Amazon & Carnival Explorer Cruise - Day 40: Manaus, Brazil Day 1

Friday, March 15

Today we are in Manaus, which is the furthest port on our trip up the Amazon.  We docked at 10:00 AM, and we are here for two days.  Manaus is in the heart of the Amazon rain forest and is located where the Rio Negro River meets the Amazon.  It has a population of just over two million and is the largest city on the Amazon.  Because it is surrounded by rain forest, the only way in and out of the city is boat or airplane.  The city was founded in 1639 and because of its isolation, Manaus has been able to preserve both its natural environment as well as its culture.

We arrive in Manaus.

 

As we were docking, we were entertained by dancers.

 

Buses and boats for the ship's tours.

Today was one of those days that just doesn’t go right.  Val had arranged a private photo tour with a guide and a boat and we had been looking forward to it, but I woke up in the night not feeling well and barely slept after that.  We got up around 8:30 to get ready for the tour, but I realized that I just wasn’t going to make it.

I called Tony and Evelyn, the couple we had invited to go with us, and told them of the situation and thankfully they still wanted to go.  Val decided that if I wasn’t going she wasn’t going, but she still had to get off the boat and meet with our guide, Roldolpho.  She met Tony and Evelyn at the bottom of the gangway once the ship was cleared and  she took the shuttle to the terminal where they met Rodolpho.

Val explained the situation to Rodolpho and even though we weren’t going, we paid him for the day as he had already made the arrangements and we thought it only fair.  He was very understanding and appreciative of being paid and Val really liked him.  Tony and Evelyn went off with Rodolpho and Val got back on the shuttle and returned to the ship.

We were both very disappointed to miss the tour today, Val had spent a lot of time and effort arranging it and going back and forth with Rodolpho on the itinerary.  Unfortunately, these things happen so hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow.

I spent the morning resting and Val read and watch what was happening outside from the balcony.  Around 11:00 it got very dark and cloudy and started to rain, and I mean really rain.  It rained for over an hour and I have never seen such a torrential rain that lasted that long.  You could barely see the city through the rain, and to add to the fun, there was lots of lightning and thunder.  We couldn’t help but wonder how Tony and Evelyn were making out in the rain.

Val went up to the Lido and got me something for lunch and even though I wasn’t very hungry, I did have to eat something.  We spent the rest of the afternoon doing nothing.  Val didn’t even go to trivia as she thought nobody would be there.  I didn’t feel well enough for our normal dinner routine so we skipped trivia and the dining room and just went up to the Lido and brought something back to our room.  I called it a very early night as I had very little sleep last night.  I am hoping for better things for our second day in Manaus tomorrow.