"River City" Manaus by melosh

Many American cities were built on rivers when the rivers were the highways of inland commerce and travel. Now these rivers seem almost like picturesque second thoughts. Except for some large shipping, these cities are connected by rail and asphault. The rivers, if reasonably clean, may be used for tourism and recreation, but the life of the city seems to have moved away. Manaus in the Amazon seems like a throw back to when a large inland city depended on a large river for its very existance. Even in the depths of this large metropolitan city, it seemed that I could feel the presence of the rivers and the human dependence on their existance.

Welcome dance, somewhere near Manaus

The best of plans and VT research, sometimes have to be thrown out based on a gut feeling. I had planned to join up with several other tourists to share expenses and have some people to share the experience of contact with the forest. I was even considering an eco-lodge. Amazonian Indian Tours suggested that if I was more interested in meeting people than seeing animals I should consider visiting an Indian community they had just contracted for visits. They were pretty vague about what it would be like because they did not know themselves. It would be the first trip for the guide and because of the time of year there would be no other visitors. These three days were beyond my greatest expectations for the whole trip. I felt like child in awe and wonderment.

Frist class river transport

Total Portuguese immersion at the price of a boat ticket --this was the idea I picked up from VT. Amazonian river travel has its own pace and is not generally for the destination oriented. If you can not enjoy the slow travel, you would be better off flying.

• Pros:Vibrant large unique river city
• Cons:It is not a relaxing place
• In a nutshell:Not for your average tourist