Our port of call for today is the largest city in the Amazon with lots of people. Its name is Manaus and it is the capital of the State of Amazonas. It is the most unexpected city that you can imagine existing in the Amazon jungle. The Portuguese were responsible for settling here in the mid- 17th century, and the city has maintained its heritage ever since. The discovery of latex produced from the rubber trees, catapulted this city to thrive during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We have visited here several times, and have taken some of the most interesting tours. Today we were on our own to explore the central part of the historical city. And considering that we were here on a Sunday, we were lucky that the city was not shut down. Just the opposite….the locals were out and about enjoying all the sights we were.
There were some shore excursions here today beginning from $75 to $230 for highlights of Manaus with a BBQ lunch, flora and fauna, a jungle trek, and the rubber story. A guaranteed pink dolphin encounter took the folks to a submerged platform where the dolphins were hand-fed by the guides.
The Zuiderdam arrived to the port shortly after 8am, due to slower speed limits in the river. We got the impression that the dock we were to use was switched. Instead of the cruise terminal dock, we were at an adjacent dock. That complicated our exit because we had to take a small shuttle to the other nicer terminal building. The larger tour buses were allowed to come down the ramp to pick up their guests.
Once again, we waited until the tours were off and running before we got off of the ship. That was after breakfast at around 10am. The cruise terminal building was nice and they had several maps, much better than the ship's map. In addition, there were English-speaking guides to give directions to the major sites in town. By the way, shortly before we left the ship, there was a general warning from Kimberly to be very careful about going into town alone. The Captain had suggested that folks went off in groups and not isolate yourselves from groups of people. We guess that something had happened like pickpockets, and the warning went out to all. Too bad most people had already left the ship. We knew not to wear flashy jewelry and good watches. We left them on the ship. The only bag we had contained umbrellas which we never had to use.
Studying the directions, we pretty much followed the people going up one main street called Avenue Eduardo Ribeiro. Passing a church on the way (Igreja Matriz Nsa Sra Conceicao), we followed the street which was closed to all side traffic. The entire avenue was filled with make-shift cafes with food being cooked on site. In between the food stalls were souvenir huts. This went on for blocks. Much of the food offered was foreign to us, but we are sure it was a mix of indigenous and Portuguese cuisine. Sure smelled good, especially when they lit up the mesquite BBQ grills cooking skewered chicken and beef. This must be a weekend food faire and this time we hit it just right. We never tried the food, but really took a lot of pictures.
This was the way to some of the most famous iconic sites such as the Opera House called Amazonas Teatro. Constructed in 1896, this opera house was the epitome of elegance in this part of the world, appealing to the higher society of the rubber barons. The dome of this structure has over 36,000 imported ceramic tiles, dazzling the skyline. Too bad some of the modern high rises have succeeded in blocking the view of the dome. Getting photos of the theater from the Plaza Sao Sebastiao, we wondered over to the stairs going up. One of us climbed the stairs, getting close-ups of the building. It was halfway closed to the public, but if you were in a group, they were allowed a short look inside. On a previous visit here, we actually saw a performance because we had over-nighted here on the ship. The guest capacity inside the opera house is 701 people.
The plaza across the street had floor tiles resembling what we saw while in Rio at Copacabana Beach. Also a Portuguese city. Also reminded us of Portugal, the Azores, and Funchal, all settled by the Portuguese. To the left of the theater was the Palacio da Justice in gold and white colors. Igreja de Sao Sebastiao (church) was across from the plaza. The entire area was surrounded with policemen keeping watch. It was not crowded, but there were probably some pickpockets working the area that we did not see.
We headed back down the closed-off street, checking out some souvenirs as we passed the vendors. Most people were paying with Brazil real, but a few vendors took dollars. There was nothing we did not already have, so came back with nothing new. From the cruise terminal we headed left to go to the Mercado Municipal Adolpho Lisboa, or their central marketplace. The building is just as interesting as the produce and meats inside. Art Nouveau style was a big deal back in the 1880's and this building is a perfect example of iron architecture. Among other things, we found typical products from the Amazon such as meats, fish, a small amount of fruit, veggies, and spices. Packaged nuts were for sale like Brazil nuts and cashews. It has been from past purchases that we discovered the nut products are not quite the same as what we buy at home. Some of them are not roasted and not salted, so the taste and texture are foreign to us. We have learned that the cashews have to be treated differently or they can be almost poisonous. And that's why we brought our stash of nuts from home. Enough to last for four months.
Directly across the street from the marketplace, we saw the railing where you can watch the ferries and the fishing boats landing. A make-shift fish market was set up on the sandy banks of the river. Best to take photos from high above the banks. We had already been walking for three hours and decided it best to go back to the ship. We saw no suitable restaurants…only the street market. And it was so humid with overcast skies, we were literally melting.
We got the bus ride back to our pier, and were in our room after 1pm enjoying cold sodas again. The ship was docked starboard today, so we could watch and hear the ship bunkering fuel all afternoon. There was a total of three barges used. We never saw such black sooty smoke coming out of our stacks as we did today. Wonder if that was from the local fuel? And the river garbage was the worst we have ever witnessed. Styrofoam, plastic cups and glasses, and aluminum cans floated in clumps around the shoreline. Considering that this practice has been stopped (more or less) worldwide, the news has not hit here.
And we lucked out with only a passing shower getting the area damp. We do know they need rain, but we had hoped it would hold off until we are out of the river in a few days. It worked today.
Remember when it was mentioned that there are no bridges in the Amazon? Well today we saw a big one spanning the Rio Negro. Not sure how long it has been here, but it looks very modern. The Rio Negro is the river that dumps acidic water the color of strong tea into the muddy waters of the Amazon. These waters do not mix easily. Knowing what to watch for, we had the best place on our veranda to witness where these waters are side-by-side for a long ways before mixing. The ship left the port by 5pm or so, and we had that slow speed limit leaving the city. It was several miles before we reached the spot where eventually the waters returned to the muddy state. We did get many pictures of that strange phenomenon. And we were treated to a nice sunset about 6:30pm once again. And that's why we like late seating for dinner or we would have missed all of the sailing out of the city.
Dinnertime had a few good choices. It was shrimp cocktails and Caesar salads for both of us. We ordered chicken – one parmigiana and spaghetti (doubled with extra sauce) and one Portuguese-style chicken. Don't know whose was best, although there was enough pasta to share. A small slice of almond cake and a dish of sliced bananas finished the meal nicely.
The show this evening was the return of the artists David and Dawn with a musical and visual performance. Guaranteed to amaze everyone. We never seem to finish dinner in time to catch the shows. Hard to burn the candle at both ends, we always say.
Tomorrow we will be in another city by the name of Parintins.
Bill & Mary Ann
