February 12, 2008 - Manaus, Brasil
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After having an early breakfast, I headed out to see Valdemar (the agent for Anavilhanas Lodge). We chatted for 35 minutes. I told him that the lodge needs to post clear signs for NOT smoking during Canoe trips. The NYT article has apparently triggered an avalanche of bookings here. As there are just 12 cabins, one need not fear the hordes overwhelming the place anytime soon. They have good guides and free transfers from and to Manaus. Apparently all the guides who work for them are free lancers. There is apparently a guide of Indian Origin (Prakash) who speaks Hindi (as a guide). Nope, he was not around during the time I was there.
The shops here open at 8 AM and close by 6 or 7 PM. I had a bit of a walk and headed back to the hotel around 9:45 AM. I ran into Wilson and Djallman at the entrance. They were apparently headed to the airport for a pickup and they offered a ride to the airport for R$20. I promptly checked out of the hotel and accepted their discounted ride. I was at the airport by 10:30 or so. I checked in and found out to my surprise that my flight was not a non-stop flight to Recife. On my flight into Manaus, I had a single stop over (Brasilia) from Rio.
My flight to Recife from Manaus was to stop at Santarem, Belem, Sao Luis, Fortaleza and Recife before heading to Salvador! If I am expected to reach Recife at 9:25 PM, I pity the person who is travelling from Manaus to Salvador on this flight! The saving grace was that I did not have to change planes. I just sit in my allocated seat for the next 9 hours! The bag checked in at 19 Kilos.
I did some small souvenir shopping at the Airport. Knowing that there will be no vegetarian food on the plane, I had a Panini (Sugar with Cinnamon) and Mango Juice. I boarded the flight around 12:10 PM. It was pouring rain outside. I read Bruce Chatwin for a bit and dozed off (maybe it is his writing style!). I woke up at 1 PM and found the plane still sitting at the gate! Weather delay. We finally departed at 1:15 PM.
We landed at Santarem at 2:10 PM. The forest was at the very edge of the airport. The Amazon river stretched well into the Horizon. Truly mighty river. For a town with a population of 300,000 the airport looked fairly quaint. We departed Santarem at 2:30 PM and flew over the Amazon. The Rio Negro and Solimoes were separate. There is apparently another meeting point at Santarem. We will follow the Amazon through to Belem (our next stop).
We landed at Belem at 3:40 PM. The Amazon´s might was quite evident here as well. We departed Belem at 4:20 PM. Although Belem is as big as Manaus (population wise), it appeared a bit more organized (in terms of Urban planning) as opposed to Manaus (which appeared to lack any form of it!).
We arrived at Sao Luis at 5:20 PM. We appear to be 1 hour ahead already. We departed Sao Luis at 5:45 PM (or the new 6:45 PM). It had started to get quite dark.
We reached Fortalezza at 7:50 PM. It looked like a well planned city from above.
I had reached the maximum stops (EVER) on an in-country flight (I would have to research all my International flights to see if any of them had so many stops without a break). We had the largest incoming crowd (thus far) at Fortalezza. The flight may even be full from here on. We depart Fortalezza at 8:20 PM.
We reach Recife at 9:20 PM as per our Schedule.
One curious note: Brazilians pronounce the "r" letter as "h". RIO becomes HEO. RECIFE becomes HECIFE.
February 12, 2008 - Recife, Brasil
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I collected my bag and picked up a few local maps and information from the tourist booth at the airport. I took a pre-paid taxi from the airport to my hotel. The 10 minute ride cost me R$12. I requested a quiet room at the hotel. I am being Charged R$84 (US$50) per night at the hotel. The room is probably worth US$30.
As I was too tired to go out for dinner, I had dinner at the Hotel restaurant. Italian restaurant. Penne with Pesto and an Italian Wine. Good dinner. Owner is an Italian migrant who has been in Brasil for 10 years. Towards the end of my dinner, I met Francisco Appio (also a migrant from Italy) with whom I had communicated during the research the reservation process.
I need to decide on what I can do tomorrow. I have 2 full days in Recife before I head to Salvador on the 15th.
Note on Tourism
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Just about every place I have visited thus far has a nice tourist office with very detailed maps of the area. The folks staffing the tourist office may not always speak English but they are very knowledgeable and are able to help with little details.
They are definitely a saving grace for the single traveller.
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