Amazon Adventures

Brazil

Amazon Kayaking

You will find below a day-by-day approximate itinerary of each trip where all listed activities are placed in a certain order. This order can change according to weather conditions, client's physical conditions and preferences. The kayaking 7 days program is more specific as itinerary cannot be changed because starting and ending points are different.

KAYAKING/CAMPING Urubu River (with rapids)

7 DAYS / 6 NIGHTS

Price per person, 2 to 6 people = US$ 1290

Day 1 - 08:00 am. Pick up in the lobby. A van with our staff, all gear, food and kayaks will transfer clients from hotel to the Urubu river's shore by road for 1½ hour drive. On arrival the guide will brief on first practical steps like adjusting pedals, where to store gear and swim to loose fear of this 24ºC (75ºF) black water.
11:00 am. Let's go! Time for kayaking for some hours and pass through a high luxuriant rainforest where yellow & blue macaws belong. The first camp is situated in front of a 25 meters (80 feet) cliff where tiny orchid plants grip the vertical rocky wall. If clients wake up at sunrise they could see a giant otter family living around this spot…

Day 2 - From the river shore clients can give their first try fishing for Matrichã between 6:00 and 8:00 am. Have breakfast, pack and go! The scenery is changing today as clients will go through some rapids and leave behind the last local inhabitants. Very nice day with relaxing time in the shallow warm water up your knees along some flat rock parts of the river mixed with the excitement of the "tip or not tip over" rapid spots. Camp today can be on the shore of the river or by a 2 steps heaven-like virgin waterfall that can be climbed and at 30 minutes trekking inside the rainforest from the river shore.

Day 3 - The Lua waterfall that clients visited yesterday is a great area for trekking in the higher land rainforest. After breakfast two guides will take clients for some hours trek opening the way with machetes and stopping here and there when are found interesting medicinal plants, resins to make torches, water-vines in between their vast resourceful knowledge. After lunch it will be time for packing then after these hottest hours of the day everybody will be leaving for some hours kayaking through some rapids and flat water stretches until dawn (18:30) to get to our rock shore camp.

Day 4 - Today is a the day of many different emotions…Before sunrise a quick breakfast will be served while guides pack up to get ready to go at 6:00 am. Leaving at this hour and in this area is the best to get the chance of seeing rare animals like tapirs, electric fruit's eater eels and/or the magnificent harpy eagle. After canoeing for about 4 hours clients will be delighted with the lunch spot : a 3 meters (10 feet) high cascade of the main river where kayaks will be transported by portage to a white sand beach. Afternoon is dedicated to relax (sleep) in hammocks to get ready later on for night kayaking. Best spot to dry clothes and everything else that got wet or too humid…17:00 is the hour to go for kayaking for some hours at night with stops looking for caimans (kind of south American alligators) and other nocturnal wildlife. Camp by a beach.

Day 05, 06 & 07 - Very late morning deserved sleep… Clients will wake up in a different rainforest ecosystem's subdivision where the river is getting larger with some few small lakes entrances on the sides, no more rapids but very quiet stream and chances to see sweet water dolphins, white herons and catch piranhas. During these 2 days clients can choose for how long they want to be in deep rainforest. A visit to a local rainforest tracker's house is a must to discover how natives live, visiting their agriculture fields and their manioc roots transformation "kitchen".

The rainforest tracker will guide clients for a trek, for as far as they wish to overnight in deep rainforest. Already prepared food and basic camping stuff is packed in back packs and carried by everyone to an improvised camp. This is a lifetime experience even if usually…animals are not seen during the night, they are heard and sometimes from very close to camp spot as we do not make a campfire. Next morning a trek deeper allows encounters with rare Spider Monkeys, find rosewood between other surprises.

The day 07 consist in doing some kayaking for some three hours to get to the final destination by the dirt road of the agriculture research center EMBRAPA where stuff will be packed & stored in the Van that came to meet everybody. A ride of 3 hours through experimental plantations to get to the asphalt road. Cold beers / soft drinks stop to celebrate the 190 km (120 miles) kayaking journey before arriving one hour later in Manaus.

