Amazon Adventure Day 1 - Manaus

Manaus and Teatro Amazonas from our AirBnb Window

"Manaos is a remarkable city. It is only three degrees south of the equator. Sixty years ago it was a nameless little collection of hovels, tenanted by a few Indians and a few of the poorest class of Brazilian peasants. Now it is a big, handsome modern city, with Opera house, tramways, good hotels, fine squares and public buildings, and attractive private houses. The brilliant coloring and odd architecture give the place a very foreign and attractive flavor in northern eyes. Its rapid growth to prosperity was due to the rubber trade." - Teddy Roosevelt - "Through the Brazilian Wilderness"

The reader may be wondering why I am quoting our 26th U.S. President as a guide to Manaus on our first full day in Brazil (If you'd like a more current description of this city of 2.3 million souls - click here). 

This is the reason for the Roosevelt reference. While some embarking on a Brazilian Amazon wilderness adventure might prepare by consulting a guide like "Lonely Planet"  or "Trip Advisor", I decided to use Teddy Roosevelt's memoir of his fraught 1913 - 1914 wilderness expedition exploring the unmapped River of Doubt (Later renamed the Roosevelt River / Rio Roosevelt by the Brazilian government). And, since Teddy was a politician, I also read Candice Millard's excellent and detailed recounting of the journey as a cross-check of Teddy's account. 

Both books are highly recommended. It was an extraordinary expedition, launched after Roosevelt lost the Bull Moose campaign for President. A journey that would be unimaginable today, with an ex-President of the United States taking an ill-advised journey down an unexplored river in Brazil's Amazon wilderness. He almost loses his life as well as the life of his adult son Kermit. Some of the expedition are not so lucky. It is a story of disaster, murder, mayhem, conflict, injury, disease, bravery, incompetence, luck - good and bad - and survival. 

I do not understand how this has not been made into a big budget major motion picture with Paul Giamatti playing Teddy [Noted without comment: My brother Harlan says Timothy Chalumet should play Teddy. Make of that what you will]. My intent is to find and insert relevant quotes from the Roosevelt - Rondon Expedition journal into this accounting of our own modest Amazon adventure. But I digress. 

From L to R - Wallach, Roosevelt, Rondon

We landed at Manaus International Airport at 3:30 AM. The expected transport didn't show, so we took an Uber to the previously arranged, sight unseen, AirBnb around 4:30 AM. The picture at the top of this post was taken from that AirBnb room around 9:00 the same morning, just as we abandoned the AirBnb experiment for the Juma Opera Hotel. The less said about this the better. At this point the trip took a 180 degree turn for the better. Much, much better. 

The Juma Opera Hotel

Our intent for this first day in Brazil was to rest and recover from the flights, while acclimating to the weather before flying to the fishing lodge in the jungle a few days hence. After some rest, we spent the afternoon and evening leisurely exploring the hotel, grounds, and neighborhood. Here, in no particular order, some pics from the remainder of the day as we implemented that plan...

Breakfast buffet at the Juma Opera Hotel 
with very welcomed & very needed truly great coffee.

Manaus has serious mural game. 

Teatro Amazonas as seen from the Juma Opera Hotel Rooftop pool. 

We explored the bars, restaurants, monuments and Opera House 
on the grounds of  Largo de São Sebastião across from the Hotel.

We capped off the day with a wonderful dinner and drinks at the Juno Opera Hotel Restaurant (NOTE: At some unspecified point in the future I will go back, look up the menu, and identify these drinks and dishes. For now know that it was all great). 

Everything was better now. We've got our journey off on the right foot.