Tours

Itinerary

Living, Hunting and Fishing
with the Satéré-Mawê

First day

We pick you up at the airport and transfer to the Hotel either Monaco or Brasil. After check-in we take you for a guided city tour. We will visit the main attractions, which are there is no doubt, the opera house with its delicate fountain; a splendid neoclassical building of the size of the Scala (the opera house in Milan, Italy). After 15 years of construction it was inaugurated in 1896 as the symbol of the rubber boom, one of the most prosperous economic cycles in Brazil's history.

Another beautiful example of the rich past of Manaus is the Palácio Rio Negro, constructed at the end of 19th century by a the excentric German Rubber Baron Waldemar Scholz. The Palácio Rio Negro today host a cultural centre.

From here we walk down to the port area and visit the Mercado Municipal, the city's marketplace, where regional food, exotic fruits, unbelievable quantities and varieties of fish, and handicrafts are displayed. The iron structures of the market, inaugurated 1883, were designed by a famous Frenchman called Gustave Eiffel, the builder of the Tour d'Eiffel in Paris.

We then visit the fascinating floating port of Manaus, called Porto Flutuante. A colourful mix of people running busily around to embark or disembark, load or unload the boats that reach practically every corner of the Amazonian universe, except where waterfalls or rapids block the way. The 3 story boats are significantly called gaiolas, which literally means cages! Here, at the banks of the Rio Negro, we stop for an exotic drink before we have dinner in a typical Amazonian fish restaurant. For the evening and, depending on what is on stage, we could watch a performance in the historic Teatro Amazonas.

Second day

After breakfast we leave the hotel at 08:00 h At the port we take a boat to cross over to the right banks of the Rio Negro, from where we drive by car to Iranduba, on the Ariaú river. Here we continue on canoes to the settlement of the indigenous people of the Satéré-Mawê tribe. The Satéré-Mawê have given the famous guaraná plant, Paullinia cupana, to the world. Better known as guaraná, of the family of the Sapíndaces, is a plant with 4-8% caffeine in its dry mass and produces a very stimulating long term effect. The plant is of great importance to the tribe's social and economical structure. The tribe also celebrates the famous passage of the young warriors. The for westerners macabre rites involve the dança da tucandeira, the largest and most venomous ants of the world, also called bullet ant, or Paraponera clavata. These rites are celebrated during the Meeting of the Warriors every year in November, to which we and our clients are invited to passively participate.

On arrival at the settlement Sahu-Apé the group will be welcomed in the tribes language and a drink called taruba will be served to the visitors. A traditional welcome dance and chant will be performed by sahun-mirim children. After lunch and relax the group will visit their natural pharmacy, where the tribe produces medical herbs and plants. The rest of the day is free to explore the settlement and make contacts with the tribe members. We will eat dinner with the tribe and join the men for a night out on the river for spear fishing and alligator spotting. Overnight is in the village in hammocks.

Third day

This morning, a forest hike with our Satéré friends is on the menu. They will pass on their knowledge of plants, herbs, trees, animals to the group and will demonstrate survival techniques used by their hunters in the deep jungle. Other activities of the day are swimming in the lake Ubim and practicing of bow and arrow hunting, with the Sateré hunters being the instructors. After dinner we sit around the campfire and lesson to stories which will open our minds to the culture of this tribe, their past, present and future. Overnight in the village in hammocks.

Fourth day

As we will be going on a canoe safari with the Satérés an early-morning breakfast is on the agenda today. The safari aim is to find and photograph monkeys and birds. On route you can marvel at giant kapok trees, orchids, bromeliads, Victoria regia giant water lilies. Return to the village for lunch.

In the afternoon we will prepare for a night out in the jungle. There will be zagaia spear fishing at night and consequently Amazon fish, probably a delicious Jaú or Tucunaré, grilled on the open fireplace, for dinner. We will not drive back to the village for overnight but sleep in hammocks right there in the forest.

Fifth day

The day starts with a swim in the lake at the camp. Heading back to the village for breakfast and getting packed, as we will be leaving our new friends the Satéré-Mawê. The next destination is the Bu-Iuçu bay, which meaning is “the lake of the big snakes”. The Bu-Iuçu bay, located at the Rio Negro river, is considered the largest sweet water basin on the planet. Here we can swim with the pink river dolphins. After lunch with friends in their floating house, we set for the forest where we pitch camp and make preparations for the jaguar watch at night. With a bit of luck and the right bait, either the spotted jaguar, Felis onca, or the Felis incolor, the puma, may show up in our flash lights.

Sixth day

After breakfast at the camp we return to the floating house of our friends at the Bu-Iuçu bay. Coming to the end of our journey we will appreciate the decent caipirinha and good local meal that will be served to us. Now, we will have to pack our gear and prepare for the returning to civilization in Manaus and transfer to the airport for evening departures.

End of our services.