Kayaking / Camping Manacapuru River (no rapids)

6 DAYS / 5 NIGHTS or 5 DAYS / 4 NIGHTS or 4 DAYS / 3 NIGHTS

Prices per person 2 to 6 People - 6 DAYS / 5 NIGHTS = U$ 1175, 5 / 4 = U$ 1095, 4 / 3 = U$995

6 DAYS / 5 NIGHTS PROGRAM*

The river Rio Manacapuru is a tributary of the Amazon River. The stream comes from the north-west (direction of Columbia border) running down at less than 2-4 km/hour, south-east with its mouth at 120 km / 75 miles upstream the Amazon River from Manaus. The kayak trip starts from a dirt road upstream the Manacapuru River where it begins to be narrower. We operate along this river for many years and we have the exclusive permission to enter its private reserve. It is a “black” water ecosystem; the acid water kills the mosquito’s larvae so they are rare.

Day 01 Transfer in the morning at 8:00 am by road from your hotel to the Sao Raimundo port ( 30 min. ). Then Cross the miles wide Negro river by ferry ( 30 min.) getting to the small village of Cacau Pireira. From there you will take a road direction west for 100km /62 miles until the Manacapuru town on the margin of the Amazon River –photo stop-. 1 hour drive. Then, take a dirt road to get to the shore at 70 km/44 miles for more 1 ½ hour drive.

On arrival the guide will brief on first practical steps like adjusting pedals, where to store gears and you can have your first swim in this 27ºC (80ºF) water. At Noon, quick lunch/snack and let’s go! While kayaking for some hours adventurers will see the flooded rainforest ecosystem called Igapó in Brazil.In general the rainforest is flooded between end of December and beginning of September. On the sides of the main stream, white herons come at dusk in groups to overnight on a single tree or on the islands. Because of the floods, camps are almost never at same spots and participants will discover with the staff new places to overnight. Refreshing Caipirinha cocktail and dinner.

Day 02 Early morning breakfast, break camp and go. Morning kayaking is perfect to be in close contact with the Pink or Gray fresh water dolphins there are many along this river and they come very close to people. The kayak shape look like theirs...Set up camp and lunch. Relax until 15:30 and then it’s a go for a piranha or peacock bass fishing contest (for fun) until sunset. Back at the camp, the guides will prepare 2 options for dinner: a classical meal and a piranha fish soup famous to be aphrodisiac…

Day 03 Before sunrise a quick breakfast will be served while guides pack up to get ready to go at 6:00 am. Leaving at this hour is the best to get the chance of seeing green parrots, blue Morpho butterfly and/or cross a big canoe with children going to school before 7:00 am. Today travelers should be paddling to get the further they can (2, 4 or 6 hours). Lunch and relax. Afternoon dedicated to meet the rainforest tracker Sebastiao and visit his 10 wood houses native village. Guides will show their traditional manioc crop transformation kitchen and explain how they extract the poisonous liquid from the roots. Being lucky, clients may see local people carving a paddling canoe; a paddle or parts of their homemade 15 meters (50 feet) long motorized fishing wood boat.

Days 04 & 05 These two days will be along the longest tributary of the Manacapuru River called Caraná. Early breakfast on Day 04 and pack up, then, paddling upstream along the Manacapuru River where it is getting narrowest with the high primary rainforest on both sides leaving behind lakes igapos ecosystems. The tributary is totally uninhabited and is a private reserve. Camp will be set up by a white sand beach the first night. In the afternoon a paddling ride until dusk is a must to get the feeing of how wild is this area –if current is too strong, a motorized canoe ride is planned to go upstream the tributary until the cool headwaters and where the giant otters like to live.

Also, Macaws, otters, tapirs, sloth and/or monkeys are possible encounters. After the reconnaissance excursion, participants will have dinner and get ready in the evening to go after the nocturnal wildlife. Guides will try to catch a caiman so one can see and touch it and then learn from the guide their way of living. With the spotlight guides will also search the shining eyes of a snake, an owl or a giant frog.

On the morning of Day 05 a trek in the rainforest of some hours is organized in the purpose of opening a trail with machetes and stopping here and there when are found interesting medicinal plants, resins to make torches, water-vines in between our guide’s vast resourceful knowledge. Marks will be left on the way to be able to get back in the late afternoon with the camping gears and already prepared food to overnight in the deep rainforest. This is a lifetime experience even if usually…animals are not seen during the night, they are heard and sometimes from very close to camp spot as we do not make a fire camp.

