Sitting in the middle of the largest rainforest in the world – the Amazon, Manaus is the hub for all that is Amazonas. From river cruises to swimming with dolphins, jungle walks to meeting of the waters, Manaus is the place to be. We arrived in Manaus early in the morning by an overnight bus from Boa Vista after crossing the border from Guyana (click here to read about it). Thanks to our AirBnB hosts who were kind enough to let us check in early, we got settled in comfortably. The apartment was located in the heart of the city, just minutes away from the Teatro Amazonas and we were on the 10th floor with an amazing view of the beautiful Rio Negro. Our hosts Silvio and his mate Clemilson were very gracious and very helpful in offering us tips and information on river cruises and other things to see around Manaus. One block from our apartment was the Teatro Amazonas and the adjoining street contained dozens of tour operators. We talked to quite a few of them and negotiated a good deal with Amazona Tours for a day trip to Presidente Figueiredo National Park and a 3D/2N Amazon river cruise.
Tour 1: Presidente Figueiredo National Park
Day tour through Amazona Tours for 150 reals ($35) per person.
Presidente Figueiredo is a small city in the Amazon rainforest located around 120 km from Manaus and is an ecological reserve that contains over a hundred waterfalls and a dozen caves.
We visited 2 waterfalls during this tour which were both extremely picturesque and were a lot of fun because we were able to get into the water. Although these were more like cascades than waterfalls, these flowing waters were unique due to their mineral content, so that the water takes on a reddish brown color and it almost looks dirty. 
The first waterfall we visited was called Iracema and is a beautiful cascade which is quite wide and around 15-20 feet tall. The area downstream was quite shallow with rocks almost at the water level which was very convenient to bathe in. We spent around 1 hour here and after a short hike back, had lunch in the little town of Urubui.
From here, we drove for 40 minutes to another waterfall called the Bird Waterfall. This was also more of a cascade and there was a zipline going over the flowing river but we chose to just swim in the water instead. They had put in a safety rope across which we could hold on to which helped keep us from being carried away downstream by the small yet forceful 5 foot falls.
Although we only got to see just a small glimpse of the vast park, we did enjoy it thoroughly. However, there were a couple of other falls that I saw pictures of at the tourist offices that were shown flowing on top of caves and rocks which looked quite beautiful and worth a visit. So if you happen to take one of these tours, I would recommend that you ask the tour operators for pictures of the falls that he will be taking you to as there are tons of them here.
Tour 2: The Amazon River Cruise
This was a 3D/2N river cruise with Amazona Tours for which we paid 800 reals ($200) per person. Some of the activities offered were (in the order of our experience):
- Visit with Indigenous folks and see their habitat
- Piranha fishing
- Caiman spotting and catching
- Jungle walk and learn about the various flora and fauna of the Amazon
- Swimming with dolphins
- Visit the meeting of the waters
- View the Victorian lily pads.
We were on a boat that had 2 rooms, a kitchen and an open area on the main level and the top level had hammocks. Apart from the 2 of us, there were 5 other guests. Our crew members consisted of a cook and her spouse who steered the boat and 2 guides, Paulo and Lima. 
Day 1:
We checked out of our AirBnB in Manaus at 9 am and our tour guide picked us up. We drove for over an hour going over the Rio Negro bridge and heading out of Manaus until we came upon a small village along the banks of the Rio Negro. Here we were transferred to a small speed boat and travelled for 15 minutes and met up with the house boat which was going to be our home for the next 2 nights. The other guests had gone on a jungle walk, so by then we got settled into one of the rooms that was assigned to us and then met them after they returned. We were served lunch around noon and then set sail to our first activity.
This was a visit to an Indigenous folks village to see and learn about their way of life. We sailed for half an hour by which time we all had a nap lying on one of the hammocks which was a very relaxing experience. The boat docked at the village and we could see a few straw huts on the side of the river. We were led to one of the larger huts which looked like a hall where the villagers would perform for us. There was also a display of some of their handicrafts which we could buy as souvenirs. We took pictures, checked out the handicrafts and also bought some small trinkets. They offered us some roasted bugs to eat which were their regular snacks. I was hesitant at first but I tried a couple to see how they tasted. It was very salty and crunchy but I didn’t really care for the taste and the fact that they were bugs didn’t feel appetizing to me. After this they performed a few traditional dances and for one of them they even included some of us guests. This was quite a unique experience and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We spent about an hour here and afterwards sailed to another part of the river.
