Amazon Adventure Day 13 - Manaus & Teddy Roosevelt Redux

The venue and the show.

The cousins are on their way back to the states. Harlan and I chose to spend another night at the Juma Opera Hotel in Manaus to recover, relax, and enjoy another performance at the Teatra Amazonas across the street.

I started this travel journal by invoking Teddy Roosevelt's memoir about his 1914 expedition down the River of Doubt in Brazil. I thought it would be fun to find and post extracts from the journal that are relevant and/or vaguely comparable to our Amazon adventure. But, until perusing the hotel brochure, I did not realize that at the completion of his journey, Roosevelt stayed in the same building as we are staying now: 

"In the early 20th century, the Juma Opera Hotel building housed the Consulate of the United States of America. Around this time, Theodore Roosevelt, the US ex-President. was officially invited by the Brazilian government to take part in a scientific expedition to the Amazon region and its rivers... During his visit to Manaus, Roosevelt stayed awhile in the American Consulate, in the very same building that now houses our Hotel." - Juma Opera Hotel Brochure

Teddy's description of his stay in Manaus was complimentary to the city, but he was less than forthcoming about his own health at the end of the trip:

"Every one was most courteous at Manaos, especially the governor of the state and the mayor of the city. Mr. Robiliard, the British consular representative, and also the representative of the Booth line of steamers, was particularly kind. He secured for us passages on one of the cargo boats of the line to Para... Belen and Manaos are very striking examples of what can be done in the mid-tropics. The governor of Para and his charming wife were more than kind." -  Teddy Roosevelt, "Through the Brazilian Wilderness"

Candice Millard's biography painted a more complete picture:

"Physically at least, Theodore Roosevelt was not the same man he had been when he left New York nearly eight months earlier. Even Leo Miller, who had endured dangers and deprivations of his own during his descent of the Gy-Paraná, had been horrified when he saw Roosevelt in Manáos, writing that his commander had “wasted to a mere shadow of his former self.” For his trip from Manáos to Pará, Brazil, Roosevelt had been transported to his steamship in an ambulance and carried on board on a stretcher." - Candice Millard,  "The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey"

Teddy and me in the hotel bar. 

There were plenty of opportunities for injury and sickness on this adventure. We frequently were wading over slippery sharp rocks in the river. There are many stinging, biting, and venomous critters in the Amazon including bees, flies, mosquitos, scorpions, spiders, snakes, sting rays, electric eels, and piranhas. And we saw most of them over the course of the week, some inside our cabin. 

A couple of uninvited guests in the cabin.

And, of course, for travelers experiencing different cuisine, intestinal distress is always a risk. That said, I am happy to report that except for a minor scrape and a single mosquito bite, Harlan and I avoided all of this while at the Kendjam Lodge. Which brings me to my own tragic injury on this adventure. 

It occurred at the danger filled location of the hotel rooftop pool and bar. Victor, my favorite bartender, was on duty. After a cooling swim, I bellied up to the bar and asked for a local brew in a glass.  As I reached for a sip, I bumped the glass, then lunged for it, grabbing broken glass as it hit the bar and taking a slice out of my finger tip. It created quite a bloody mess. Ever the professional, Victor poured me another one, cleaned up the mess, and procured bandage material. Not necessarily in that order. 

No harm, no foul. 

That evening we strolled across the street to the square...

...where an impromptu concert was underway.

Then we were ushered in to the Teatro Amazonas...

... for another enjoyable performance in that spectacular venue.

Après theater, back to the square and dinner al fresco at Tambaqui de Banda.

Where we ordered the signature dish also named "Tambaqui de Banda". 

A great finish to a wonderful trip. Tomorrow we fly. 

Amazon Adventure Day 2 - Teatras Amazonas and Acclimatizing

 

Acclimating to the temperatures facing me in the days ahead.

Day 2 in Manaus and the process of acclimating to temperature, food, and culture continues apace. I think of Manaus much like climbers think of  Base Camp before ascending Everest. It is a place to adjust to the atmosphere and prepare yourself mentally and physically for the adventure ahead. Like "base camp", our few days in Manaus at the Juna Opera Hotel gives us time to adjust before our flight to the wilderness fishing lodge a few days hence. 

Disciplined training will ensure adequate preparation. 

As a 40 year San Francisco resident I am accustomed to a temperate climate year round. The first order of business is to spend as much time in the heat as possible to get used to what I will experience at the jungle lodge. To that end I found the Juma Opera hotel rooftop pool to be the perfect training ground. My thinking was that spending as much time as possible outside at the pool would quickly accustom me to heat I will experience at the lodge, and so I acted accordingly.

Next food. In general, when traveling to new environs, it is prudent to carefully watch what you eat to avoid the kind of trip ruining maladies that typically afflict travelers. That said, I still had  a couple days to recover before our flight to the lodge on Saturday. And the breakfast spread at the hotel was too tempting to avoid interesting local Brazilian fare. 

Among the breakfast firsts for me were the Brazil nut bread, Tucupi bread, Rice and Brazil nut porridge, and a beautiful selection of fresh fruits including some that I have never seen or tasted and could not name. The fruit was obviously the highest risk to consume, but I could not resist. So far so good.

Finally, the historical Teatras Amazonas is the cultural center of Manaus, the state of Amazonas, and arguably the country of Brazil. I couldn't find a Teddy Roosevelt reference for the theater, but the opening scene of Werner Herzog's 1982 epic Fitzcarraldo was filmed at the theater and captures the ambiance of the Belle Epoque era when the rubber trade was king:

Part of the attraction of staying at the Juma Opera Hotel is the Teatras Amazonas is directly across the street. No opera was scheduled while we were in town, but there were different performances every night. We didn't care who or what was on the stage. We just wanted to experience a performance in that venue. We were told the night's performance was sold out but Harlan finagled tickets at the box office and we were in. 

Teatras Amazonas amid the square opposite the hotel.

We told we should get in line an hour early, as each section had open seating and we might get an obstructed view. So we dutifully got in line early. Soon a young women scouting the line found us and  escorted us with other gray hairs to a shorter VIP line. I guess getting older does have some advantages. 

We were in, in our box seats off to the side. The theater was spectacular. Our seats were great. The show was fun - an assortment of 4 men and 2 women alternating pop songs with indigenous native dancers interspersed throughout. We didn't understand the words but appreciated the music and energy. 

It was great fun and we appreciated the opportunity to experience a performance at the theater. If we can get tickets we'll go back again.