Manaus

Manaus is the largest city in the state of Amazonas in the northern part of Brazil. As it lies by the Amazon River it is the most important harbour in the region.

The famous and impressive opera house in Manaus.

Manaus is probably most known for its opera which was built during the rubber rush in the end of the 19th century. Today the beautiful building is used for various things like theater, films and festivals. When we were there, back in November of 2004, a film festival was going on so the place was crowded with movie stars and directors. We managed to sneak by the security guards. Our "gringo" looks might have let them to believe that we were famous stars from Europe or something like that...

Tons and tons of delicious bananas.

Down by the harbour there are enormous warehouses with bananas and other fruits. From there bananas are supplied to the whole Brazil, and also exported to the rest of the world. At home we usually buy bananas by the piece at a relatively high price, but in this warehouse they are handled by tons. It kind of gave us a perspective on bananas... :)

We stayed at a small oasis near the Manaus city centre. It was a pleasant little hotel with nie rooms, a refreshing swimming pool and good food. Especially the breakfast was super. As we visited Manaus in off season, we had a calm stay with great service and high attention.

Our oasis in Manaus.

Rio Negro and the Amazon River meets.

Manaus is situated by the Amazon river where the Rio Negro river and the Amazon River meet. You can see a clear difference between the two rivers miles after they have joined. The water of Rio Negros gets its dark color from leaves and soil that it picks up along the way.