禁漫天堂

01/17/25 @john8670.聽 That's on the IberoStar, right?聽 Our apartment overlooks the passenger port in Manaus, and the Iberostar generally returns from its excursions as I'm getting up, so I see it returning to port at least one morning a week.聽 It looks very luxurious!

It will be similar to an ocean cruise in terms of the accommodations, and in terms of their educational program:聽 you'll learn a lot about Amazonian flora and fauna.聽 As for "multiple port adventures", not really, because there are not multiple ports.聽 Half the population of the State of Amazonas lives in Manaus, and the rest is spread over an area a little bigger than Alaska, mostly in small, riverside villages.聽 The few small cities are probably farther than this cruise will reach.聽 You'll definitely be visiting at least one Indigenous village, but it appears to be mostly nature walks and boat rides.聽 In fact, the itinerary looks a lot like a number of day trips from Manaus scheduled one after another, plus five-star dining and luxury cabins between.聽 Two clear attractions that it would be hard for you to duplicate with day trips are the night excursions, and the Iberostar will take you farther from Manaus than the day boats can, so you'll probably see more unspoiled forest.

If you decide to do it, let me know:聽 maybe we can have dinner or something before or after, schedules permitting.

@abthree

Hey Boa Noite.

Yup it鈥檚 the Iberostar. We accidentally stumbled across it today through a instagram story. From聽 what you described I鈥檓 more excited about the cruise now. ^_^

How is the weather in Manaus and the Amazon during August? Also is this high or low season for the tourist?

If we go my wife and I would love to meet up!

01/17/25 How is the weather in Manaus and the Amazon during August? Also is this high or low season for the tourist?
If we go my wife and I would love to meet up! - @john8670

Manaus is hot, although it's far from being the hottest place I know in Brazil.聽 I generally describe the weather in Manaus as "twelve Julys a year".聽 July was always my favorite month so I love that, but it's not for everybody.聽 August is our sunniest month, the one in which you'll see the least rain, although this being Amazonia, you'll probably see some.聽 My husband thinks its our hottest month; I think that's October but he's the native Manauara, so we'll go with his call.聽 Average temperatures are in the low 80s F/high 20s C, highs are in the low 90s F/mid 30s C.聽 Confusingly because August is Winter in the Southern Hemisphere and we're two degrees south of the Equator, this season is called "Summer" here, as if we were in the Northern Hemisphere, probably because it's our hottest, driest time of year.聽

There will be some tourists around but the rivers will have started going down, so there will be fewer oceangoing cruise ships than earlier in the year when the rivers are high -- we've had two this week, for example.聽 A lot of life here follows the聽 regular ebb and flow of the Negro and the Solim玫es.

It's important to be careful here of the Equatorial sun.聽 That's not limited to the Amazon, it's a question of being so much closer to the Equator than southeastern Brazil is.聽 Expats in Recife, Jo茫o Pessoa, or Fortaleza can attest to the same thing where they are.聽 Around mid-day I feel it as not just heat, but almost as a physical weight pushing down on me.聽 I always wear a hat and use sunblock when I'm out in the sun, especially during the heat of the day, and recommend that to anyone.

Anything else I can tell you, feel free.聽 Please keep me posted as your plans come together.

@john8670,

I "cruised" the Amazon from Manaus to Bel茅m in 1984 in what was called a "gaiola," an immense boat that carried 400+ passengers and the majority of the passengers traveled in their hammocks (each passenger required to bring their own). I think that there were a few cabins atop the "steerage" but I traveled as a common passenger. While it was an unforgettable memory. I'm sure that present day river travel holds more luxurious options.

I was on a year long trip that started in Lima, jumped to Cusco, train to Puno, boat/bus to La Paz, air over the mountains and聽 into the Bolivian Amazon at Guayaramer铆n, bus to Porto Velho then Manaus, "gaiola" to Bel茅m and then some months of crisscrossing Brazil, north, south east and west mostly by bus.

It's a big country filled with beautiful sights!!! I'm sure that you'll love the trip.

mberigan

@john8670 how much is a trip like that roughly ?

@mberigan

The year long trip you had back in the day sounds like it was an incredible experience. You must鈥檝e seen so much during that trip. Did that give you an idea for where you wanted to live in the future?

@john8670

I was already trying to stay in 1984 (just married and in a huge S茫o Paulo family) but Brazilian regulations had other effects which impacted my ability to change my status. Previously, in 1981, I had made a similar S American tour with different stopping points (oddly all under dictatorships at that time) and my studies mostly revolved around Latin America at the time given the influence of L.A. on my school in WI (UW Madison still has one of the best collections of materials up into the 1990s).

And then work and family happened. Much later the seasons changed and I was again restless to try new places, I almost went to, hard to imagine, the pine tree covered mountains of Belize. It would have been a proper adventure but the dimensions of Belize (3 hours east to west, 4 hours north to south) gave me incentive to again try Brazil. The northeast was my target in spite of having great connections/experiences throughout Brazil. Something stronger pulled me to the nordeste.... family and passions that had never stopped being important to me.

I'm sure that the same is true for most anybody that has life-changing experiences in different parts around the globe. I'm sure that if my first experiences had been in Asia that would probably have become my destination. Finland almost became my priority destination given teenage experiences and passions there but I'm glad that I landed on my feet here.

South America, like the rest of the Americas, is huge and filled with incredible places and people to get to know. As much as I love traveling elsewhere I almost always prefer Latin America but also prefer trying places not on the list of hotspots - places that lose their charm or special appeal because tourists turn them into into something else (just look for so many articles about "overtourism").

mberigan

@kmitch0077

I鈥檓 not 100% sure on the pricing it looks like it depends on the time of the year.