As implied by the name the Rio Negro is a "black river". The water is reasonably clear and coloured by tannins which run off from the rainforest through which it flows. Just downstream from the city of Manaus the Rio Negro joins the Amazon.
We joined the MY Tucano for a 4-night cruise up the Rio Negro in the Anavihanas National Park, one of the world's largest fluvial archipelagos.
Taking up to 18 passengers, on our trip there were only three other guests, so we were given a cabin upgrade - promising start!
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| Sunrise over the Rio Negro |
Sunsets and sunrises were spectacular without another boat in sight.
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| Canoe heading into the jungle |
The structure of each day comprised a wake-up call at 0530 or 0600, coffee and porridge, a nature-watching trip in one of the canoes, breakfast, a morning jungle walk, lunch, an afternoon activity and a night canoe trip either before or after dinner.
The canoe trips explored some of the smaller tributaries and the night one, in particular, was exciting as it got right into the flooded forest.
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| Spot the small caiman here - left end of the log. Seen by the guide at about 100m. |
Amazonia has the largest biodiversity and lowest density of flora and fauna in the world. So given the dense canapy wildlife is much more difficult to spot here than in more open countryside. By opting to go with Souza, the guide, in the canoes rather than on our own in the available kayaks we think we actually saw more as his eyes were much more attuned to spotting things than ours. Frequently it could be a minute or more before we could make out a creature he was pointing at.
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| Pair of night hawks |
Much of the fauna spotted was birds, often at quite a distance, making photography difficult even with zoom lens. Just to be in this setting was absolutely magical.
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| Black tailed trogon- on the branch |
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| Yellow rumped cacique |
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| Green beetle |
Also quite a few insects. With one square mile of rainforest housing up to 50,000 species detailed identification is difficult!
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| Spot the stick insect |
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| Cricket or grasshopper |
Always slightly conscious of all the nasty creatures that could fall into the boat or on to someone This harmless fellow landed on Richard's back on one of the morning trips.
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| Lace cap or stinkhorn mushroom (possibly phallus indusiatus) |
There are, of course, lots of fungi helping to convert dead vegetation back into carbon dioxide and water.
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| Tree frog |
On the night trips we heard numerous frogs. Souza spotted this one at a distance during the day.
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| Tarantula |
Spiders could be induced out of their holes under trees using a stick.
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| Rat in tree |
Mammals were hard to spot - again Souza's sharp eyes came into play.
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| Bare faced squirrel monkey |
There was a troop of some 50-100 squirrel monkeys travelling through the forest. Catching one on camera as it jumped across a gap in the foliage was challenging!
We never got a good shot of the river dolphins, despite seeing them quite often.
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| Susan with piranha |
One of the afternoon trips was piranha fishing. Susan caught the largest of the group and followed up by eating it later.
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| Settlement - note the satellite dish! |
Another was a trip to visit a family who had settled on the riverbank. Apparently a claim can be made and if the land is developed the government will grant title. This family had a plot measuring 1000 m x 250 m (25 Ha or about 62 acres) and were mainly growing manioc (cassava). The fairly involved family activity of processing the tuber to remove the toxic juice and end up with a grain-like substance was explained. They had just cleared more land and were about to plant pineapples. These are so sweet here.
Most transport here is necessarily by water. This "school bus" has been in operation for the last 10 years.
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| Fast trip to school |
When we were young a speedboat ride was a special holiday treat - here it is a daily occurrence for the kids.
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| Ponte Rio Negro, central section |
On the last afternoon of the trip we passed under the bridge across the Rio Negro just upstream of Manaus - air clearance 55m. The bridge, 3.5 km long, links Manaus to Iranduba on the Amazon.
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| Meeting of the waters |
The "meeting of the waters" where the Rio Negro flows into the muddy Amazon is quite marked and persists for some 15 km downstream.
Finally - the crew of the MY Tucano, who were all excellent but did not add to our understanding of Brazilian Portuguese!
