It was still raining a bit so not great shots of the Toucans, but we did see a lot of them on this trip.
White-fronted Toucan
Our first afternoon motor launch
Blue & Yellow Macaw
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
Rufous-tailed Jacamar (back view)
Lineated Woodpecker
bromeliad in tree
termite nest
Cocoi Heron
Black Hawk-eagle - immature
back view
3 toed sloth
Lineated Woodpecker
sun starting to set
The second day took us to a local village and what a treat it was to meet the people. That night after dinner we had our first evening excursion.
Klaske
This little guy was pulling a kite all over (there was no wind)
Edi demonstrating the "lipstick fruit"
satellite and water tank
futbol field
evening trip with the sun going down
It was pitch dark with only the guides spotlights and they found this caiman
Ladder-tailed Nightjar
The next afternoon we were treated to some sloths & bats!
Edi
Large-billed Terns
Osprey
Hoatzin
Hoatzin
It's very rare to find 2 male sloths in the same tree
can you lay your head on your stomach?
or look backwards???
Long-nosed Bats
Cacique nests
the night motor launch found an Amazon Tree Boa
Ladder-tailed Nightjar
The next afternoon excursion took us fishing for Piranha. We all caught a few.
fishing with cane poles and using small raw pieces of beef as bait
the smallest one
Greg caught the smallest and the largest
This was half the catch and was served the next night as an appetizer
That night there was no night tour,
instead Souza told stories of his life growing up and how he became a guide. It
was very interesting to hear of the beliefs & superstitions of certain natives. He was a very
motivated young man. He begged his parents to let him leave the village and
move to Manaus where he had more opportunity to go to school. He did a lot of
things to support himself. He grew and harvested manioc. He became a salesman. He
also taught himself English from a book. He was quickly promoted to be in
charge. He worked in Lodges on the Amazon River and started as a carpenter and
eventually promoted to supervisor. He was recruited to work for the M/Y Tucano and was
a guide until the tours became so popular that he was asked by the owner to
find and recruit someone he knew and trusted and he chose Edi and he said you
won't regret hiring me and they have worked together well for many years now.
I think around 15 years. A very interesting evening and Souza is a fun story-teller.
The next afternoon was another beautiful scenic ride with more amazing reflection shots:
Yellow-headed Caracara
Festive Parrots
Long-nosed Bats
Great Potoo (can't see its' head)
Scarlett Macaws high overhead
Parrot
Black sponges on tree
very interesting fruit
Yellow-rumped Cacique
Great Black Hawk
Fried Piranha for appetizers
Yum!
Evening motor launch with sun setting
Amazon Tree Boa
Tarantula on the same tree as the Boa
Cutest baby sloth EVER! The mother leaves the baby the territory and she finds a new home.
it really looked like it was smiling
Our next afternoon motor launch found more monkeys!
Betsy & Michael
an Eco lodge
it was raining just a bit....
Squirrel Monkey
Red Howler Monkey
Black-collared Hawk
Red Howler Monkey
Spectacled Caiman seen on the night launch
We had a happy hour of Caipirinha which is made with Cachaca which
is the name of the alcoholic spirit/liquor used in the drink. Cachaca
is a Brazilian distilled liquor that starts from unaldulterated sugarcane juice (unlike rum, which is made from what is left over after the
main sugar removal process.) It is made with a lime cut into 4 pieces, a large tablespoon of sugar which is muddled and then the alcohol is added and then a few scoops of ice and shaken and served.
Greg holding his drink
Our last excursion was very nice and we saw a lot of different things on the Amazon.
Spot-breasted Woodpecker
Spot-breasted Woodpecker
Black-necked Aracari
Black-necked Aracari
Black-necked Aracari
Festive Parrot
Woodpecker
Red-capped Cardinal (male)
Red-capped Cardinal (female)
dead caiman (stinky!)
Strangler Fig on tree
we sailed between the houses
Mascovy Duck
moth
Naval Base
Ferry boat
the went to get the evening entertainment and brought him on board
Tonight it was make your own Caipirinha
me muddling the limes & sugar
the finished product
Manaus at night
we sailed under the Bridge over the Rio Negro
final dinner
Dinner was at 8:00 and
they had the dining room decorated for the special farewell dinner. Pretty
tablecloths and a free bottle of wine for every table and a candy. After dinner
the crew came in for photos and many expressed appreciation of the service
and the knowledge of this crew. They collected their tip envelopes as did the
guides. They doublechecked everyones flight departures and transfers to make
sure all were good. They were really thorough. It was a very nice ending to our journey along the Rio Negro. We docked nearby so we were close to the port the next morning.
We had a nice breakfast the next morning and then were taken by canoes to the dock where we walked to the hotel.
I will have one more post on our final day in Manaus.
No comments:
Post a Comment