The Amazon: An Unexpected Journey [Video]

Catch up with the Trekking the Planet team as Darren and Sandy review the first half of their time in the Amazon basin. In this video, you will witness their 1,215 mile journey up the Amazon River itself, the Rio Negro (one of two major tributaries) and finally, the Jauaperi. Here they will enter the Riserva Xixuau Xiparina and another world entirely.

Full Disclosure: We paid full price for our stay and did not receive any remuneration for this story.

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Transcript:
0:12 After traveling 28 days crossing the Atlantic Ocean on the Pacific Princess, we entered
0:16 the mouth of the mighty Amazon River. From here, we traveled 930 miles (or 1,500
0:22 kilometers) over four days stopping at Santarem and Parintins before finally arriving in Manaus.
0:32 Manaus is the largest city in the Amazon with more a million inhabitants.
0:39 From 1890 to 1915, Manaus was the capital of the rubber boom that took this area by
0:46 storm. We spent two nights here before continuing
0:49 up the Rio Negro, one of the two main tributaries of the Amazon.
0:54 Our “ride” was a local riverboat. It wasn’t until 2010 when the Iranduba bridge
1:04 was completed, that you could leave Manaus by anything other than a riverboat or a plane.
1:09 After all of the planning, we were excited to finally be starting our adventure to the
1:13 unknown. We hung up our hammocks and tried to get comfortable
1:16 in hot and humid conditions. Darren woke up early the next morning to have
1:28 a look around on the top deck. It was fascinating to explore the boat and
1:32 observe the people who had clearly made the 30-hour journey to Barcelos many times.
1:38 There are several small communities along the Rio Negro.
1:41 However, the ferry wasn’t scheduled to stop for several hours.
2:01 In the Amazon, the weather can change in what seems like an instant.
2:03 Less than a half an hour later, the storm had passed.
2:22 At approximately the half way point to Barcelos, we reached the outpost of Moura.
2:33 The ferry stops here briefly to unload supplies and allow a few passengers to disembark.
2:43 Here, we boarded a small power boat and continued still deeper into the rainforest up the Jauaperi
2:53 River for another 4 ½ hours. Other than the five tiny villages we viewed
3:06 along the way, we saw nothing but pristine forest before entering in the Riserva Xixuau
3:13 Xiparina. We were now 1,215 miles (or 1,955 kilometers)
3:16 from the Atlantic and in another world entirely. There are 17 families who live here on the
3:23 edge of the reserve. In our next video, we will cover the animals
3:30 we found here including giant otters, dolphins, monkeys and a host of exotic birds.
3:37 We will also cover how the local community is working to preserve the environment for
3:48 generations to come.