Reunited with DC3

Trip Start Jan 20, 2004
1
115
166
Trip End Ongoing


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of Brazil  ,
Saturday, October 7, 2006

Wow, what a feeling of euphoria to check through the port security gates, walk around the corner, and see DC3 calmly sitting there winking at us in the sun!! Now if only we could have harnessed all that nervous energy of worrying over the past week and put it to some more advantageous use. Mind you, we were correct in assuming that our van may not have left Belém on the Monday evening, even though "sleazy Adi" solemnly promised us that it had. It actually took another two days before DC3 was loaded onto the barge to begin its own journey up the Amazon.

Waiting for our van to arrive, we had ample time to explore Manaus - the gateway to the Amazonia. We had previously expected to be heading deeper into the jungle, exploring the rain forest and learning more about the various Indian tribes still subsisting in extremely remote areas. However, after five days on the boat we felt that we had gained a genuine insight into life on the Amazon without having to touch the token alligator, to fish the required piranha, or to dip our fingers into the sticky gum tapped from the rubber trees 01 Happily reunited
01 Happily reunited
 . Expecting Manaus to be another hot, sweaty and dirty city, we surprised ourselves by thoroughly enjoying our enforced stay. Originally made famous in the late 1800s by the great boom in international rubber markets, Manaus continues to be a bustling city, now known mainly for its free trade manufacturing.

Totally unbeknownst to us, we had checked into what is known in Brazil as a love hotel. Generally found on the outskirts of any city, these "institutions" rent out rooms by the hour, and provide the privacy that is often non-existent in crowded family living conditions. Noticing later that there were at least a dozen such accommodations on the same street, we understood why the owners were keen to fill their rooms - even if it was on a twenty-four hour rental basis! Being much cleaner and less expensive than ordinary hotel rooms, we weren't at all embarrassed to be seen entering the hotel together with the young couples of Manaus!

Thanks to the efficiency and professionalism of Agostinho and his port buddies, we had our van in tow and were ready to head north again after only four days of arriving in Manaus. Although not really intending to cover the 800 km to Boa Vista in one day, there didn't appear to be anywhere suitable to stop, so we just kept going for twelve hours 02 Thanks, Agostinho
02 Thanks, Agostinho
 . The road surface varied between fair and positively terrible, but nothing could conceivably compare to what we drove through south of Belém, nor could anything destroy the ecstatic ambiance created by our being reunited with DC3. In 800 km, we stopped only once to salute the decrepit monument that marked the equator, and a couple of times to fill up with gas. And we definitely complied with the law and didn't stop or get out of our vehicle as we passed through the 122 km of Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Reserve (except for one sneaky photo), as we didn't relish being bombarded with poison arrows!!

Excitement is currently permeating the air. Tomorrow we will cross the border into Venezuela where we expect to pump gas at less than 15 cents per litre - something we've been anticipating since beginning this trip!! Only one slight hiccup - we heard from fellow travelers that they've been held up at the Brazil/Venezuela border because of riots in Santa Elena, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that the unrest is temporary.
Slideshow Print this entry Sao Paulo hotels