Horseback riding tours are a good way to explore the surrounding area, and usually take about
two hours. On these tours you typically see Capybaras, caimans, various birds, the occasional
monkey, and sometimes an iguana. We signed on for one of these tours, but we found it
difficult to take photos while riding horses and were glad to get back to the hotel for lunch. That
afternoon we went on a short tour of the Miranda River in a canoe. We saw plenty of crocs and
a cave that we were told was the home of giant otters, but unfortunately they were not at home.
Too bad—taking pictures of the largest otter species would have been the highlight of the trip. To
add to the excitement, one of our escort boats capsized—confirmation that using a waterproof
GoPro camera was the right decision. After that, the wobbly canoes felt even less trustworthy
than they had at the start. After a dinner of grilled piranha, we went on a night tour on the
Miranda. In the light of the
lamps we saw the huge eyes
of the caimans. We heard
bats and startled a number
of birds.
The next day we
drove up the river in a
motorboat to a place where
a blackwater tributary
flows into the Miranda.
This jaunt took two hours,
and the entire time we
were hoping to spot a
jaguar. Although that never
happened, we saw monkeys,
toucans, macaws, and
white herons sitting in the
intensely colored pink trees.
What a spectacle of color!AMAZONAS
Above: Countless
small tetras shelter
beneath the
densely covered
banks.Left: Lagoa Misteriosa, a
lake of many species and
mysteries.