Manaus, Brazil

We were supposed to spend 2 full days in this big Amazonian city, but instead we ran into typical Brazilian problems as soon as we entered the harbour. The navy and the harbour master had a dispute (ie. somebody didn't get their share of the bribe money), so we were not allowed to dock or drop anchor. We, along with two other cruise ships, spend hours waiting around for things to get sorted out. No one could go ashore so the tour companies and shop keepers were left staring at us (and our money) from the dock. Eventually the federal government got dragged into the situation and things got sorted out (ie. someone finally got paid).

Manaus is the site of Brazil's largest construction project – a massive bridge spanning the Amazon river. When completed it will connect the city to the rainforest on the other side of the river. As you can guess, the environmentalists aren't too happy about that but the capitalists think that it's great. (Llike everything else in the Amazon, guess who won that battle?)

One of the most decadent buildings in Brazil is the Teatro Amazonas. Built on the backs of slaves (and costing the lives of many of them during the 15 year construction process), this opulent opera house showcased the wealth of the rubber barons.

Slave owners used their money to purchase the most expensive building materials from Europe to craft this masterpiece. Top European painters and workmen then designed and molded all the materials before shipping them over to Brazil and then transporting them 1000 miles down the Amazon river to Manaus. The construction process turned out to be extremely laborious and deadly. When the building was finally finished in 1896, the who's who of the theatre and stage world then traveled to Manaus to perform for the few wealthy families in the region. (Talk about a waste of money, materials, manpower, talent and lives.)

The inside of the building is just opulent as the outside. Private boxes line the upper floors and it was the place to be seen if you were among the elite and the idol rich. The interior looks like the one in the scene from the movie 'Amadeus', when Mozart is conducting 'the Magic Flute' in the opera house. Despite it's dark history, if there is only one building that you have time to visit while in Manaus, this is it.

After getting a glimpse of how the other half entertained themselves in the 19th century, I then headed across the street to the Praca Sao Sebastiao. The beautiful mosaic design on the park's pavement is supposed to represent waves.

This is appropriate since the center of the park contains the beautiful nautical statue 'Monument to the opening of the ports'. Each side of the statue has a ship and the name of a continent on it.

Across from the park is the Sao Sebastiao church. This church only has one tower (instead of two) in order to save on property taxes.

The interior of the church is slightly more different than other churches. For starters, it has an unusual alter and neon lights are used to line several of the statues!

One of the key things that I wanted to learn on this trip was how to survive in the jungle. So I took a jungle survival course that operated just outside of Manaus.

After loading up on bug spray, me and my fellow explorers boarded a riverboat and headed off to the nearest jungle location. While quite dense, the trees were not as tall as I expected them to be. Piles of leaves clogged the muddy pathways and giant ants seemed to be on everything. We were warned that our clothes would get dirty and they weren't kidding. We were also told not to expect to see any animals (and they were right about that too). Tourists tend to be quite noisy so any self-respecting animal or reptile would hear us a mile away and take off.

Our tour guide and translator worked for the Amazon Explorers company (highly recommended).

Word to the wise - this company operates many kinds of tours around Manaus at reasonable prices. For example, if you want to stay overnight in the jungle, they will charge you about $85 USD per person. A similar overnight tour from the ship cost $699 USD! Maybe they give you extra bug spray on the ship's trip, but I have no idea why there is such a difference in price. The conclusion – do your homework before booking a tour.

In the jungle, our guide met up with another guide who demonstrated:
- how to make a rope with vines
- how to climb a tree with that rope (see above)
- various ways to start a fire
- how to find water in the jungle
- what to eat and what not to eat in the jungle
- medicinal plants
- how animal traps were used
- and how to build a shelter in the jungle.

All in all, it was a very useful and informative trip. So you're probably thinking, given this information, do I think that I could survive in the jungle? Yes, but not without my bug spray! As if on queue, the mosquitoes seem to come out at 4 pm on the nose down here. Without spray, the flying pests will drive you so crazy that you will probably kill yourself to get away from them.

Warning – do not sit on anything in the jungle. At one of the demonstration sites, we sat on a log bench. I don't know what kind of critters lived in the wood, but they made their presence known to us later that night when we started to itch like crazy on our butts and thighs!

As with some other ports of call, several local singers and dancers came onboard to demonstrate their style of folk dancing. At the conclusion, they ended with the most popular dance of all – the carnival party dance!