Manaus, Brazil

After the Roriama trek we took a day to start recovering then catched a taxi to cross the border to Brazil. We ended up taking a taxi all the way to the next town in Brazil, Boa Vista because it was cheaper and faster than a bus. Gas in Venezuela is subsidised by the government, something like 1 cent for a liter! This is truly a terrible thing because it encourages lots of driving of monsterous gas hogs, old U.S. cars...unnecessary pollution.

From Boa Vista we eventually caught a night bus to Manaus, Brazil. Got ourselves into an Australian run Hostel and set out to get boat tickets for Tabatinga. We were able to choose between leaving on the boat either the next day or 5 days away. Feeling the thick heat of the city on our backs helped us quickly decide to leave the next day. The town did look interesting enough to stay a few days, but the heat was oppressive.

We purchased our boat tickets, then hammocks and ropes without much hassle. We picked up some snacks from the grocery store and some fruit from the street vendors. We were hoping to take an avocato, but they are as big as 3 at home, and without refridgeration we knew it would go to waste.

The following morning after a fitful nights sleep in the sticky heat we walked the half mile to the boat docks. taking a small boat to the deeper water where our large boat was parked we hopped on and found a decent location for our 3 hammocks. Behind our hammocks we tied our bags together. We smiled at the portuguese speaking neighbors and settled into our hammocks and wait for take off.