The Adventures of Podge & Tubbs

Until I mentioned it, The Duchess had never heard of the existence of Pink Dolphins and no matter how much I tried to persuade her, she would have none of it. So, all I could do was to book a cruise that would take us from Barbados down to the mouth of the Amazon and then upstream all the way to Manaus (The capital of the vast state of Amazonas), a distance of about 1000 kilometres.  While there we would embark on an excursion to a jungle lodge then known as Ariau Towers ( no longer operating 😦 ).

Our first challenge however was to check that the school would be ‘happy’ for us taking the boys away for 2-weeks in the school term. We explained that the cruise would involve sailing 1000 kilometres up the Amazon to Manaus. From there we would transfer to spend some time at a place known as Ariau Towers which was a series of lodges interconnected with arial walkways deep in the Amazon from where we would be able to explore the jungle on foot, explore local villages, getting close to Caymen and seeing Pink Dolphins. Tactual lodge was first developed by Jacques Cousteau as a base for exploring the Amazon River Basin. The tutors, for both Nick and Matt, looked at us and said that they thought they would get far more out of the trip than the 2-weeks at school and so gave their blessing. I did then suggest that perhaps the boys could prepare a presentation on their trip and present it to the year or class. Naturally, this idea was well received though when the boys found out, I became public enemy number 1! 🥴 I think one might guess who actually put together the presentation 🤔

The trip started with a flight to Barbados to join what was to be our home for the next two week in the guise of Fred Olsen’s Braemar: From there we set sail for Tobago before our 2-day sailing to the mouth of the might Amazon, crossing the Equator on the way. This meant we would have to carry out the crossing the line ceremony which involves kissing the fish, getting wet and generally a very messy time.

Having encountered some heavy seas and headwinds, which caused many people to feel most unwell, we finally reached Macapa (12 hours late) to collect out pilots for the duration and started the journey up the mighty Amazon. Our adventure had started.

Come the first morning, a trip out on deck revealed the vast number of insects, etc., that were far bigger than we had seen before.

Our first stop was Parintins, on an island in the Amazon River. The port area has a flea market, much to the delight of Mrs Me, and a colourful floating market with dozens of boats jammed together, selling fruit, vegetables, fish and of course, souvenirs.

While in Parintins we had the opportunity to visit and watch a dance festival (Festival do Boi-Bumbá), second only to the annual Rio Samba Parade.

While there we were given the opportunity to join in and dance with some of the dancers. But, after Mrs Me had finished vetting the dancers it was ‘agreed’ that I wouldn’t join in: Poor Podge.

So, having enjoyed the drinking and dancing we set sail once more up the mighty Amazon heading directly to Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas. This is also where the dark Negro River converges with the brown, muddy Solimões River resulting in a striking visual phenomenon called the “Meeting of the Waters.” The combined tributaries form the Amazon River. (source (including map(s): Google)

Although we were in Manaus for overnight (2-full days) we didn’t see much of it as we went straight to Ariaú Towers. The pictures below were taken on route and while we were there. Ariaú Towers is in the Rio Negro just above Vila de Paricatuba, and west (left) of Manaus.

On our first afternoon at the Towers, having checked and being shown to our rooms and given specific instructions about security 🥴 we had some free time, before our motorised canoe trip to explore the flooded forest, to meet our new neighbours: I don’t mean fellow cruise passengers, I mean the wildlife! Predominantly, our new neighbours were Squirrel Monkeys who had taken up permanent residence in the towers. These little monkeys were without a doubt very, very cheeky and more than a little relaxed in our company. Also in abundance were Parrots/Macaws though they weren’t quite as relaxed with us the litle monkeys. Neither in fact were the Howler Monkeys though to be honest I don’t think I’d want them to be : They’re a little bigger than squirrel monkeys and a lot, lot noisier. When we looked over the side down into the waters, it was even possible to spot Cayman but all Podge could manage was a blurry picture but did get a good one that had been caught and trussed up and brought into our boat for us to stroke.

Having acquainted ourselves with our new chums, we wwre rudely reminded that the Jungle Lodge is situated in the Amazon Rain Forest: And, the rains here were something else; they were torrential but at least it was warm rain.

BOCA DE VALEIRA – BRAZIL

SANTEREM – BRAZIL