the Amazon, part II

Why yes, why not start with part II? I like to mix things up from time to time; keeps things fresh, don't you think? Ok, the real story is some weird problem with the internet has made photo uploading really slow after these first pics, and I was uploading the pics in reverse chronological order, so basically, now you get the second part of our 4-day stay in the Amazon forest.

This is the Ariaú Tower hotel in the middle of the Amazon forest where we've stayed for 3 days. Basically, it's the view from our room in the Imperial Suite (how we got to stay in the Imperial Suite, long story short: electrical shower in our original room caught fire, I made a poker face at reception and asked for a different room and it better be an upgrade, and boy DID WE GET IT!)

On our private boat with our boat "driver" (what do you call these guys?), Jesus. We were in good hands, obviously.

Our guide, Paulo, climbing an Acaí palmtree.

A native preparing yummy tapioca pancakes for us.

The sunset on the Rio Negro (one of the affluents of the Amazon river).

We went crocodile hunting one night, and Jesus caught a young crocodile (about 0.5m long) with his bare hands to show us). This beauty will grow to be about 1.5 meters long.

Those are some sharp little teeth!

We both held the crocodile, but as always, the boyfriend is the more photogenic of the two of us.

The last day, we went swimming in the Amazon river to meet the pink sweetwater dolphins. Might animals, and such slippery soft skin! Just unreal that we got to be so close to them.

And to top it all, we even tamed a leopard! Ha ha... kidding. There are leopards in the Amazon, but the closest we got to seeing one was this plastic version at the Manaus hotel.

Ok, so I owe you pics of pirana fishing, exploring the forest, and the parrot that paid a visit to the Ariaú hotel (to rummage through our yummy garbage, haha!)