Christi and I roam around Ouro Prêto one last time this morning, soaking up the atmosphere, poking around yet another church (Igreja Nossa Senhora do Carmo), and generally enjoying this idyllic colonial gem. We leave Ouro Prêto with regret. I wish we’d had more time to explore and the weather had been kinder. However, our schedule is pretty packed from now on and we need to keep moving. And today is a busy moving day, as we head to one of the most iconic destinations in the world, the Amazon rain forest – which is one journey we’re not willing to do by bus! So it’s back to the air (and we call ourselves backpackers!). We begin with a 2.5-hour bus ride from Ouro Prêto to the central station in Belo Horizonte. From there it’s another 30 minutes by bus to the airport.
The largest city in Amazonia and the gateway to the jungle is Manaus, but we cannot fly direct from Belo Horizonte. Instead we head south, back to Sao Paulo. It’s a 90-minute TAM flight, which is short on leg room and cheap on the food (TAM must use the American airline industry as a model). We arrive in the megalopolis amid a gathering storm that puts our flight to Manaus in jeopardy. We wait nervously, eating dinner at the ubiquitous Bob’s Burgers and trying not to contemplate an enforced overnight stay in Sao Paulo.
Brazilians are nothing if not optimistic, however, and our connecting flight to Manaus takes off on time into turbulent skies. It’s a similarly basic flight with no frills such as personal space or edible food and due to time zone differences between the two cities our flight is an hour longer than expected. What joy! From Manaus airport we taxi to the Hostel International, which is centrally located and cheap. We will be here for a total of ten hours before continuing on into the depths of Amazonia tomorrow. Perhaps we’re tired after a long day of travel or maybe it’s the ongoing dreary weather, but Christi and I just don’t get a good vibe about this hostel (or its apathetic staff).
I’m such a lame backpacker that I go to sleep dreaming of luxury hotels – and ruing the fact I never get to stay in them.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, laugh-wrenching ride.
Speak Your Mind