 |
| 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". |
