Day One
We arrived in the middle of the night in Brazil, getting to our hotel and to bed by around 4:00 AM. Our first day in Manaus was somewhat slow as we became familiar with our neighborhood in the center of this city of 2.2 million.
We ended the day with a marvelous dinner at the Caxiri Manaus Restaurant, recommended by my cousin Evan Zaporyn who performed at the famed Opera House in March.
We were not disappointed - enjoyed a delicious meal, sitting in a beautifully renovated old building a few blocks from our hotel and overlooking the public square.
Day Two
After a slow day on Friday recovering from arriving at 3:00 AM, on Saturday we felt much more refreshed ready to embark on a full day of exploring Manaus.
Lucky for us we met up with Rafael Estrela de Freitas, a guide who was recommended by Lillian Fraiji, the Director of the LABverde program I’m starting this week. He turned out to be the perfect guide since he specializes in the natural environment - we were perfectly matched.
We drove around the city getting introduced to its history and geography, starting out at the Mercado Lisboa along the port which is active every day and still has some of the original structures designed by Eiffel.
At the turn of the 19th century Manaus was a very rich thriving metropolis where the leadership wanted to impress the Europeans. They covered over a stream running from the port to create a main Avenida Eduardo Ribeiro, named after the governor - into the city.
From there we headed out of the city through some poor sections and onto some very wealthy sections with high-rise condominiums like Miami facing the Rio Negro. We then crossed over Ponte Rio Negro (Jorn. Phelippe Daou), a world famous bridge which was built to connect North to South.
We could see the passage into the Amazon River further south. We ended the day in Paço de Liberado, one of the oldest areas of the city where we discovered some of the earliest buildings and also an incredible architectural structure designed by Lillian’s husband.
We also a political pro-Lula group outside their headquarters who were posing for pictures - some were friends of Rafael. They knew I was with them and so asked us to join!