Day 06 Morning trek way back to meet kayaks left behind. This is a good hour for animals waking up and others going to sleep to be seen. This last day is to get downstream back to the starting point where the road was left on the first day. This is done with a motorized canoe where excursionists will take place and with what the kayaks will be towed back. Participants will come back to hotel in Manaus the same way than to get to the river on the first day.

*THIS PROGRAM CAN BE REDUCED TO 4 DAYS BUT THE TIME WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO GET TO THE RESERVE. DEPENDING ON PARTICIPANTS SPEED, IT CAN BE REACHED IF DONE IN 5 DAYS.

Our Wilderness Camping :

Camps are set up by our staff at a different place about everyday as they go further into deep rainforest by the water streams. Clients do not need set up camps, make food or carry stuff, as we want them to enjoy their stay, so while our staff is preparing it their guide can go do activities with clients. Toilet facilities are in the rainforest and until no there's been no problems with this. Bathing/Showering is in the rivers/creeks as camps are set up by the water during all the journey with the exception of 1 overnight in deep rainforest we offer during the trip -some clients are willing to go for this and others not - where there is usually no water stream. Camps are with hammocks as tents are too risky for termite attacks and snakes attracted by the heat. Sleeping in a hammock is very comfortable if the person knows how to lean so the back is straight. The first night clients should learn it from our staff. Hammocks are covered by mosquito net and tarps for rain protection. Drinking water is also from the river and clients must bring their own filter pump and/or water purifying pills. There is no need to boil water. Participants need a basic level of physical ability -- for example, they should be able to hike and paddle a small boat -- but no special skills. Road & dirt road transfers are by 4X4 Pickup, Kombi and Vans and are private for our clients.

What you will need to bring:

TIP: Clothing should be the drip-dry type.

* Suggested items ** Necessary items *** Really important
1 headlight or torch***
Malaria prevention pills***
Filter pump and/Water purifying pills ***
Light blanket or sheet for cool nights ***
Back pack for all stuff**
A Day-back Pack**
Cheap Tennis shoes for walking in rainforest** (usually thrown away after the trip) or washable ones
Water shoes/sandals**
1 long sleeved shirt**
Swim suit **
Multiple t-shirts**
Good raincoat **
Mosquito repellent**
2 pair socks for walking in rainforest*
1 long pair pants (zip off legs) *
2 pair shorts *
Hat shading shoulders*
Towel/ person *
Sunscreen*
Sunglasses *
1 Pullover *
Antibiotic ointment*
Band-Aids *
Bath powder *
Antiseptic hand wipes *
"Pepto bismol" tablets *
Anti-diarrhea medicine*

Kayaking/Camping

Our journeys are operated with Ocean kayaks made to meet the needs of a self sufficient journey where gear like folding chairs, fishing gear, first aid kit, camping equipment, and food can be stored inside them and/or tied up on top. We provide a small drybag to the clients for their objects like electronics and others. An open fiberglass Canadian Canoe is going along with one of our staff so a big icebox can fit and last for 7 days.
The 2 rivers we are operating on are Urubu at 100 km (60 miles) Class II and the Tupanã at 175 km (110 miles) by asphalt & dirt roads from Manaus Class I. Manaus is surrounded by the Amazon river and the Rio Negro river but for some reasons we do not operate there : these rivers are kilometers/miles wide and during the rainy and windy storms waves get really dangerous. Also we would not be fair with tourists going less than in a radius of 100 km -60 miles- from Manaus promising wilderness camping in a non-touristy area.

FOOD / BEVERAGES
We received many compliments about our high quality international & local cuisine and our staff do their best to serve food cooked/grilled/boiled on fire camps to please guest's taste bud. They even know how to prepare it under the rain. Our food is first frozen in Manaus and kept in Icebox during the trip. You can understand that carbonated drinks and beer become logistically impossible to handle as it takes too much place and weight too much. At night alcoholic cocktail made of lime, sugar and Cachaça (Brazilian rum less distilled) is served at will. Vegetarians welcome.

RIVER CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
Degrees of Difficulty; an International System
" Class I : Waves small, passages clear; no serious obstacles. Barely moving water with hardly any rapids. Great for families and for people looking for an introduction to kayaking.
" Class II : Rapids of moderate difficulty with small waves and few obstacles. Good for introduction and experienced kayakers.