A visit to the sacred Banyan tree
Let's talk about our river boat. A very rustic, authentic Amazonian riverboat, with three levels, two usable. The most basic amenities and not terribly clean, but this is the Amazon.
Down time on the boat was spent here, the stern deck with a few chairs, small card table, wooden bench and hammocks. And most importantly a steady breeze was often found here depending on the direction of the wind and where you positioned your chair, the goal was to find a spot in the path of the breeze and out of the sun, not as easy as it sounds. Not plush by any definition, but plenty spacious for our group of four (this is when we were especially happy to be the only guests aboard, having this space to ourselves was definitely nice). Apart from the dining area directly below, this was the only onboard leisure space. Except from meals, we definitely favoured the upper stern deck to pass the hours sailing.
Absent of other amenities, the boat had a chess set, so these guys played many rounds of chess. We had a deck of cards, but those were less useful in this environment. Apart from this chess set, there were only a couple of bird books aboard the vessel, so other than that and our own books, there was little to do given we were totally out of cellular range. While we were all thrilled to see the bars on our phones flicker back to life as we approached Manaus on the return, I absolutely loved this time off the grid. Attention is an undervalued commodity.
The dining room on the lower level. This is where we took all three meals. There was a dedicated cook on board who prepared all three of our meals each day. Given the basic nature of the voyage, I wasn't expecting much, but we were surprised by the variety and quality of the food served. I failed to get any photos of the meals served, but each spread consisted mostly of local cuisine with a handful of international dishes to keep us happy the entire week. And despite the rustic conditions being in such a place, food was prepared very well and no one fell sick.
Tiny cabins with basic beds. Only two had en suite toilet/shower rooms, gratefully we had the sense to book these. All water comes from the river, so even with a shower you’re never really clean, though my hair loved the river water compared to the hard water of London. The shower head is directly overhead in the cramped bathroom completely soaking the toilet, sink, bin and anything else. For an extra fee aircon was an added option, and in some cabins only. And only available at night. We had to tell the crew when we turned in to turn on the aircon generator and what time to shut it off in the morning. The extra cost was entirely essential as the cool respite of the nightly aircon was like a daily dose of sanity. Life otherwise, even when the boat was in motion, was often a breezeless sweatfest. You adapted to discomfort, but not really.
The cramped cabins and bathrooms were only divided by thin plastic walling where noise had no boundary. To say we were experiencing boat fever by day 6 is a big understatement. We were packed and ready to leap off the boat the minute we arrived. The discomfort is the price to pay for such an immersive experience.
Our guide said many locals in the Amazon have missing finger tips. On out first piranha fishing excursion it was quickly evident why. Dipping your fingers into the water even for a brief moment is not advised! Fishing for piranha in the Amazon is as cool as it sounds, and for the boys will go down as one of those travel memories you wish you could bottle up. Just truly unreal. These waters are murky but so very alive, so catching piranha wasn't terribly hard. The boys caught several piranha, and a few other fish, in just a few short fishing sessions. It was a wildlife bucket list experience fulfilled. We brought some of them back to the boat where the cook made piranha soup. What an experience!
You could hear the grinding of their sharp teeth against the hooks.
Caiman
Bird spotting while fishing
The closest we got to the Waimiri Atroari tribal territory where they are known to kill any trespassers. The territory is a mere kilometres from this spot. I wasn't looking, but our guide said he saw them through the binoculars from our boat at one point.
More piranha fishing
A little more exploring as dusk gives way to night before packing it in for the day.
Pure solitude
A pair of macaws to bid us good night
We brought back a couple of the piranhas we caught and our cook made piranha soup!
Goodnight!
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