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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
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Feb 18, 2009 07:00 PM Iquitos - Peruvian Amazon
The city lies on the upper Amazon - I expected that the river will be less wide here - so many kilometrers from Atlantic Ocean. This is not true - the biggest river on the globe here, in Peru is still wide and powerful!
Peru is less expensive for the traveller then Brazil - I stay in the friedly Hospedeje Pascana where they charge just 11 USD for thr room with shower and big fan. If you want also full beakfast it will cost you 8 soles extra. But you can buy eggs (0.30 s, bread - 3,80 per loaf and margarine - 3.60 per 0.25kg) and do it by yourself.
Money changers operates openly in front of the bank and they give 3.25 soles per 1 dollar. Be extremely alerted - they tried to cheat me twice before I finally get proper amount of money! There are also fake banknotes in circulation...
Iquitos for me is nicer then Manaus. In the time of rubber boom they bought an iron house made in Paris by Gustav Eiffel - now it is the main attraction of the city - on the central Plaza de Armas - housing shops and cafe.
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Feb 17, 2009 07:00 PM Rio Amazonas - third night in the hammock
I enjoyed nice sunset in the evening. Yes, I know that there are travellers who spent on the Amazon river boats much more days. Congratulations! It is the adventure to be tried but I think that already on the third day it could be boring and tiring. Unless you want to punish yourself three days on the slow boat is enough to try the taste of sailing the great river... Just let you know: there are also fest boats going from Santa Rosa to Iquitos, they do the route in 12 hours (and you pay hefty 60 USD for ticket) but you have to wait for the sufficient number of passengers, the travel is noisy and you do not go to the villages and little channels beetwen the river islands - I did not like it!
On the slow boat you see more, you have more time for the pictures from the open deck and it is more quiet travel - I was listening even to the birds on the shore!
In Iquitos river harbour I took a motor carro - popular motocycle rickshaw for 4 soles to get to the city. My big river odyssey is over...
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Feb 16, 2009 07:00 PM Sailing the Amazon
First night in the hammock was not so comfortable - the boat is calling villages even during the night making noise, people go up and down...
In the morning they served first meal included in the price: a cup of avena - well watered porridge and few crackers. Then on lunch and dinner you will get a plate af rice/noodles with beans and little piece of meat. Every day the same... No drinks - you can buy them in the"shop". I recognized that in my "cabin" (you cannot sleep there) there is 220 V socket and I was boiling unlimited number of teas.
On the first morning I saw what the rats did in the night in ma "cabin": they like not only my supply of bread but also some of my clothes... I have holes in my underwear now...
But it is big adventure: to sail this huge river, with a lush jungle on the banks (the boat sails very close to the bank due to the currents) and to visit the villages - where the villagers come aboard with exotic fruits and vegetables for sale. It is very, very hot - you can take the shower but of course in the shower there is a "coffee with milk colour" water from the river. It is the pleasure anyway!
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Feb 15, 2009 07:00 PM Amazon - this is not a cruise ship!
¨Lucho¨ arrived finally at 4.30 p.m. This is old and dirty junk boat with capacity of some 150 passengers plus cargo. I was lucky anyway - this boat is not big and gives some privacy to the passengers on the upper deck (if you can consider privacy staying with 20 other people). But I saw there much bigger boats with the real crowd aboard.
¨Lucho¨ has 3 decks. The lower one is for animals, timber, fish containers and so one - you must pass through it going up. I travelled with 4 black bufallos and a number of pigs -the smel wal not so nice... Then there is middle deck with one big hall which can accommodate like 120 hammocks. At the end of the deck there is little shop, 3 toilets/showers with a nice view if you left the door open (it is hard to afford closed door)
An then there is upper deck with few crampy cabins and and the breezy space under the roof. Yopu have to be as soon as possible on board to put your hammock there - this is the most comfortable place to travel.
Captain charged me ¨gringo price¨´- 80 soles to Iquitos (locals pay 60, 1 USD is worth 3,20 soles) Later, ashamed by locals /I complained to them/ he gave me a cabin ("cama") for this 20 extra soles. It is like extremely hot and stinking can of sardines but it is worth to have is to protect you luggage during multiday trip (bring your own lock). We departed at 7 pm. It takes 3 days to Iquitos - they say. The exact time of saling depends on the number of visited villages, capacity of cargo, water currents etc. Ahoy!
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Feb 14, 2009 07:00 PM By boat upstream Amazon river...
The decision was not easy. Data: 6 days on the boat to Tabatinga and then next 3 days to Iquitos. 9 days in total. Or turbo-prop flight Manaus - Tabatinga and then 3 days on the boat. I took the second solution.
Only one little airline: Trip flies to Tabatinga. They operate from terminal 2 in Manaus airport (I did not know about that - but you will save 15 minutes of sweaty walk from the main terminal 1). The flight on little ATR took me 2 hours 40 minutes. There were great views of the Big River en route.
Tabatinga lies at the conjuncjon of 3 frontiers: Columbia, Peru and Brazil - can you find on the map this remote place?
We landed in the empty airstrip at 2 pm. The only transport to the river port here is a taxi. I - the only tourist was asking people about the boats to Iquitos-Peru and they say there will be a boat tonight at 7 pm and then the next on Wednesday evening.
No reason to wait here 3 days till Wednesday! Go!
On the post of Policia Federal in Tabatinga village I got the Brazilian exit stamp - I took me only 5 minutes. Then in the ¨port¨on the huge Amazon River I took a little boat (5 reais fare) and after 10 minutes sail I landed on the other side of the river - in Peru.