Our next activity was piranha fishing. Since most of the other guests had performed this activity the previous day, it was just the two of us with Lima as our guide. We took the small speed boat and with our fishing rods in hand we headed out. We stopped the boat near one of the mangroves and after tying the bait to our strings, we lowered it and waited for some piranhas to bite. We were unsuccessful in catching anything but Lima managed to catch two of them. We moved to another spot on the river and although a lot of them jumped above the waters, they didn’t bite. We spent about 1.5 hours fishing and then returned to the boat. 
Dinner was served and after that, some guests decided to camp out in the jungle. This was one of the activities offered on the tour but we were not too keen to do this, so we stayed on the boat along with another guest. Later in the evening, Lima took us in the small boat to a spot on the river where we could watch the sunset. 
Before turning in for the night, we enjoyed some Caipirinha which is a signature Brazilian cocktail made from either Cachaça or Vodka, lime and ice. This drink is available everywhere in Brazil, and is a must try if you visit. We wanted to learn how to make this signature cocktail, so our guides Paulo and Lima graciously showed us how and we had a lot of fun making it and enjoying the drink.
Day 2:
Our first activity was swimming with dolphins. This was the highlight of our cruise and is the most popular event which everyone who comes to the Amazon has on the top of their to-do lists. We sailed to a part of the river which was where these pink dolphins were found. As we reached the area, we headed to the pier where they had built a platform to get into the water. We all got fitted with some life vests and one by one eased ourselves into the water where one of the guides had a bucket full of fish ready. He stood on the platform and as soon as he threw one of the fishes in the water, the whole area was swarming with dolphins. They would fearlessly swim right up to us, jump up above the water and catch the fish. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience to see these beautiful creatures up close.
Our next activity was the jungle walk which lasted for a couple of hours. We met up with another gentleman who lives in the jungle and he guided us on a long walk through the Amazon, showing us various plants and trees that are indigenous and also explained their uses. Some of the trees we saw were a variety of cocoa, mushroom, Babaçu, etc and various spiders, a tarantula and some beetles. When we asked the local gentleman when was the last time he spotted a jaguar here, he said that surprisingly it was just an hour before but unfortunately we did not get to see one. It was a very exhilarating 2-hour walk and we really enjoyed it.
After dinner, Paulo took us on a boat ride to spot and catch caimans. We rode for more than an hour and although Paulo was very well experienced in spotting these, he was unable to find any today. 
Day 3:
We started the day sailing the boat back to Manaus. We travelled for an hour and sailed right under the Rio Negro bridge.
After disembarking, we were led to another passenger boat that seats around 50 people. This was a tour boat that would take us to the meeting of the waters and the Victorian lily pads. They have a couple of these boats making the rounds to these points and the tour operators combine their customers into one of these boats.
The first place we visited was the Meeting of Waters (Portuguese: Encontro das Águas). This is the confluence of the two rivers, the dark Rio Negro (black water) and the pale sandy-colored Amazon river or Rio Solimões (white water). This is truly an amazing sight wherein these two rivers meet but do not mix and run side by side for a distance of 6 km. These waters bear a distinct color difference that makes it easily visible and quite an unusual phenomenon. This is due to the difference in temperature, speed and the water density of these rivers. Known as a ‘white water river’, the Solimões river owes its ‘cafe au lait’ coloring to the rich sediment that runs down from the Andes Mountains, including sand, mud and silt, while the darker Rio Negro gets its ‘black tea’ hue from leaf and plant matter that has decayed and dissolved in the water. Our boat went over the confluence of these rivers and stopped at this point for a few minutes allowing everyone to get a good view and to take pictures before heading forward.
Our next stop was to one of the outlets of the Amazon river where the Victorian Lilies are in abundance. The leaves of these lilies are the largest found. They are native to the Amazon and are called the Victoria Amazonica. The Victorian lily leaves lie flat on the water’s surface forming a lily pad and can grow as big as 3 meters (9.8 feet) in diameter. They look like large rimmed plates in green and can hold the weight of a human.
Once the boat docked, we walked a short distance to a tall platform from where we could view these large lily pads. This was not the right season for these lilies, so there were very few of these round lily pads. Some of them had holes in them too. But they were still very pretty to look at and one can only imagine how beautiful it would have been during the right season to see the entire area filled with these large round leaves covering the entire river area.
After visiting the lily pads, we had lunch at the only restaurant next to where the boat had docked. Lunch was part of the tour package and was a traditional Brazilian buffet.
We then sailed back to Manaus in the same boat and once we reached there, we took a taxi to the tour operator’s office where our luggage was stored. As part of the package, they even dropped us off at the airport for our flight to São Luís.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our Amazon cruise and I will recommend you give Amazona Tours a chance as we were very happy with their service. They fulfilled all their promises and took us to all the places on their list. You can click on the link to their website at the top of this page, however I would also recommend coming to Manaus and shopping around for a good deal that will suit your requirements.
