind! The petrol is siphoned across and then we’re off downstream.
Rio Ariaú is a tributary of the Rio Negro, which in turn is a tributary of the River Amazon. Nevertheless it’s a huge river with jungle everywhere - once the road-bridge goes out of sight the only man-made items we can see are our boat and it’s contents. For an hour we are alone just enjoying the sights and sounds of the river. From time to time Caesar points out a bird, a tree and Mike translates but mostly words aren’t necessary and we soak up the experience.
We pull over and hop out up a trail, Nava remains with the boat, and we head into the jungle. The banjos are getting louder as the machete is wielded, but it’s only to present us with something to eat - a large yellow berry who’s name I cannot remember, it’s a cross between cheesecake and custard. Moving inland Caesar clears the way frequently and points out different properties of the over 150 kinds of pines and other flora found here, and also what to keep away from.
We smell more than see the monkeys overhead, indeed their native name translates as “stink monkey” and it’s clear why. We find roots that are literally full of the sweetest water to drink, nuts like coffee (but will kill you,) huge ants who’s bite will guarantee 24 hours of heart-palpitating misery, chewing gum, leaves to make furniture and shelters, and many others - rough for filing or sandpaper, super-sharp for shaving, antiseptics, insect repellant when burned - the list is endless.
After a fabulous walk we’re a bit overloaded with knowledge and we return to the boat continuing downstream. Caesar suggests that we could change to another boat nearby as it’s going to rain, we think we’re tough Yorkshiremen so getting wet isn’t a big deal and say no thanks. We continue for a while and slowly the drops commence. The deluge is much heavier that we expected even though we’re not jungle rainfall virgins - so much that Caesar cannot see to navigate, we pull under a tree, get out the tarp and shelter for a while, until he thinks it’s OK to move on. We see one other tourist couple at a wooden shelter with their guide and wave back as we pass.
The lull is a false hope and once again the rain gets heavy, this time we pull off and fishing rods appear - Nava is cutting up steak for bait and within minutes we’re pulling out piranha - they go back in the water. Meanwhile we’re now so wet cover seems pointless - at least it is warm rain. Caesar decides to break early for lunch and head back towards the same shelter, the other have gone by the time we get there.
All property around here is on stilts - the river level varies by several meters between its low in January and high in June, so we climb up into this elevated space , which we later learn is owned by Caesar’s brother, and the BBQ is lit. Meanwhile we try to wring-out our shirts, empty our water-logged boots and then take a wander to a nearby tree that is over 45m tall with enormous roots - the high tide mark is above our heads.
We feast on sausages and two types of fish, one is Tambaqui with the biggest ribs I’ve ever seen not on a shark or whale, between which is such a succulent flesh - this is a local delicacy.
After the feast we continue back downstream wandering the mangroves, in and out as though driving around the local neighbourhood, which is of course true for Caesar. Sometime the outboard goes off and man-power takes over - and the silence is awesome.
From time-to-time we emerge into the Rio Negro which is huge - one can hardly see the other side - before we nip back into the forest. We come across some ruins which is all that’s left of an hotel reminiscent of Jurassic Park - it was open from 1986 to 2016 and considered in equal parts one of the best in the world and one of the most ecologically destructive. With over six miles of walkways and 200+ rooms in towers, up trees and on stilts, it is quickly being reclaimed by the jungle.
Another fishing session starts, this time the going is better. Both Hubby and I catch ‘good ones’ - it’s interesting that the reds always go back, the white ones over a kilo are kept - Caesar tells us that Piranha soup is better than viagra! More foraging for berries - that tasted so bitter on nibble was enough - all three were hoovering them up to take home so they must be special, they are made into an ice cream and other deserts and are rich in vitamin C.
Throughout the journey we spot sloths, monkeys and birds. Sadly we don’t see any pink dolphins today. Because it’s wet we’re restricted to iPhone photography so long-shots are not possible, but it’s great to see huge sloths high up in the trees, previously we’ve only see the smaller variants.
After seven hours messing around on the water it’s time to go home and dry out. Dinner is again underwhelming but better than the previous night.
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