Manaus, Brazil

Manaus, capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, is located on the banks of the Rio Negro (Black River) in the Amazon rainforest. There are no paved roads that connect the city to the rest of the country, and transportation to and from is dependent primarily on river traffic. In 1976, Eduardo Gomez Airport opened to receive both international and domestic flights.

From 1890 to 1920, the world’s insatiable appetite for rubber launched Manaus into a position of prominence. It was an industry that developed from the extraction of latex from trees that, at the time, could only be found in Brazil’s Amazon region. Since then, rubber plant seeds have been exported to various countries with similar climatic conditions – primarily in Asia - where output would catch up to and even surpass Brazil’s capacity. Initially, however, Manaus received huge investments toward its infrastructure. An opera house was completed in 1896; railways were built; phone lines, electricity, water and sewage pipes installed. All this was considered as somewhat incongruous for an out-of-the-way place in the middle of the South American jungle.

As rubber production picked up in Asia, Manaus gradually lost its importance. Today, a diverse industrial complex is in place that supplies most of the area’s (as well as a significant portion of the country's) needs.

As the movement for greater ecological awareness gained momentum all over the world, Manaus has become a center for eco-tourism. Several river tour operators conduct continuous daily excursions intended to showcase (for instance) how two rivers (Rio Negro and the Solimões) - each one exhibiting a different shade of brown - come together while still remaining separate. It is also possible to stay at remote jungle hotels, that are accessible only by boat.

We arrived at the hotel, Ariau Towers, in July when the water level is normally very high. Coincidentally, this particular year (2009) the water was at the highest level ever recorded. Many low-lying buildings experienced flooding on the ground floors. Our hotel was no exception. As we were staying on the fourth floor, we had no problem.

The jungle hotels allow one to experience life along the legendary Amazon. We took tours to see indigenous river people, as well as Indian tribes that celebrate their ‘fire’ rituals after dark. All these were within a comfortable radius of modern civilization. There are, however, settlements too far out where no one ever visits. The people there don’t even have a concept of ‘money’ as there is nothing to buy and pay for.

All hotels offer boat tours to see alligators, birds and other wildlife native to the area. One tour allows for swimming with sweet water dolphins (‘botos’). Another advertises piranha fishing. Still others offer hikes in the jungle. Every full tour package includes watching either the sun rise or set over what most agree is the greatest (if not, strictly speaking, the longest), most mysterious river on the planet.

Getting to know the Amazon is a truly unique, almost mystical experience. Tourists from all over the world are welcomed here to test their courage, swimming with the piranhas or feeding bananas to unpredictably schizophrenic, tooth-baring monkeys that hang out in the trees and rafters everywhere.

Filipe K. Werneck; Brasilia, Brazil