This morning I woke up early, at 8.30 am as I was invited to a trip in the forest, 120 kilometers outside of Manaus. We went to see two beautiful waterfalls: Cachoeira da Pedra Furada and Cachoeira da Suframa. I had a great time with three of Hilder's friends: Mariana, Eduardo and Leandro. Hilder could not come with us as he had jujitsu competition and he had to fight :)
I absolutely love the Amazon forest, there is so much water in the Amazon Basin, lakes and swamps everywhere so it is a fantastic environment for many species of plants to grow. Great place for hikes too, it was the first thing that came to my mind when we arrived to the first waterfall. Manaus is the only place in Brazil where I could live I think, just because of the forest (I am not going to call it jungle any more - the name "forest" seems to be more beautiful and respectful :)). I asked guys if they don't feel isolated as the city is situated right in the middle of the Amazon (Amazonas state) and there is nothing around... it is amazing to me that people live here, have their businesses and the most reliable mean of transport is boat on the river. The Guys replied that they felt isolated, especially at the beginning (they came to work here about three years ago) but now they have friends in Manaus so it is different and they also got used to living here.
Last night they took me to Ponta Negra in Manaus, Rio Negro's beach. Rio Negro meets Rio Solimoes, it is a fantastic phenomenon which I saw from the boat yesterday.
http://www.destination360.com/south-america/brazil/meeting-waters
Ponta Negra was very nice and relaxing, I think it is because of a lot of insects which you can hear in the bushes (which don't bite or disturb you). It reminded me of lakes in Poland, sooo relaxing...
