Our family loved the few days we spent exploring the Amazon with the Willis'

Day number 4 we headed back towards the city of Manaus

About 2 hours away from port as we were chilling on the top deck and playing card games we felt the wind start to pick up and looked out and saw giant black clouds ahead

We scrambled into quick pick-up mode and gathered all the hammocks, towels, swim suits and other gear that was around the deck

We stuffed things into back and backpacks and quickly shuttled them to the bottom deck

Here's a view of all our gear for 14 people!

As quickly as we gathered all the gear and headed down below (because the captain was fearful of to much weight being on the top of the boat) it started to pour

Rain, wind, and tons and tons of rain

Kids huddled together, parents huddled around kids who were all huddling around the bags because there was no other place to go

At the height of the storm we thought it might be a good idea to pray as a group

With the storm blowing around us Rob prayed and shortly after the captain drove into a cove which gave us some protection from the wind

We waited it out in the cove and were thankful for the protection we had been given

Eventually the storm calmed, lunch was served (our cook was an angel) and laughing and talking resumed

It will be a trip to remembered!

The crew with our boat in the background!

Animal Encounters

When you book a trip for the Amazon you hope to see some wildlife

We left for this trip wondering if we would

Some co-workers of Rob's said that they did not see any wildlife on the Amazon

Thankfully our trip was different

Many mornings we woke to the sound of howler monkeys in the distance

Adorable little things that jumped into our boat to eat some bananas

Catching caiman at night

Swimming with pink river dolphins

Fairly ugly things but they're still cool to see

My girls described touching them like holding a hotdog

Feeding the pirarucu

They are among the worlds largest fresh water fish

I remember seeing these in aquariums in Washington D.C.

Never in my life could I imagine a few years later my family would be observing them in Brasil

Here fishy, fishy

Piranha fishing...

A piranha or piraña is a member of family Characidae in order Characiformes, an omnivorous freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers. In Venezuela, they are called caribes. They are known for their sharp teeth and powerful jaws.

After all the things I had heard about piranha's from movies like...Finding Nemo and the like I was expecting a big ferocious fish 

We dropped our lines into the water with a bit of raw meat attached and started catching these little guys

They did have teeth that looked super sharp and while we were on this river cruise I was reading the book, River of Doubt.  It talks about President's Roosevelt's journey down parts of the undiscovered Amazon.  During one part of the book it talks about a man entering the water with a small cut and being consumed by Piranhas.  I just thought they would be a bit larger in size

During this part of the boat trip we made sure Gwen wasn't dragging her hands in the water

Gwen caught this fish all by herself!

They were fairly simple to catch; attach a bit of raw meat (I left that to Rob or Jo), drop the line in the water and hit the surface of the water with the tip of the bamboo and then a quick tug when you felt something grab the line 

A little R&R

During our two weeks exploring the Amazon there were a lot of cool, amazing moments

There were also a lot of calm quiet moments which was nice

Lots of resting, reading, playing games, catching up and just chilling

Our whole family needed this

The waters meet

 After some extensive research and asking and talking to people we decided to view the Amazon tour via boat.  There are many options for viewing the Amazon.  Some people stay in Manaus and travel around via day trips.  Others have found eco lodges in the "jungle" and do excursions that we and then we picked the final option.  Traveling via boat to smaller destinations and taking small motor boats around for excursions.

Our families worked with a great company that geared our excursions and travel towards family

Our guide rented a boat that accommodated all 14 of us with little room to spare :)

This is a picture of the top deck of our boat

By evening time the deck was lined with hammocks

They ended up staying up for the duration of the trip

Lots of time of the boat meant lots of time for cat naps, playing games and visiting while swaying in those things 

 A view of Manaus as we departed post

Jo waiting at the gas station for the boat to be filled

My little trooper...Gwen was my biggest worry during this trip

She did a great job and loved playing and being on the boat

 A view of the lower portion of the boat; a good sized open area, 2 bathrooms, a shower, kitchen and captains quarters at the front

Our cook was a saint!  We ate so well the entire trip

One of the first things we were able to see after leaving Manaus

This was about an hour into our trip...the meeting of the waters

"The Meeting of Waters (Portuguese: Encontro das Águas) is the confluence between the dark (blackwater) Rio Negro and the pale sandy-colored (whitewater) Amazon River or Rio Solimões, as the upper section of the Amazon is known in Brazil upriver of this confluence. For 6 km (3.7 mi) the two rivers' waters run side by side without mixing. It is one of the main tourist attractions of Manaus, Brazil. The same also happens near Santarém, Pará with the Amazon and Tapajós rivers. This phenomenon occurs in other regions of the world with differing characters of rivers, the phenomenon is also seen in other locations in the Amazon region, as Iquitos, Peru.

This phenomenon is due to the differences in temperature, speed and water density of the two rivers. The Rio Negro flows at near 2 km/h (1.2 mph) at a temperature of 28 °C (82 °F), while the Rio Solimões flows between 4 and 6 km/h (2.5–3.7 mph) at a temperature of 22 °C (72 °F). " Wikipedia

 

 A city on the river

 Next stop was admiring some of the Amazon lily pads

Truth be told I think we were all a little disappointed

We were in the Amazon at near high water time so they were not in peak season nor were they blooming

The kids did have fun walking out on the bridge to reach them 

 "Keens" crew on the trip

Gwen's position whenever we boarded the smaller motorboats

She LOVED putting her hand in the water

A gorgeous sunset on the Amazon

 Day 2 included a visit to a Native Village

Complete with dancing with the tribe members, topless women included

Thankfully all of the kids held it together for that dance number

 Hiking through the Amazon

Our guide taught us how to "survive" with all the plant life surrounding us

Needless to say we were all glad to not have to test this out

 The kids inspecting a medicinal tree

Drinking water from a water root

 The cute clan of kiddos including Jake that had just been bit by an ant of some sort

 The kids joked about this school "bus" that provided transport for children in the area

 Tasting sap from the tree, the native people would tap this tree for medicinal use

Testing out the termite trick

This would often be used for a natural bug repellent

Our guide had the lucky participant (Jen) hold her hand on the tree for a minute and then quickly brush all the termites off and rub the smell on her hands

Supposedly it's good for keeping bugs away

Given the fact that on this hike our entire crew was being attacked by giant horse flies we were a bit suspicious about the effectiveness