They call this village Santa Rosa. Immigration Officer was plaing cards for money on the boat landing. I was waiting patiently more then an hour when they will finish... Then I got the stamp to my passport. Welcome to Peru!
But where is my boat to Iquitos? They hope it will come in the evening. I do hope too!
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Feb 13, 2009 07:00 PM Manaus - in the Amazon - ready for the carnival
This was again TAM hopper flight - before I landed in Manaus we visited Belem and Santarem = 3 flight segments - hot sandwich and beer on each one, like a dinner...
It was 1 o´clock local time when I got my backpack in the Manaus airport terminal. Do not trust tourist information desk and taxi drivers, that in the night there is no bus service to the town. Taxis ask for 49 reais...
When I was waiting patiently the bus 306 appeared and they took me (I was the only passenger) for 2 reais to the city. Day fare is 1 reais...
Hostels are located here close to the main city landmark - Teatro Amazonas. I made a choice of Manaus Tour Trip hostel.
Sorry it is overpriced (showers downstairs), they will try to charge you for the full day if you will come early am. They switch off a/c for the whole day, but... next time I will try Australian hostel...
I took a walk around the town (I have been here years ago). The atmosphere has changed. The river is still wide and there are little passenger ships departing upstream to Tabatinga (360 reais - up to 6 days) and downstream to Belem (190 reais - 4 days) - hot news worth a gold! Do yo want me to take this one to Tabatinga?
Manaus is getting ready for the carnival - it is already ouverture - a lot of beer on the streets (3 cans for 5 reais), a lot af music and perofmance - I hear a noise in the evening...
I bougth a hammock for travel on the deck of the ship - the last expensive costs like 10 USD...
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Feb 12, 2009 07:00 PM Amazonia on the horizon!
Back in Sao Luis I took in the morning city bus 403 (1,70 reais) to the New City on the other side of the river where the best beaches are... The one in Calhau looks to be nicest, but can you try to survive there in the temperature of 40 deg Celsius? Ufff... But the place is nice with a palms and bars - just for the pictures.
I am getting ready for the evening flight to Manaus. I study the last expensive way to get to the airport (the taxi cost 35 reais). There are motocycle taxis in the town - they will charge me like 3-4 reais for the ride to the Praca Deodoro and then there is city bus for 1,70 called Sao Cristovao to the airport terminal. That´s the backpackers life! You have to save your pennies! Buses are rare, so it is advisable to allow plenty of time...
It seems that I´ll spent St Valentine´s Day in the hot capital of the Amazonia. Best wishes to all lovers!
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Feb 11, 2009 07:00 PM Only 3 deg. south of equator
It is hot and humid in Sao Luis - I am only 3 deg south of the equator and on the level of the sea!
I decided to take self-organized day tour to Alcantara. It is on the other side of the Bay of Sao Marcos. To get there you have a choice of the catamaran (10 reais OW but no shelter onboard in case of the rain) or Diamantina motorboat (12 reais each way). It took me 1,5 hour on Diamantina to cross the bumpy waters of the bay.
Alcantara in the 17th century was the hub off the cotton and sugar producing region. Now it is seepy colonial village with plenty of picturesque riuns, churches, colonial houses. No bank, no noise, no supermarket...
On the main square there is high fronton of former Matriz church and Brazil´s most well-preserved pelourinho - whipping post - like a pole where slaves were punished...
I was walking few hours in the heat taking pictures - also of the friendly local people - before I took return boat at 4 pm.
Great day!
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Feb 10, 2009 07:00 PM Sao Luis - from UNESCO list...
What brought me here? Around one million people live now in Sao Luis located on the sea coast. River separates the new and the old part of the city. I live in the old one.
Some people call Sao Luis Brazil´s last charming capital. The cobbled streets of the Old Town are lined with colorful colonial mansions noted for their Portuguese tile facades. Many of them, overgrown by tropical plants still need restoration but yes - the old city has a charm and it is worth to be placed on UNESCO World Heritage List. There are plenty of souvenir shops, free museums and bars (a large bottle of ice-cold Sol beer costs 2,50 reais).
You will find also internet cafes (2,50 reais per hour) and tour agencies dedicated mostly to the Brazilians (-Senhor fala Portugues? - is the first question). People are polite and I think that regarding safety Sao Luis is better then Salvadaor. I was teaching the manager of my hotel what the word -laundry- means... I took a lot of pictures. Tomorrow I plan to cross the bay by boat to the old Alcantara.
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Feb 09, 2009 07:00 PM Brazil B...
Yes, now I know that there is Bazil A (the educated and developed south) and Brazil B - in the north of the country...
It was evening when I landed in Sao Louis - the capital of Maranhao State. They have tourist info desk in the airport but they do not know a single word of English. They are nice people anyway - they started to look English-speaking person in the airport and after 15 minutes they found somebody, who understood what is going on...
-The last bus to the city departs at 9 pm - in 5 minutes! I started to run to the bus stop and I got it! They charge 1.70 - but again they do not understand where I want to disembark - I landed on Praca de Deodoro... -Pousada Vittoria, rua Alfonso Pena! - I was repeating to the people on the street. They do not know... At least somebody show me the direction. Empty streets... Looks dangerous. I found the policeman. Can you imagine: He does know where is the street (some of them have double names).
It was 10 pm when I - sweaty and tired - found the pousada (pension). *Vittoria* was full. But next door there were a room in the upmarket Pousada-Hotel Colonial. We comunicated writing digits on the piece of paper... Nobody speak English...
82 reais for the a/c room with full breakfast. Lucky me!
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