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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Meeting of the Waters

The meeting of the waters just downriver from Manaus is one of the most extraordinary sights you could ever imagine. "O Encontro das Aguas" as they call it in Portuguese, is a natural phenomenon that is worth a visit to Manaus just to see.

The Rio Solimoes and the Rio Negro (The Solimoes River and the Black River) meet and go on for miles as they mix together in a hodge-podge black and brown patchwork. The Rio Negro is the northern tributary of the Amazon River and it is said that the water is black because of the type of vegetation that grows along its banks forming a kind of "tea" that is dark and clear, not murky.

When we lived in Manaus years ago we had a small aluminum boat and outboard motor and we often enjoyed the beaches and tributaries of the Rio Negro. We even ventured out to the meeting of the waters a few times, especially if we had someone visiting us. We had to show them that spectacular sight.

The Rio Solimoes is a brown, murky river - muddy. It is the southern tributary of the Amazon. And as these two rivers join, they not only form the "meeting of the waters" but they also form the mighty Amazon River. As these rivers join, you can barely see the other side. As you can imagine, to cross it requires loading your vehicle onto a ferry - there is no bridge. But the ferry is one of the good and inexpensive ways to see the meeting of the waters. You'll want to get up to the highest place possible on the ferry to get the best view.

Another way to see the meeting of the waters is to hire a local tour guide. Many of them speak English, or at least enough English to get by. This will get you an up close and personal look at the meeting of the waters.

There are also larger tour boats that take many tourists at once. This is probably your most expensive and least risky option.

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