Vacation in Brazil I: Getting There

Getting to the lodge we stayed at in the Brazilian Amazon was easy. You simply hop on a minibus from Fort Wellington to Georgetown, travel overnight on another minibus to Lethem (which was supposed to take nine hours but took twenty-one), then a taxi to the border crossing into Brazil, then another taxi to Boa Vista, followed by another overnight bus to Manaus where we were picked up by a tour company. They drove to the river crossing, where we took a boat to the other side where a car was waiting. The car drove us south for another hour or two where we met another boat that took us down the river a ways to the lodge. Easy-peasy!

Ferry crossing of the Essequibo River in central Guyana.

Minibuses coming of the ferry after crossing the Essequibo River in central Guyana.

Entering the Iwokrama Preserve in central Guyana. Iwokrama is an enormous nature park, research station and ecotourism hub dedicated to protecting a sizable chunk of Guyana's rain forest. Guyana is 85% covered by pristine forest!

Around Lethem the landscape changes from rain forest to arid steppe, reminiscent of the American west.

Kathrina is hanging out by the bus while we stopped for our second flat tire. Nobody thought to tell us when we arrived, but we waited for three hours at this little snackette. The third flat tire was still ahead of us when this picture was taken...

Given our experiences on the overnight bus to Lethem, the overnight bus to Manaus felt like absolute luxury. Andrea and Iris don't even know what to do with all the legroom!

The "Meeting of the Waters" is where the Black River meets the Solimões (Amazon) River. The waters meet here but remain separated until miles down the river where they begin to mix.

The sign says, "Convenience and Gas Store" and is floating on the river so boats can fuel up on the go.

Fresh fish for sale along the edge of the Amazon River.

The landing at the river's edge. No, that's not a Cuban flag on that boat, the flag for the State of Amazonas (the largest state in Brazil) looks remarkably similar.

Another river crossing...

A home along the river. Every time we went by someone's house the boat operator would slow down to avoid creating a wake that could damage the homeowner's boats.

Arriving at the lodge.

This was the building where we slept at the lodge.