Brazil: Part 2 of 3 The Amazon: 3 Boat Day Two: A Beach in the Amazon

We rose before the sun and embarked on a full day of wildlife encounters and ending with a beach.  A beach in the Amazon, a surprising experience.  Surrounded by utter serenity, not another soul in sight for miles, bleary eyed we stepped into the tender and glided through the glassy water in search of wildlife.  This followed a similar rhythm to an African safari we had taken years ago.  We traded the open-top jeep for a small motor dinghy, eyes fixed overhead we set off on a bird safari "drive" in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.

Sunrise over the Amazon

I can't explain the peace and utter quiet of this first nautical safari drive.  Switching the motor off, slowly drifting, the only sound was the boat gently moving through the water.

We were treated to a magical Amazonian experience as we heard birds screeching across the treetops.  Macaws!  It would be the first of several sightings, but this was an incredible initiation to bird watching in the Amazon.  We learned to listen for them, as their screeching calls always preceded their arrival.

So many varieties of birds, many of which I had never seen before.  All of our wildlife viewing took place at dawn or dusk, when the animals and birds are most active.  It was incredibly difficult to capture these creatures on camera.  It was asking a whole lot of my equipment to shoot fast moving wildlife from a wobbly tender at 400mm in such low light.

We had the chance to see a full size caiman up close.  Our guides found it under a small, overwater ranger outpost.  It gave us an opportunity to experience this animal at close range.  It was a bit unnerving to watch it thrash about in the water a mere foot or two from our feet, but we followed the lead of our guides and all was well.  The sound of the power of its jaws snapping together is unforgettable.  

Our wooden river boat on approach from the tender

Our crew docked our boat at a beach for the afternoon.  I was confused and awestruck when I saw this beach pop up over the horizon on approach.  Such a surreal moment in the middle of the Amazon.  This completely unexpected experience was courtesy of the dry conditions causing ultra low water levels throughout the Amazon.  This beach is not a beach at all, but actually the sandy bottom of the river bed!  

Here the boys took the kayaks out for an afternoon of kayaking in the rain.

Late afternoon chess match in the rain

Time for another wildlife river safari!  We took the dinghy out in search of more birds, animals and maybe caiman!

The ripple is all ours, exploring these waterways completely alone.

Darkness has descended and time to get the spotlight out.  Impossible to capture well, but a memory to keep forever.  And we did see several baby caiman on the banks of the river.