Manaus and Amazing Amazonia 8)

Aerial view of the Rio Negro in Amazonia!

At the end of August, we traveled to the city of Manaus.

It is far northwest of Såo Paulo and about a 3-hour flight.

We had heard so much about it and were very excited!

After arriving at our hotel on Wednesday afternoon, 

we went first to the Manaus Temple.

A very short drive up the street.

It backs up close to the river.

(view of Morni from the boat)
 The original/practical plan was to have a dock
for members to arrive by boat.  However, the only way the city would approve
the idea was if "everyone" could have access to the dock.
So, nevermind~

This is an unusual temple with weekday sessions, 

only in the afternoons and evenings.

Relatively new, opened in 2012.

It was, as usual, amazingly beautiful.

Inside and out.

This is a HOT/HUMID city.
But of course, inside here, the climate is perfect.

These are photos from around our hotel.

We loved the Tropical Hotel.  Old but elegant.  Two or three buffet meals a day!

No time for lounging here, but lovely to look at.

Randy took this photo of our room number.
Memories of Harrisonwood Drive :)
(house number)

A very classy gift shop/art gallery here.

This is a mosaic of the Municipal Theatre that we would see later in the trip.

Delightful 3D carved nativity for sale.

Uncommon small sewing machine!

Borboletas (butterflies) and toucans galore!

Almost all Brazilian shops with art have some version of
The Last Supper

-this is a small rock mosaic-

We took a walk up the road to see the beach!

And the skyline~

of the city in the jungle.

Brazilians - they really spoil their dogs!
Share - your ice cream~

We were surprised that there would be this
beautiful beach on the bank of a river.
A big river!

The next day, we were also surprised to learn that we would see dolphins in the river.

This is their lunch feeding party.

   The Amazon river dolphin is found throughout the Amazon.

It is particularly abundant in lowland rivers with extensive floodplains.

During the annual rainy season, these rivers flood large areas of forests and marshes along their banks.  The Amazon river dolphin specializes in hunting in these habitats, using its unusually flexible neck and spinal cord to maneuver  among the underwater tree trunks, and using its long snout to extract fish from hiding places in hollow logs and thickets of submerged vegetation.  When the water levels drop, the dolphins move either into the main river channels or into large lakes in the forest and take advantage of the concentrated prey in these reduced water bodies. 

They feed on crabs, small turtles, catfish, shrimp, piranha and other fish.

They are "protected" under Brazilian federal law.

I had never been so close to a dolphin  :-)

Our next stop was a stroll through this authentic Indian village.

I don't know which tribe.

The city Manaus is named after the Manáos tribe, now extinct.

Primitive little cemetery.

I expect that the Indians are here mainly to perform for and sell to the tourists.
But it was fun, if a little startling to see these
 half naked natives and their families~

Then we moved up river to visit an old rubber plantation.

We stopped in at this plantation home

where this adorable child was napping in the heat.

Very charming old home.

View of the side yard.

This was the simple, slow method to manufacture or
process the rubber extracted from trees.

I lifted one of these big "balls".

It was heavy but bounced exactly like a rubber ball.

Now we are traveling to a most interesting spot in the river.

Notice the view out the window.

Strangely, two colors of water !?

“The Meeting of the Waters” is the confluence between the Rio Negro, a river with dark (almost black colored) water, and the sandy-colored Amazon River.   For 3.7 miles the two rivers’ waters run side by side without mixing.  It is one of the main tourist attractions of Manaus.


 This phenomenon is due to the difference in temperature, speed and water density
of the two rivers.

 





View from the back of the boat.

Now a little motorized canoe ride.

Through the jungle.

Little soliciting children.
Gotta get their candy and coins somehow!

These and the birds were the only Amazon animals we saw that day.

We thought we might see at least a snake, monkey or something!

Maybe if we had another day and went deeper?

Lots of crazy trees.

Indescribable atmosphere,  you just had to "be there".

Then a little walk to see the "famous water lilies".

Because of brochure and internet ads,

I was expecting something kind of like this:

or at least - this!?

But this. was. it.  Looking down from the bridge.- Really?

I guess they have their "season" and this was not it.

The floating restaurant where we had

another luscious all-you-can-eat lunch.

After lunch, there was time for fishing, and shopping, of course.
Huge craft market in the background.

Our guide made the catch look easy,

but Randy was here for quite a while with not a nibble!

Coming back, approaching evening on shore.

Early on our last day, Saturday, we did a private van city tour.

The homes are so darling and colorful!

Formerly, this was the Governor's Palace
of the state of Amazonas.

It is now a cultural center/museum/showcase.

This is the outside of the majestic mansion.

This is a type of 3-D painting.  They have something similar, but larger,  in the temple lobby.

An old city - not everything has been "restored".

Another famous Municipal Market,

there is one in every big city.

yum  ?

This is a most interesting fish market.

The boats float in early in the morning after fishing at night.

As the morning goes on the water backs out while the boats stay until sold out.

Customers lean over the rail and the fishermen will

throw up your choice of the catch.

Then you throw your money down in a bag :)

Our guide explained about this huge soccer stadium:

Before the tournament started, the Arena Amazonia in Manaus was used as the prime example of World Cup Waste. Manaus is a remote city in the middle of the rainforest that doesn't have a first-division soccer team. The $300 million arena hosted four World Cup group stage games. In mid-December, 2014, the Associated Press reported that there had been just 11 events there since the tournament ended the previous June — four professional soccer matches, 

one amateur tournament, three religious events,

 two concerts and the celebration of the city's anniversary.

Impressive monument to the opening of the harbours in Brazil.
Poseidon on top.


We finally learned the origin of this popular wavy Brazilian pavement.
It is a representation of the Meeting of the Waters (dark & light)

Beautiful old church in the city.

Many magnificent, elaborate buildings went up during the
Golden Years of the Rubber Boom.
Our driver was sad to report that the city has steadily declined since then,
with many problems that most cities experience.  The worst being the drug traffic.

Thankfully they have made many efforts to restore
and maintain some of the beauty of the city.

Manaus Opera House

A remarkable Lego replica on the upper floor of the theatre.

We happened to walk in on a rehearsal of the orchestra.

We were up there in one of these balconies.

Looking down on "Rhapsody in Blue".


Good bye and thank you Manaus, for a delightful diversion.
You have an extraordinary history and culture!