Coke Smith Photography & Travelogue

Expedition to Brazil's Amazona & Rio Negro


 A river bus along the Amazon River near Manaus.

 

Brazil's Amazona region is a phenomenal area.  I had the pleasure a few years back to spend a couple weeks exploring the Amazon and Negro Rivers in Brazil's Amazon basin.  The below itinerary represents the program I designed and participated in on that expedition.

 

BRAZIL'S RIO NEGRO

DAY 1: MANAUS: Arrival in Manaus, the gateway to the Rio Negro an Amazon Rivers. After your reception, you are then transferred to the beautiful Tropical Hotel. A delicious welcome dinner will be served after a brief rest.

DAY 2 THROUGH DAY 9: RIO NEGRO: At 9 am, we embark from the pier of the Tropical Hotel. We begin our lovely voyage up the Rio Negro aboard our private, air-conditioned vessel accompanied by our specialist, naturalist guide and crew . We travel the Rio Negro searching for wildlife and beauty for 7 days and 6 nights.

While on our incredible expedition, members visit different plant communities, lakes, inlets, igapses(narrow creeks). We spend time trekking in the jungle to natural plantations of jute, malva, rubber, manioc, and small natural waterfalls. We will also spend time fishing for the many species of piranhas and other fish, and searching for crocodiles, birds, animals and any other creatures of the night.  Among the places that might be visited are the Cuieras, River, Novo Airco Village, the Anavilhanas Islands, and the Baebendi, Aturia and Trovco lakes. These areas are famous for their fantastic flora, fauna and scenic beauty.  The itinerary of this wonderful river expedition is flexible as river conditions can change on a daily basis. What was accessible yesterday is no longer accessible today. Our emphasis will be viewing the wildlife and expert interpretation of the flora and fauna.

NOTE:
Our naturalist guides are highly trained in the flora and fauna of the region. Their expertise will add much to your Amazon experience.

NOTE:
Our vessel for this incredible expedition is a multilevel, air-conditioned craft with many modern amenities. Smaller craft are available for excursions in to the rainforest.

DAY 10: MANAUS: We arrive at the Tropical Hotel once again. After we settle in , there may be time for an optional city tour of Manaus.

DAY 11: END OF TOUR: Depart for return or continuing flight.

 

 

Click the links below to see more images from the Galapagos and South & Central America

Animals of South & Central America

Birds of South & Central America

South & Central American People & Places

 

 

Here are some more images of my expedition to Brazil's Amazon:

 

My main reason for being in the region was to put together the above program.  So I had a couple weeks of exploration to do.  I did not have the budget to stay in the lodges that my clients were to stay in (had I been able to market this tour...).  Consequently I did mostly home-stay with locals in the region.  For me this was even better!  I got to meet and hang out with some great Brazilians!  I had a blast.  This house was my base for a few nights.  Unfortunately this was along the Amazon River where the mosquitos were hell!  It was too hot to sleep inside the floating house so I was forced to sleep out in an hammock....getting munched...

 

 

 

This was another great homestay for a few nights.  The family was amazingly hospitable and kind.  They had fresh fish and vegetables (from their own garden) every night.  I even decided to include their place as a stop on the tour (had I been able to market it...).  Their place was along the Rio Negro which has a high concentration of tanins and therefore NO mosquitos! 


 

 

 

These Yacare Caiman were common in the area and we often went out at night to catch and handle them.  I enjoyed the practice!

 

 

While along the rivers, our main dietary component was the Red Piranha.  These tasty little fish had a very sweet white flesh.  I could down about seven in one meal!  They were very easy to catch too. 

 

 

 

This little booger actually bit me!  Little bastard!  One of the things I enjoyed the most during my stay in the Brazilian Amazon was that it was not lodge-based.  I was truly with the locals every minute of every day and it was great.  I soon found out that this region was not quite a wildlife mecca, but it was a great exposure to Brazilian Amazona culture and daily life.  I am not sure I could have ever successfully taken tourists to this region, but I was very happy to have experienced it for myself.

 

 

The Victoria Lily is the world's largest.  This pad was seen along the Amazon.

 

 

Another river taxi along the Rio Negro.  We took this one to our homestay about six hours up river.

 

 

 

This was our homestay for a few nights further up the Rio Negro.  This was a very comfortable home with several hundred acres of second and primary forest on the plot.  The owners were very knowledgeable of the local flora and its ethnobotany.  Just a little past this location was a site where Hollywood often comes to record "jungle" sounds for their background sounds in movies.

 

 

 

The flooded Amazon Basin as seen from our approaching plane coming in to Manaus.

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