Brazilian Amazon - Advanture Travel

Old Sep 16th, 2003, 06:01 AM
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Brazilian Amazon - Advanture Travel

Three friends and I are travelling to the Amazons from Nov. 22-25th. As of now, we are planning on entering and departing the region via Manaus.

I've read through the threads and received recommendations through friends regardin Arieu Amazon Tower; However, we are looking for something a big more raw then the hotel in the Amazons experience.

We've heard of tours that will take you deep in the amazons via canoe or kayak, and in the evenings, you will sleep on hammocks or with local villagers. I've also heard that such trips, you will need to use both Manaus and Belem as your gateways.

Has anyone one out there heard of such tours, and if yes, which company should we contact to arrange our trip?

Thanks in advance,
El
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Old Sep 24th, 2003, 02:57 PM
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We're planning to be in the same area in late November / early December. Your accommodation plans are little more raw than we like but I do remember reading about tour companies that offer those types of tours. I've returned the books to the library unfortunately. I don't think it was in the Lonely Planet book (but you may want to try their website) but rather in a different book. I'm not sure if I recall the name correctly but I think it was called something like "read this book first". I might be way off base but it might be worth a trip to the library. Have a great trip!
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Old Oct 3rd, 2003, 10:52 AM
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El

Let me know if you find something about this. That is exactly the type of experience I want to have in the Amazon - but we would do it next November (we just got back from a camping safari in Africa).
I would love to go deep into the Amazon.

Ingrid
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Old Oct 4th, 2003, 12:03 AM
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Hi,
A friend and I stayed at Ariau and you're right, it's not that far into the Amazon. FYI, it's located on the Rio Negro...we were told that there are really no accomodations on the Amazon itself (around that area, anyway) b/c of the problems w/Yellow Fever. Apparently, the Rio Negro's acidity makes it tough for mosquitos to survive there.

If you are looking for something authentic, than perhaps Ariau isn't your best option, as you've already figured out. We were pleased w/our stay there but I must admit, I thought we'd be deeper into the rain forest. We saw few animals--I had hoped to see monkeys and sloths and other creatures that I saw in Costa Rica but didn't. The staff at Ariau was great--we had a terrific guide who went out of her way to make sure we had the best experience so that made up for the disappointment of not seeing more wildlife.

Please post whatever you find out--that kind of info would've been great when I was planning our trip so know that others will appreciate it

Debbie
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Old Oct 4th, 2003, 05:25 AM
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Strange to hear that you did not see lots of monkeys at Ariau, because I have been there many times....and there are so many monkeys all over the place! My favorites being the Spider, Squirrel and Wooley Monkeys. Plenty of Coati Mundi too. One time I accompanied a group of "birders" to Ariau and they counted over 200 species in the first couple of days. And yes, I have seen sloths as well. Actually, I have found that Ariau is one of the only places that you can actually see birds and animals up close because it is built at tree top level with over 6 miles of canopy walkways.

It is virtually impossible to see animals while treking on the ground or exploring by canoe in the Amazon. You can see the occasional swish of the trees above you as a monkey moves about, but you will not be able to get up close or see it up close.

Of course you can see Pink dolphins while in the canoes.

There are no trips that are strictly by canoe. The river is very wide, sometimes up to 15 miles across. Locals refer to it as the "river-sea", and when it rains and the wind blows you can encounter waves that would push over a canoe in an instance. Canoes are usually only used for the backwaters and small byways.

Cruise trips on the Amazon are done by traditional riverboats like the Amazon Clipper, although you will not see much on the main river. These traditional Amazonian boats usually have zodiacs or canoes which allows exploring the flooded forest.

Ariau is sitting at the foot of the largest fresh water archipelago in the world (400 islands) - The Anavilhanas Archipelago. Ariau does and can arranges private boat trips through this region. I have done it and it was worthwhile.
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Old Oct 16th, 2003, 11:47 AM
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einaussie,
Last yearI did that exact trip you're looking to do . I was in Brazil for three weeks, one of which was in the Amazon (out of Mannaus). You won't find a "raw" (or even authenic) Aamazon experience at Arieu. I suggest you go to Amazonat Lodge (arrange it through BrazilNuts - both on the internet), and they'll arrange a guide and a cook/indian slave to take you into the "raw amazon". I camped out (and slept on a hammock every night)in the Amazon for three nights. Traveled by motorized canoe and had a fantastic time - although not for the meek. I've been all over the world and the Amazon is a real challenge - intense humidity, impossible navagation without a guide, posinous snakes, spiders, hornets, ants, piranha lots of caimans. A blast. My guide and I did get attacked by hornets (don't forget a complete first aide kit)and it was intense pain.....while he looked around for some magical bark off a tree I dove into my first aide kit, and bingo, hydrocortisone cream did the trick. Don't expect to see many animals though, the rainforest is too dense. By the way, the Pantanal should not be missed if you enjoy wildlfe - totally awesome. Good luck and feel free to write if you need to: [email protected]
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Old Jun 7th, 2004, 12:31 PM
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I am interested in an Amazon adventure as well. I was thinking of a 5-7 day organized trip that takes you a bit deeper into the region, perhaps on a boat. I was hoping for something along the lines of Brazil Nuts or one of the other ecotourism operators - so something not as rugged as sleeping on hammocks but not totally roughing it either. I am a bit torn as I don't know if a city girl like me will be able to deal well with the heat humidity, bugs, etc of, well, being in a jungle for a whole week. On the other hand, in reading these posts it seems like if you only have a day or two you don't get very far into the jungle and don't see many animals or get a good sense of it. Is this right?
Please let me know if you have any suggestions on good tours for 4-7 days for people who want to see and learn a lot but also want to be somewhat comfortable.
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Old Jun 16th, 2004, 12:05 PM
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Sally,
I'm looking into the Uakari Lodge outside of Tefe in the amazon, you fly there from Manaus.

It won and eco-tourism award from Travel and leisure and the profits go back into a non-profit benefitting the local community.
The place looks interesting...
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