Monday, February 9, 2015

Afternoon Motor Launches & Evening Motor Launches

Our first lunch on board:



 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.
 
 
 


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