{"id":13032,"date":"2026-07-29T14:34:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traveltales.ahot.online\/?p=13032"},"modified":"2026-08-07T15:05:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:05:39","slug":"sa-manaus-amazon-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traveltales.ahot.online\/index.php\/2026\/07\/29\/sa-manaus-amazon-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Manaus and Amazon, Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Manaus and Amazon 20.6. \u2013 24.6.2026<\/p>

In the early hours of the morning at 1:30, we were all woken up when, one by one, a loud alert appeared on everyone\u2019s mobile phones, reading \u2018Extremely serious alert\u2019. This was an alert issued by the local emergency services centre to warn residents of the area about, amongst other things, floods, heavy rain, landslides, extreme heat or cold, etc. As the alert didn\u2019t prompt any major action from the other residents in the block of flats, we dismissed the alert, turned over and went back to sleep. Apparently, the children had tried for a while to Google the reason for the alarm, but to no avail. Risto said he couldn\u2019t really get back to sleep because he was afraid that a storm gust might come and knock the whole building down. In the morning, Jaana looked into the matter further with the help of Google, and it turned out that the alarm had been triggered by mistake, so there hadn\u2019t actually been any danger at all.<\/p>

The Uber driver arrived to pick us up at 7:15 to take us to Viracopos Airport, 80 km from S\u00e3o Paulo. In reality, our flight didn\u2019t leave until 13:00, but our guide had previously advised us to set off as early as 7:00, as traffic jams on the motorways could sometimes slow us down considerably. This time, however, there was no traffic at all, so we were at the airport by 8:20. Fortunately, check-in was already open, so we were able to go straight through security to wait for our flight to depart. We also found an adapter for our extension lead at the airport for half the price we\u2019d been quoted the previous day at the shopping centre, so that problem was sorted too. There were three different lounges at the airport where we could have gone to wait for our flight. We decided to try out the Advantage VIP Lounge this time, as we\u2019d be returning to this airport twice more during this trip, giving us the chance to try out the other two lounges.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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At Viracopos International Airport for the first time.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We realised that those wearing fancy scarves weren\u2019t actually given priority seating; rather, the symbol in question apparently referred to people with autism.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Both breakfast and lunch were served in the lounge. Naturally, we had both. The photo shows the breakfast spread still laid out.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It was self-service for drinks as well. What a shame...<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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We flew on Azul\u2019s quirky Disney-themed aeroplane.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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During the flight, either the captain or the first officer left the cockpit on several occasions to use the toilet or to chat with the flight attendants. On those occasions, the trolley was positioned at the front of the cabin to act as a barrier, so that passengers could not access the cockpit so easily.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Manaus is a city with a population of around 2.3 million, situated on the banks of the Amazon River.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The flight to Manaus took just under four hours. As soon as we stepped off the plane, we could certainly tell that we had got considerably closer to the equator. The weather was really hot and humid! We booked a ride to our Ibis hotel, and after checking in, we set off to find some place for dinner. We ended up on the terrace of a local restaurant in the centre of Manaus, marvelling at the Saturday evening bustle and perusing the menu. The menu was brought to us in both English and Portuguese, but the English version wasn\u2019t much help, as the names of the dishes were practically the same in both languages. Jaana thought she\u2019d ordered fish, just like Marko, but ended up with some sort of sticks and a dipping sauce. The waiter did claim the dish contained fish, but it certainly didn\u2019t taste of it. The meal didn\u2019t cost much, as food and drink for the four of us came to around \u20ac30.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Risto\u2019s children\u2019s portion was a pleasant surprise.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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These are Jaana\u2019s mysterious bars, which may have contained fish.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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After our meal, we went to see what was actually going on in the square next to the restaurant, as loud music could be heard all the way into the restaurant. We thought there might be some sort of gig going on, but when we got there, we realised it was an outdoor spinning class accompanied by a live band. To be honest, we wouldn\u2019t even have considered doing spinning in that heat, even though there were huge fans blowing behind the cyclists.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The next morning, just before seven, we were picked up for a trip to the Amazon rainforest. Over breakfast, we told the children a bit about what to expect from the upcoming four-day trip. \u201cAll your trips are just roughing it out! How come this doesn\u2019t surprise me at all?\u201d was Ronja\u2019s comment when she heard what was in store.<\/p>

First, we drove to the \u2018office\u2019 of the tour organiser to pay the balance for the trip. The office turned out to be a sort of house, where customers were received in a side room. We, along with a group of Hungarian divers, went to pay for our trip, after which we continued our journey towards the Amazon. First, we drove for two hours \u2013 with a stop for shopping and a toilet break \u2013 to the riverbank, from where the journey continued by a small motorboat for 45 minutes to Ney Ecoadventures\u2019 accommodation deep in the rainforest.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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One wouldn't find the company\u2019s office on the outskirts of Manaus all by themselves.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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You could also have bought items such as jungle knives and rubber boots from the local K-market.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Here we\u2019re playing the \u2018The ship is loaded\u2019 game with our belongings. We\u2019d actually been given packing instructions for the trip, but even so, a change of clothes for four people for four days didn\u2019t really fit into a very small space. Our Hungarian travelling companions (pictured) had slightly smaller bags.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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There was hardly any other traffic on the river.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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To our surprise, the area was much better equipped than we\u2019d imagined. We were able to stay in a small cottage, where we had a double bed, a bunk bed and a toilet. There wouldn\u2019t really have been room for much else in the cottage anyway. The cottage had heated up so much in the midday heat that we certainly didn\u2019t fancy spending a single extra moment there during the day. That\u2019s why we wouldn\u2019t have needed any larger living areas there. A couple of coat hooks, or even some sort of shelf for our things, would certainly have been a welcome addition to the d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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A Spanish woman had a drone with her, which she flew over our accommodation. She sent us a few of the videos and photos she\u2019d taken. Here are a few of them.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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