The flight to Manaus from Sao Paulo was the best so far and for one simple reason, I was upgraded to business class! This is what flying is meant to be like. Big comfy chairs that can be moved into your favourite position. With the press of a few buttons you can go from sitting upright to stretching your legs out, lying back or even lying down. The first few minutes after take off the cabin is filled with the noise of numerous chair motors whirring away as the other first class passengers get comfortable. I spent a little while doing a Homer Simpson... 'Chair goes up, chair goes down...'

 

Nestled away in the arm rest is the remote control which on the flip side has a control pad for playing games, fancy. The LCD screen is also moveable so with a few adjustments I was ready for the movie, Ghost Town. Maybe it was because I was in a good mood from the comfy chair but I found this movie quite entertaining and funny, four stars!

 

Manaus is the capital of Amazonia and the river front areas reminded me a bit of mandurah for some reason. The hotel transfer guy drove us to a little jetty about 20mins from the airport where we jumped onto a small vessel named Pampoloma 2, and headed toward Tiwa Amazonia Ecoresort about 40mins away on the opposite side of the Rio Negro.

 

We were greeted with warm smiles and a glass of juice and were immediately seated for lunch. Fantastic! I thought as I was completley hungry. The food here is amazing! A buffet with salads meats and fruits, perfect!

 

After lunch we walked toward our room. The fella escorting us pointed toward a tree between the walkways and said something in Portuguese. Looking toward the tree I didnt see a thing. We moved closer to the tree and there hanging motionless was a sloth! A huge smile came accross my face, this is one of my main reasons for coming to the amazon, to see a sloth, and there was one less than a meter in front of me!

 

Continuing on toward the room the fella pointed up to the top a very tall tree and said, 'Cobra'. Following the direction of his pointed finger I spotted the Cobra, a big bugger half curled and and lazing about on a thick branch. He pointed toward what looked like a large birds nest as Ma'ma translated. The story is that the cobra ate the Parrot from the nest about a week ago and has been sitting up there since.

 

Finally we made it to the room and unloaded our gear. Time to take in the sights.

 

Tiwa is a resort and so you can get an idea of what its like by thinking what a resort is. A very relaxing atmosphere, wooden floorboards, thatched roofs made from palm trees, bamboo fencing, exotic music playing, a large crystal clear pool with a bridge over the middle seperating the deep from the shallow and friendly staff with big smiles on their faces.

 

The reception and dining lounge is one large undercover area with a second floor that was closed off for rennovations. Leading out from the dining area are three paths made of wooden planks. The path on the right leads around a small ditch/pond and then straight out to the pool via the tree with the sloth, the middle path circles around the left side of the ditch/pond and joins up with the first path by the sloth tree. A bridge then leads out toward the rooms on the right side of a large lake. The third path on the left leads straight out to the rooms on the left of the lake.  

 

There are about 10 shacks on either side of the lake and are actually above the water, not on the land. A second bridge is located after about the 6th shack that stretches from one shore to the other. The paths then continue onward on either side, leading straight into the wilderness. Oooh scary.

 

After getting settled in we set off for our first tour of the forest. I immediately got the sense that this part of the forest is relatively new as it wasnt as dense as I thought it should be and none of the trees were the giants I was expecting to see either. I later talked to the tour guide who said if I fly to another village, then travel by boat for 3 days then Ill be in the ancient forest. Sounds great! 

 

There were still some sections along the trail that were quite thick and the sunlight strained to shine through the canopy. Its a weird experience walking through a forrest in the middle of the day and it not being bright. Its kind of like an eclipse. At least thats what I thought of at the time.

 

Our tour guide often stopped to pick up a leaf, to cut into a tree or to point out some creature. The leaves and trees were different herbs and spices or fruits and flowers, with strong aromas and bitter tastes. Things you use in cooking, fruits and nuts you always wondered about, or a smell from certain medications, all can be found right here under your feet, well a lot of them anyhow. Apparently only 20% of the fruits in the forrest are edible, if monkeys eat it then you can eat it said the guide, and if you cant see any monkeys then you better have brought one with you!

 

My first tour and day in the Amazon was excellent, I cant wait for more!