We boarded a boat for the 4 day / night trip down the Amazon from Manaus to Belem, a 900 mile (1,500km) trip downriver, stopping at multiple towns en route. Most of the passengers travelled on hammock class, where they basically strung their colourful hammocks alongside each other on the deck, and their personal belongings strewn on the ground - there was zero privacy and zero security. They shared communal facilities: showers, toilets, etc …. and these did no...

We started our 3 day trip into the Amazon jungle, with 4 other travellers - Kelly and Jess (English), Madelon (Dutch) and Kurt (Curacao). The boat took us to the meeting of the waters of Rio Solimoes and Rio Negro, which joins up with the Amazon River. Rio Solimoes flows from the Andes, is a muddy brown, is cooler with a pH level of 6.4, and flows at 6 kmh. Rio Negro starts in the Amazon lowlands, and as its name implies is black from the decomposition of leaves ...

I am starting to get used to these overnight bus journeys - and have developed very strong bladder control. There are toilets in the buses but they are less than pleasant. We have now done 3 out of our 16 overnighters - we do have the option of upgrading to flights for a few of the legs. If it were up to me I would wimp out and opt for the flight - but it will be based on a majority vote among my fellow travellers. We arrived in Manaus today. A few of the histo...

We went on a 4WD tour of the Gran Sabana (Grand Savannah) today, and visited many waterfalls: Quebrada de Jaspe, Salto Yupriano, Salto Kama, Salta Kawi, and saw many tepuys from afar. We were so spoilt by the waterfalls at Canaima and the Angel Falls that we were a little dismissive of these smaller but still very pretty falls. I think we were also less appreciative because we were chauffered from one stop to the next; whereas when we were made to work for it, ie...

We flew out to Canaima 2 days ago in a 6-seater Cessna. The approach to Canaima was specatular with gorgeous views of the tepuys (tabletop mountains) and the 7 waterfalls skirting the north shore of the Canaima Lagoon. Our campsite was an open area with a roof and no walls, with hammocks strung all around the periphery and the dining area in the center - the campsite looked out directly onto one of the waterfalls (Salto Hacha).... a very idyllic setting! That af...