The adventure begins in Manaus, an old colonial city, slightly chaotic and yet somehow beautiful. Behind it begins the rainforest. We want to go where Rio Negro and Rio Solimoes meet to form the Amazon.
The river of rivers is up to 200 kilometers wide and almost 6,500 kilometers long. And thanks to inflatable boards, stand-up paddling is now possible almost anywhere.
Our guides are Stefan, a dropout from Germany, and his co-worker John. John is a true Brazilian who knows the Amazon very well. In the military he learned survival techniques in the rainforest. Since there is no mobile phone network and no internet in the jungle, everything has to be well organized beforehand.
How dangerous is stand up paddling on the Rio Negro?
Under no circumstances should you try it on your own. You could get lost in the maze of side arms and channels – and spending the night in the jungle is not advisable because of the numerous animals. In the water lurk alligators, caimans, anacondas and voracious fish like piranhas. The forest floor is full of poisonous animals. Of course, animals are naturally shy and usually take flight. But…
But the hospitality of the Brazilians is simply overwhelming. We often had chats with hands, feet and the few bits of Portuguese we spoke. The mood was always exuberant. In doing so, we introduced ourselves as citizens of the country “Sete para un, 7:1”. This statement either elicits loud laughter or great shame. It is the result of the semi-final match of the 2014 World Cup. If we were among sore losers, we would have ended up as piranha fodder by now at the latest. The Brazilians, on the other hand, hold no grudges and take it in good fun. They rejoice with us over winning the world championship. “Yeah yeah, just not Argentina,” the fishermen said.
The jungle is noisy. Monkeys and strange chickens in the trees noisily draw attention to themselves. Alligators and snakes are visible in the water. But no one admits to feeling fear, logically.
Only three days before I had talked with a couple from Swabia, said casually that the Amazon was for the people living there like the Spreewald was for the Sorbs. At the latest after a caiman at least 1.50 meters long ran into the water right next to me, I revised this rash statement.
But I will not forget the trip in the canoe. We felt like explorers. Rest in the first river hotel: A small row house on stilts at the edge of the rainforest with the charm of a small jungle lodge. Terrace, kitchen, five rooms and bathrooms, all very simple but clean and cozy. After a few 19 trip 18 drinks and good food of fish, vegetables, rice and fruit we chatted late into the night. Shortly after 4 o’clock I was awakened by a rooster. He must have had some good friends in the neighborhood. Now there were what felt like ten other roosters crowing from all directions. Maybe 160 people live in the village. Behind their houses they keep chickens. After breakfast there was thunder and rain. Both so loud that any conversation was impossible. Still, dinner had to be caught. Fishing was done with bamboo sticks, fishing line and a wire in front of a hook.
For bait we used fresh meat from the beef. As a child, I had learned to be quiet while fishing. Here the fish are attracted by noise at the surface. After not even five minutes we had caught the first piranha. But it could only end up in a soup. By the way, even small specimens have immense biting power. Over the next few days we kept meeting men who were missing fingertips, fingers or even a hand. The most famous fish in the Amazon region is called Piracuru. It resembles a catfish and grows up to 2.50 meters. It sucks its food into the mouth at lightning speed with negative pressure. White dolphins came up to the jetty and took the fish they had just caught. The locals say that when a child is born out of wedlock, a white dolphin is the father. Other countries, other customs …
Our guides explained to us how to survive in the jungle. Almost all the fruits of the forest are at unreachable heights and you have to rely on everything on the ground. For the test we grilled some thick maggots out of an old tree bark. They tasted like peanut chips. But you can also climb trees. For foraging and sleeping. For the inexperienced, this is not so easy.
A feast for the eyes are the huge butterflies flying through the dense jungle. For the last day we chartered a wooden boat with two decks, typical for the Amazon. It should bring us together with our luggage back downstream to Manaus. We took over the helm of the vessel at times and fished from aboard. Interesting were the historical places we visited on the banks of the Rio Negro, creepy a former prison abandoned to the wilderness with a leper infirmary.
Shortly before sunset we drove under the 3.5 kilometer long Ponte Rio Negro, it is the most expensive and longest bridge in Brazil, an impressive structure. The river “narrows” at this point to about 2.7 kilometres. We reached the port of Manaus only after dark.
Conclusion: Pure adventure in a dreamlike world.
Last day – On the ninth day of the Amazon SUP Adventure Tour, the travelers observed large macaws (parrots) early in the morning and everyone
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