This
classic tour by Swallows & Amazons aboard a 6 cabin
air-conditioned houseboat, the Dona Tania, introduces
travelers to the Amazon River, the Lower Rio Negro River,
and the Anavilhanas Archipelago (an ecological reserve)
which begins near their rustic 8 bedroom lodge. Daily
canoeing excursions, rainforest walks and full home-cooked
meals are included. Other attractions include sport
fishing, wildlife photography, swimming, beach barbqs
and visit with local Amazonian river people.
2005 Rate per person US$1050 ( Base
on double occupancy).
Departure date: the7 Day Houseboat
runs the first and last Sunday of the month.
Include: transfers IN/OUT, 2 nights
hotel, welcome dinner, city tour + 6 days/5 nights river
& rainforest tour (Houseboat/ ac cabins).
DAY
00
Arrival and Transfer IN to Hotel
Welcome dinner at Bufalo BarBQ restaurant. Overnight
at Lider Hotel or similar.
DAY 01
After breakfast we depart from the floating port in
our boat, a classic Amazon houseboat, fully outfitted
with food, drink, and crew. From Manaus we travel an
hour to the stunning meeting of the waters where the
Negro River flows into the mighty Amazon River but the
two do not mix due to differences in velocity, density
and temperature. At the meeting of the waters we often
see grey and pink river dolphins, and plenty of local
fishermen.
Second stop is Lake Janauari, a vast area of floodplain
(varzea) receiving water from both the Amazon and Negro
rivers. We will visit a restaurant run by local "caboclo"
river people and walk through the treetops on a walkway
to view giant Amazon waterlilies in a quiet lagoon.
Here we might also see monkeys, hawks, alligators, iguanas
and morpho butterflies. After lunch in the boat we will
travel a short distance on to the Amazon river, here
called the Solimoes. to a group of islands called the
Parana (inlet) of Iranduba, an area full of birdlife,
alligators and monkeys. We will visit some local familes,
see how they live, and have a look at some rubber trees,
brazil nut trees and guava trees full of parrots and
parakeets. Later we take to the canoes and go fishing
for piranha in the nearby creeks (“igarapes”)
which ring the area. We will have dinner on the boat
and then take to the canoes once more in the evening
to go "alligator hunting", though only to
see and photograph them. We will spend the night at
Iranduba in our boat sleeping in beds in air-conditioned
cabins.
DAY 02-04
Early in the morning the boat will make its way up the
Negro River to the homestead of Tania's family near
the river and village of Arara. Here we will go for
a long trek deep into the jungle to study medicine plants
with Tania's father (a local medicine man). We will
go canoeing on the Jaraqui and Ariau Rivers- igarapes
(small rivers) near our lodge and on the opposite side
of the Negro River across “Anaconda Bay”.
At night we will search for tarantulas, bats, alligators,
night birds and other creatures. Beyond the lodge we
will visit the first islands of the vast Anavilanhas
Archipelago, the largest group of freshwater islands
in the world. In the dry season we will go walking and
canoeing amidst the islands to see monkeys, toucans,
iguanas and dolphins. In the rainy season we will explore
the flooded forest (“igapo”), and the unique
treetop world hidden above the flooded islands. Overnight
accommodations on the boat or in a rainforest camp (optional).
DAY 05-06
Trekking and canoeing on the Cuieiras River, a long,
quiet tributary of the Negro River where we have our
own rainforest property and work with several local
families.
Return to Manaus. Overnight at Lider Hotel
DAY 07
After breakfast the group will be taken on a guided/driven
city tour to see the Amazonas Opera House, the Municipal
Market, and the Rio Negro Palace & Cultural Center.
Transfer OUT to Airport for Departure.
Please
take note that the sequence of visits can change to
meet climatic and/or operational reasons at time of
cruise.
