Amazon Adventure Day 3 - The Meeting of Waters & Meeting of Clans

The "Meeting of the Waters" - Rio Amazon (L), Rio Negro (R)

"In the afternoon we finally entered the wonderful Amazon itself, the mighty river which contains one tenth of all the running water of the globe. It was miles across, where we entered it; and indeed we could not tell whether the farther bank, which we saw, was that of the mainland or an island. We went up it until about midnight, then steamed up the Rio Negro for a short distance, and at one in the morning of April 30 reached Manaos."  - Teddy Roosevelt, "Through the Brazilian Wilderness"

Cousins Larry, Danny, and Jared arrived in Manaus early this morning. As noted earlier in this journal, they were the impetus (instigators?) for this journey. After a year of discussions, e-mails, travel plans, texts, bureaucratic documentation, on-line research, procuring fishing equipment, and long flights, we meet again at Juma Opera Hotel, a couple days before our plane flight to the Kendjam Fishing Lodge on the Iriri River in the Amazon rain forest.  

Meeting of the Clans - MW, LH, DH, HW
JH, the youngest among us, was still recovering from the journey.

Outside of the Meeting of the Clans, the main event of the day was a tour of the waterfront and boat excursion on the Amazon River. The Heller boys were in rest and recovery mode, so Harlan and I took the tour. First stop, the fish market:

The fish market is huge, with an amazing array of species on display. The market is indicative of both the productivity of the Amazon basin, and the appetite for seafood in Manaus. I asked our guide Felix if this market is where the restaurants in Manaus get their fish and he answered in the affirmative. The fried tambaqui fish ribs (costelas de tambaqui) I enjoyed so much on our first night in Manaus likely started at this market. 

Costelas de Tambaqui

From the fish market it was a short walk to the riverside wharf and into a small overpowered boat to continue our tour of the rivers. 

Heading for the Mother River

First stop, an opportunity to swim with the freshwater pink dolphins. I didn't realize swimming with dolphins in Rio Negro was an option and did not bring swim trunks, but they had inexpensive trunks for sale and I could not resist...

Very cool. These are wild dolphins that live free in the river and are not penned in or constrained in any way. Apparently there are about 20 of them that can be called in with few slaps of the oar and will tolerate our presence for a free and easy snack of fresh sardines. 

Next, a speedy run through mangrove forests...

... to arrive at a fish farm for giant arapaima. These critters are penned up and tourists can experience a ~5 second fight with these monsters by dropping a hookless bait fish tied to a line at the end of sturdy pole. Not a fishing pole. A big thick pole. 

The highlight was pulling up at the intersection of the "The Meeting of Waters". The very spot where the massive Rio Negro merges into the even more massive Rio Amazon. The image at the top of this post was taken at that precise location. 

We covered a lot water for a fun four hour tour, thanks to tour guide Felix.

 Back at the ranch, the clans gathered again for a drink and dinner. Even Jared.