March 13, 2016 - The "Paris of the Jungle" is the capital of Brazil's state of Amazonas. A former river village, it rests on the Rio Negro where it merges with the Amazon. Brought to it's glory in the late 18th century by the rubber barons, it is world renowned for it's Renaissance-style Opera House where the finest opera singers, such as Carouso, Maria Callas, Placido Domingo have all sung. But more about the Opera House tomorrow.
Today we opted for an excursion to see the Meeting of the Waters. There were about 50 of us that boarded the two decker river boat, with plastic chairs, two guides and sailed downstream to see the dark black Rio Negro run together but separately from the Cafe con Leche Amazon. It's fascinating to see them run together with a sharp definition between the two - they stay separated for miles due to the different speeds and different water temperatures and alkalinity.
After seeing the meeting of the waters we slipped down a small tributary and cruised to an outpost where we changed to small motorized canoes for a deeper exploration of the jungle in and around January Lake. I was amazed to hear that during the dry season the lake dries up almost completely, and becomes more of a mud hole. We pushed through the heavy grass and water hyacinths keeping our eyes peeled for wildlife. Snowy Egrets were the most visible, stalking their prey in the deep grass and sitting in the trees; it was fabulous to see perhaps 10-15 in a single tree! There was one bird that we saw that I haven't identified, brownish, with a bright orange beak, but when it flew, it was a flurry of white. We did see Cormorants gathered in a tree, but none of the birds you would commonly associate with the Amazon - the Scarlet Macaws, green Amazon Parrots etc.
Most exciting were the giant lily pads! They must have a "season" as they had warned us that there is never a guarantee that you will be able to see them. They really were amazing and surprising as well! The ones we saw were about 4 feet across or smaller, some new and pristine while others that had been around for a while were quite dog-eared. Surprising were the spines on the bottom side of the pads, about an inch long and quite imposing. There were all sorts of insects - little tiny frogs, grasshoppers, spiders and a variety of dragonflies.
Back to the outpost, and out of the canoes - easier said than done... Talk about an inelegant dismount!
It was a pleasant, if not long return to the ship, but even with the heat and humidity, being on the moving boat made it very comfortable.
We are out of Code Red! We can serve ourselves, and the laundry is open! Holy Toledo, the stampede!
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