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On the Rio Negro, the Tuscano Motor Yacht
This was our
three-week trip to the Amazon and the Pantanal. We left from Helena, MT. Our
flights were relatively uneventful. We just had one 1.5 hr delay departing Miami
for Sao Pablo. I had arranged a wheelchair for Pat at each airport, due to her
bad knee (replacement surgery scheduled for Sept 5). In theory, someone would
pick her up at check in and take her to the gate, and after we landed someone
would be outside the plane with a wheelchair waiting. United did a pretty good
job in providing this service. Latam Airline service was spotty, and GOL
airlines was bad. I feel sorry for any handicap person in SA, there just is not
much accommodation for them.
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| Exploring through the flooded forest |
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| Squirrel Monkeys jumping through the forest* |
Our first
destination was Manaus, 2 degrees south of the Equator, on the eastern edge of
the Amazon. Due to its remote location, I thought this might be a small
backwater community. Boy, was I wrong! Manaus has a population of almost 2
million. It was one of the riches cities in the world in the early 1900’s when
rubber was king. We didn’t have time to explore the city then because we had an
early morning pickup the next day to start our week-long cruise on the Rio
Negro. We boarded the Tucano (with Rainforest Cruises). With only 8 passengers
and 8 crew, there was plenty of room for everyone. We followed the same routine
almost every day; four 2-hour tours. We started with a 6 AM excursion in a 26-foot
motorized boat with 4 passengers and a guide. This was the best time to see
wildlife, esp. birds. We mostly toured through the flooded forest areas. After
breakfast we went out again. The meals on the cruise were excellent. We had
some free time after lunch to relax. In late afternoon we would go out again
until dusk - this was a good time to see Monkeys and sloths. After dinner when
it was dark, we would go out in the boat again with a spot light. This was a
good time to see snakes, lizards and rodents. The most amazing part of the
night trip was the clear night sky with zero light pollution.
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| Relaxing on the upper deck of the Tuscano |
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| Ringed Kingfisher* |
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Hoatzin*
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Swimming in the Rio Negro
One
afternoon we went Piranha fishing. Pat was the master, pulling in the big ones,
which we had for dinner. We did see a fair amount of wildlife during the trip,
but it sure helps to have a good guide - without one, you could easily miss
most of the sightings. The most unusual animals we saw were the pink and gray
river dolphins, Squirrel Monkeys, Toco Toucans, a brown-bearded Saki Monkey, Ringed
and Amazon Kingfishers, Red Howler Monkeys, a Hoatzin bird, and three-toed
sloths. We saw three sloths and a baby. There were hundreds of various parrots.
The problem with wildlife tours in the Amazon region is that there are just too
many places for wildlife to hide. I was wary of swimming in these waters, with
the piranha and the candiru (aka Penis Fish), but the guides assured us we
would be fine and we were. |
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| The rest of our group cruises by with their guide |
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| Three toed Sloth is good at hiding |
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| Red Howler Monkey* |
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| Sunset |
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| Amazon Kingfisher* |
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| Fishing Huts |
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| City of Manaus |
As we
returned to the Manaus area, we went to the Meeting of the Waters. Here the
muddy brown Amazon River meets the dark Rio Negro River. They meet but don’t
really mix. In fact, you can follow the 2 rivers side by side for 18 KM before
they really merge. We explored a channel in the Amazon basin and saw many
temporary fishing huts used during the dry season. We learned that the Amazon
basin has richer soil, more wildlife, more mosquitoes, but less diversity
compared to the Rio Negro basin. Before the trip, we were warned about all the
diseases that Mosquitoes carry, so we took pills for Malaria. Fortunately, we
came home without any bites.
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| The Meeting of the Waters |
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| The Opera House |
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| The Opera House |
After the
boat trip we had two days to tour Manaus - unfortunately, Pat’s knee condition
prevented us from doing much walking around. The best place we visited was the
Opera House. The many Europeans that lived there during the rubber boom wanted
the same cultural facilities that they enjoyed in Europe. So, except for the
wood flooring, everything else was shipped from Europe to build this
magnificent building. We also visited the Indian Museum and the Palace of
Justice. From here we flew back to Sao Pablo, stayed overnight and flew the
next day to Cuiaba, in south western Brazil.
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| Blue and Yellow Macaw* |
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| a shy Brazilian Tapir |
We arrived
in Cuiaba at 9:30 am, the first of three groups flying in to do a tour, with
Amazonia Expeditions, of the Pantanal, one of the world’s greatest wetlands
ecosystems. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 10 times the size of the
Everglades. Initially the plan was for
us to kill time with the guide until the next group came in at 1:30 PM. But
after a few hours driving around, we stopped at a fancy restaurant to get lunch
and a driver took us on a 2-hour, high speed drive to the first lodge. The last
group to arrive, with our trip leader, Dolly, didn’t get to the lodge until
after dark due to flight delays.
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| Tabebuia Trees in bloom |
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| Cute Capybara |
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| Rufescent Tiger Heron with dinner |
We have
never been to South America when Pat or I did not get sick from the food/water
despite being very careful about what we consumed. I was sick by the next day. Drugs
enabled me to still participate in most of the tours, although sometimes I had
wished I had stayed in bed. Again, we were touring in motorized boats for 3.5
hr to as long as 6 hours. I found the longer trips difficult to endure in my
condition - after a couple of hours I was ready to hit the bed. There was
definitely more viewable wildlife in the Pantanal compared to the Amazon. Some
of the sighting highlights from area near the first lodge: Black Caimans; Cocoi,
Whistling, and Tiger Herons, Jabiru Storks, Greater Rhea, various birds of prey,
Blue and Yellow Macaws; Vermillion Flycatchers, Greater Kiskadees, Brown Capuchin
Monkeys, Crab-eating Fox, South American Coati, Giant Otters, Neotropical Otters,
Tayra, Collared Peccary, Marsh Deer, Capybaras, and Brazilian Tapirs.
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| Hungry Giant River Otters |
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| Tayra seeking water |
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| Harpy Eagle ready to fly |
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| Capybaras enjoy the grass at our lodge |
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| Jaguar on the hunt for Caiman or Capybara |
The last two
lodges were in Jaguar territory, and it didn’t take the guide long to locate
two Jaguars patrolling the shoreline. On the
last tour day of the trip, five more Jaguars were spotted - some were swimming
in the river near our boats. From this point we had a 5-hour drive back to the
airport at Cuiaba, then four more flights to get home. My stomach issues
cleared up after a week of eating rice, bread and bananas and taking
antibiotics.
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| Jaguar sightings draw a crowd |
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| Successful hunt! (unfortunately we didn't see this)** |
If you want
to see the Pantanal, don’t delay. A new Pantanal Waterway Project could destroy
this ecosystem. Now soybeans are king, and Brazil wants to dredge and develop
the Paraguay River, which runs through the Pantanal, so they can barge the
soybeans to the coast. When will we learn?
Notes: * Photos by Mike Cargal, **Photo from Getty Images
