The city of Manaus is in the
middle of the jungle of the Amazon. Manaos without contradicting the world's
plant lungs is trying to adapt itself to every possible way of life. The main
idea is to imitate and camouflage without imposing because, as it is already
known, everything contrary to the nature is not beautiful.
Manaos is beautiful. In fact, it is a city
that, despite being in the heart of the densest forest in the world, has always
been one step ahead of other cities in Brazil. Between 1890 and 1920, Manaos
suffered the so-called rubber fever, and this meant a development that Rio de
Janeiro or Sao Paulo did not even dream of at that time.
For the European chroniclers, who came to meet
this city at the beginning of the 20th century, Manaus was Paris in the middle
of the jungle. Nobody could believe that in the most recondite place of the
Amazon jungle there was a system of total public lighting and an efficient
service of distribution of drinking water. Both things were beginning to be
seen in the whole world at that moment.
Today, the city has much more to offer and the
feeling of perplexity remains intact among visitors.
The first thing that the tourist, who comes to
Manaus for the first time, notes is that the climate is sticky and humid.
Welcome to the jungle. Then, they can see that the transport system most used
by the people is the motorcycle taxi and that the inhabitants are prideful of
the architecture. Yes, they are proud of its architecture.
Of course, locals talk about the jungle,
rivers, the fauna and the tremendous flora, but the architecture of Manaus is
not a small thing.
Therefore, when asking any inhabitant of the
Amazon region what to do in Manaus, the first thing he will do is undoubtedly
invite you visiting the Amazonas Theater.
In 1881, it began a discussion about the
necessity of having a colossal building in Manaus to attract the attention of
the world. And on December 31, 1886, the Teatro Amazonas was inaugurated with
the presentation of European operas filling with contrast things the local
scene.
Since then, tourists and locals can expose their brains to the madness of
seeing the best exponents of classical music in the middle of the jungle.
The other colossal construction of Manaus is
the Río Negro Bridge, which is four kilometers long. The bridge allows seeing
the Black River in all its splendor and communication between Manaus and
Iranduba.
Very close, there is another way to know the
Negro River, on a cruise. But, is it necessary to embark on a boat for enjoying
a river of dark waters? The truth, it is not whatever experience...
The Negro River flows into the Amazon River,
and the show is to treasure it in the chest the rest of the life. Each body of
water keeps its independence, the brown water of the Amazon touches the dark of
the Negro River, but they do not mix. It is a show that even science tries to
explain, and human eyes prefer to enjoy it in order to understand it.
But Manaus does not end there. The city seems
to be trying to provoke the tourist who is surprised when he thinks he has
reached the limit of logic due to, in the Amazon jungle, there are also
dolphins.
Visitors should consider tours that include
swimming with the dolphins of the Solimões and Negro rivers, mythical creatures
whose colors range from gray to unusual pink.
Another tour, for which it is necessary to
embark for about 20 minutes in the Negro River, is the one that leads to the
Museo del Caucho. It is a place that summarizes the history of the Amazon as a
source of raw material for the world and also shows the process of extracting
rubber from trees and how it is the process of transformation.
And of course, if there are dolphins, there is
also a beach. Ponta Negra is a coast of the Negro River perfectly equipped for
people to enjoy and acquire an exotic jungle tan.
But those who want a complete experience of the
jungle should know that there is also a three-day tour that takes tourists from
Manaus by speedboat on the Negro River to the town of Cacau Pirera, where
begins another journey by car to the village of Paricatuba, and finally another shorter trip in water until arriving
to some cabins. These cabins are the idyll of the jungle. Perhaps, this tour is
the most radical experience that tourists can enjoy, but one of the most
complete because it is full of walks to know the nature of the Amazon and its
reality.
Manaus is a whole universe. It is one of the 20
best cities to do business in all of Latin America and one of the most exotic tourist
destinations in the entire planet, where beauty seems never to end.