Amazon public ferries
And now we move into a new country Brazil and a new language Portuguese. Should make communication fun. Think we should have kidnapped Aili from the Roraima trek - Portuguese is one of her 7 languages.
Crossed border into Brazil very early in 
the morning and then had two long days driving in the truck to reach Manaus on the Amazon. Crossed the equator early on day 2 (never done that before). Had a chance for a quick look around on the day we arrived, then re-pack kit for ferry trip up the Rio Madeira, pizza in the main square, and a few beers to round off the evening. Up the following morning to the lovely sound of torrential rain. Bugger - need to go and buy a mossie net to go with a hammock I bought in Santa Elena. We also have new people to meet. Manaus is the end of leg 1 of my trip and the start of leg 2. We lost Brad, Tom, and Gareth from leg 1 (two US and one Brit down) and gained Kerry, Rhys, Starna, Niamh, Colin, Carol & Shirley (one more Aussie giving us 4 in total, another American, one Irish, and four more Brits). Met up with a few of them over breakfast, and then we headed off as a group into the rain for mossie nets. Mission accomplished, we were then driven down to the port in the truck. Last trip for a while: the truck goes in a different ferry to us. Dash around the port to find our boat and get our hammocks up whilst there is at least a little space. Very cramped but at least I had people from our group on either side (Niamh & Nas). Some of the others ended up with their hammocks touching other peoples or with others strung across them at a higher/lower level. Still only 2 nights on this public ferry before a change to another one further upstream. Maybe that will be less crowded. 
Had a little bit of time in Manaus before the ferry left, so Nas and Niamh and myself (the 3 veggies) set off in search of food. Found a nice salad bar and then headed back to a fresh juice bar we found the evening before. And then back to the ferry. Managed to pass the two nights and 3 days reasonably comfortably and saw some dolphins (
both grey and pink species) from the boat.
Crossed border into Brazil very early in 
the morning and then had two long days driving in the truck to reach Manaus on the Amazon. Crossed the equator early on day 2 (never done that before). Had a chance for a quick look around on the day we arrived, then re-pack kit for ferry trip up the Rio Madeira, pizza in the main square, and a few beers to round off the evening. Up the following morning to the lovely sound of torrential rain. Bugger - need to go and buy a mossie net to go with a hammock I bought in Santa Elena. We also have new people to meet. Manaus is the end of leg 1 of my trip and the start of leg 2. We lost Brad, Tom, and Gareth from leg 1 (two US and one Brit down) and gained Kerry, Rhys, Starna, Niamh, Colin, Carol & Shirley (one more Aussie giving us 4 in total, another American, one Irish, and four more Brits). Met up with a few of them over breakfast, and then we headed off as a group into the rain for mossie nets. Mission accomplished, we were then driven down to the port in the truck. Last trip for a while: the truck goes in a different ferry to us. Dash around the port to find our boat and get our hammocks up whilst there is at least a little space. Very cramped but at least I had people from our group on either side (Niamh & Nas). Some of the others ended up with their hammocks touching other peoples or with others strung across them at a higher/lower level. Still only 2 nights on this public ferry before a change to another one further upstream. Maybe that will be less crowded. 
Had a little bit of time in Manaus before the ferry left, so Nas and Niamh and myself (the 3 veggies) set off in search of food. Found a nice salad bar and then headed back to a fresh juice bar we found the evening before. And then back to the ferry. Managed to pass the two nights and 3 days reasonably comfortably and saw some dolphins (
both grey and pink species) from the boat. 
Arrived in Manicore late afternoon and transferred to next ferry. Did I wish it was less crowded than the previous one? No such luck - the captain had reserved a bit of space for us, but nowhere enough for 19 hammocks. Ended up wedged in next to Star with a post inbetween us. Made for a potentially uncomfortable night. However this could be offset by the fact that we managed to get into Manicore and buy some rum and coke for the journey. ;-) Only one night on this boat anyway before we transfer to a private boat we have chartered.
Must discuss ferry food somewhere in here, so why not now. Veggie option? Well that will be plain rice and/or pasta with some sort of salad (if you´re lucky). Good way to travel if you´re a vegetarian on a diet.
Camera stopped working during the evening, so until I get it fixed or buy a replacement, I´ll be begging the rest of the group for photos. Managed to survive the night and the next day. Schedule said we´d get into Juamita between 5 and 7 in the afternoon. Delayed a bit leaving Manicore so latest word was 8:30 instead. Most of us took our hammocks down and started getting bags packed at about this time. This was the signal for some of the other passengers to grab some space from us. Soon became clear that 8:30 wasn´t going to happen and neither was 9, 10, 11, or midnight. Strung some hammocks back up in the reduced space for people to get at least a little sleep. Found a nice spot on the floor for myself. Finally arrived Juamita at 3am and had to push backpacks, and ourselves through the multitude of still-occupied hammocks to get across to our private boat. At least now we can relax and sleep for a few nights.
Must discuss ferry food somewhere in here, so why not now. Veggie option? Well that will be plain rice and/or pasta with some sort of salad (if you´re lucky). Good way to travel if you´re a vegetarian on a diet.
Camera stopped working during the evening, so until I get it fixed or buy a replacement, I´ll be begging the rest of the group for photos. Managed to survive the night and the next day. Schedule said we´d get into Juamita between 5 and 7 in the afternoon. Delayed a bit leaving Manicore so latest word was 8:30 instead. Most of us took our hammocks down and started getting bags packed at about this time. This was the signal for some of the other passengers to grab some space from us. Soon became clear that 8:30 wasn´t going to happen and neither was 9, 10, 11, or midnight. Strung some hammocks back up in the reduced space for people to get at least a little sleep. Found a nice spot on the floor for myself. Finally arrived Juamita at 3am and had to push backpacks, and ourselves through the multitude of still-occupied hammocks to get across to our private boat. At least now we can relax and sleep for a few nights.
posted by Alan at 4:49 pm
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