March 20 - Manaus

Manaus was literally built on the sap of the Hevea Brasilensis rubber tree. In the late 19th century, Brazil was the world’s sole producer of rubber and the city of Manaus was the centerpiece of this fortune-producing industry even though it lay a thousand miles up the Amazon River from the Atlantic Ocean. (It actually lies on the Rio Negro, off the Amazon.) At one time Manaus was one of the richest cities in the world. The rubber barons were so rich that they sent their laundry to be washed in the cleaner water of Europe and they sent their wives and kids to Paris. Around 1910 an enterprising Brit smuggled some rubber tree seeds to Sri Lanka and Malaysia cut drastically into Manaus rubber and fortune. During their glory years they built a gorgeous Opera House to appease European acts that refused to perform in the structure they had. Around the Opera House there are still enormous and impressive houses that were once owned by Rubber Barons and now serve as government structures. Currently Manaus turns its back on the rich surrounding forest and instead relies on government subsides, its exotic past and increasing tourism. In the last 50 years the city has grown from a few hundred thousand to the current population of 2.4 million. The biggest employer is the Brazilian army. I took a tour today where I boarded a regional riverboat made our way to January Lake. En route, we passed little houses on the water and houses that were built on stilts to account for the often 40’ difference in water level. (if their houses aren’t on stilts and are near the river they build them 3 stories high so they can retreat to the upper floors when the water is high.) There are groupings of river people who appear not to have much but a good number of them do have satellite dishes, we’re told in large part because they are addicted to soap operas. They do have access to some conveniences as their kids are picked up by a yellow boat to get them to Manaus to school and they have access to an Ambulance boat as well. Once we got to January Lake we transferred to a motorized canoe and traveled upstream to the small creeks that lead into the heart of the jungle. The trees were amazing with their unusual trunks. We did see some monkeys, herons, vultures and some other small birds. The bugs weren’t bad at all, although we all dressed like we were on the African Queen! We also visited a floating market and the Victoria Regia giant water lilies. Some are 3’ across and have huge flowers. We even saw a small crocodile on one lily pad. On our return to the ship we went to the “Wedding of the Waters,” a phenomenon created as the inky, slow, warm water of the Negro River meet up with the chestnut-colored, fast, colder waters of the Solimoes River. For about 12 mi. they flow side by side without mixing creating a very interesting sight. They don’t mix for 3 reasons: their speed, their density and their weights. I actually saw it better at 6 am when I was walking on deck and we passed through it on our way to dock in Manaus. It was VERY distinct there flowing for miles side by side. After lunch I went out on my own and walked for a couple of hours to see the Opera House and a little of the city that they call “Paris of the Tropics.” Their boulevards are wide with lots of trees but there are sooo many little vendors with umbrellas that line all the streets and the downtown is quite shabby, neither of which remind me of Paris. The weather today was cloudy which helped keep down the heat, but by the time I went out in the afternoon it was very hot and humid. I would have been OK if I didn’t have to have all the clothes on to ward off the few bugs. If I ever get back I’d visit the banana market where they sell from they dugout canoes. Tomorrow: Boca de Valeria