Now Traveling to The Amazon!

I am currently awaiting my four hour flight to Manaus in the heart of the Amazon jungle.
I will be posting more once I arrive at my camp on the Rio Negro River. At least I know that my wireless connections have been working from this Tablet PC. I do not think many have seen a Tablet PC here as I am getting some odd looks from people.

Ciao
-Shaan

Comments

[Shaan Hurley]

I certainly survived the trip to the amazon and have a ton of photos. ;-)

When I last checked my local indian guide Antonio (the absolute best and honest) was unreachable but I will try again this Spring. In my opinion after seeing many of the many tourist traps in Manaus for jungle lodges, I would be very very selective and hire a real guide not one of the lodges or tourist packages where they rush you around the tourist loops. Guides will take you to the really beautiful places for about the same place but you define your itinerary and time table at the places and go much further and get the real experience instead of a sanitized version. The only lodge I found to be a distance from Manaus and a real jungle lodge was the Eco Lodge up the Rio Negro as I stayed some nights there and most of the best guides stay there a night or two.

It is always best to stay at the Hotel Tropical the night before and night after your trekking as it is the best local and historic hotel in Northern Manaus. You will want a nice hot shower after your trek into the jungle and some real food. I had to eat spider monkey one day for lunch to be courteous to the local tribe when invited to eat with them.

You can email me directly at shaan@autodesk.com as I am planning another trip soon as I have a Brazil VISA and now know the Manaus and Rio Negro fairly well and am looking to take others to the deeper jungle reaches before they are gone due to soy farming encroachment or locked out.

My last trip was cancelled due to my grandmother getting sick and having to return from Brazil in December 2007 but I was excited to go to the Peru upper side of the amazon.

Happy traveling,
Shaan

[Gabriel]

It's been 4 years. Did you make it out alive? I have been wanting to travel to the Amazon for quite some time now, and I will have the means to do so shortly, but i wanted it to be a more independant adventure rather than a guided tour. Can you shoot me an email with some info regarding this? Many thanks,
Gabriel