Today was very busy for us here today. There was really three highlights today. First there was an Indigenous village tour, next was a Rubber plantation tour and finally we had a quick tour of the famous Manaus Opera House near the end of the day.
I will skip the rubber plantation thing for the sake of the internet and brevity.
First was the village: It is the only and permanent home of about 45 natives from near Columbia of the Cipia Tribe. They settled here, about 30 miles up the Rio Negro for some untold reason. The kids go to school via a School Boat but they live in their traditional homes and abide by their own native customs.
We were greeted by the chief and then all the dancers, male and female, about 20 of them, came and shook hands will all 29 of us from the ship. [I must say I was not sure what to do with my hand after that episode!]
There was then a few dances by the men alone and then the men and women, including young boys and girls. The photographic conditions inside their large grass covered longhouse were terrible. So no pictures of semi-naked women, so sorry.
The women were topless and obviously felt more comfortable about that then I did. The last dance they performed was with audience participation and I did not want to appear to be impolite so when a young girl with perky breasts approached me, how could I refuse? So, about 40 of us did this little shuffle in and out of the longhouse before they posed for a group shot and then we were given a tour of the village.
But that was not before we had a chance to buy some of their handiwork. All the way from little blow guns, beads, feather headdresses, Jaguar fanged necklaces to anaconda skin masks. Wow, what a choice.
When our Torpedo Boat arrived home to the ship an hour early we decided to take a quick run to the Opera House. So, 10 minutes after we got back to the ship we were on the dock and took the ship's shuttle to the port gate and piled into a taxi and in 10 minutes we were at the Opera House. Within 2 minutes a guide had adopted us and we had a quick but thorough tour of this gem of a place, built in 1898 after 12 years of construction.
The place was built to show off the money and opulence that the rubber boom had brought to Manaus. Marble from Italy, glass from Venice and so on and so on. It is in remarkable condition and they still have performances in it, regularly.
After our whirlwind tour of the place our guide offered to take us back to the ship. So, and hour and a half after getting back from a five hour Torpedo Boat tour to a village and a rubber plantation we had also visited the opera house and were back on board ready for a shower. The ship sailed at 4.00 for the return journey to the Atlantic Ocean with one stop in Parintins for six hours tomorrow.
The Village:
The village boys
We bought a souvenir from this young woman.
This young man was too good looking not to photograph.
Home! Seriously.
All aboard!
This photo was taken at the rubber plantation.
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The Opera House:
It is as well kept inside as it is outside. 12 years to build, finished in 1898.
It is impossible to convey the real opulence of the place on a camera. The Rubber Barrons were ruthless employers, the slave trade was just recently over by then and they treated the employees like slaves. Sad story.
It is hard to believe that this existed 120 years ago, up the Amazon 800 miles. The city still has many grand old decaying buildings of that era, some as in good shape as the Opera House
Taken at the balcony of the Opera House.
A Lego model of the place.
Another view from the balcony. The blue building was a rubber Barron's residence.
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