Hello Amazon Rainforest

We have arrived safe and sound in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.  Manaus is a rather gritty city.  It was formerly quite prosperous during the rubber boom of the early 1900s, so some of the buildings built during that era are quite stunning.  Manaus then fell on hard times after it lost the monopoly on rubber trees. Now it is reinventing itself as a manufacturing and tourism hub for trips into the Amazon, but for the most part does not have the charm of a tourist city. 

What Manaus does have going for it is its main plaza in front of the Theater Amazonas, which they have turned into an outdoor cultural center during the World Cup.  They have two giant screens to show all of the matches, as well as a stage for putting on performances between the games.  Last night the plaza was a hub of activity with locals and tourists alike enjoying the matches and various musical groups (we weren't fans of the Brazilian rappers, but enjoyed the Bossa Nova and guitar/folkish bands). Happy Croatian fans gathered there after beating Cameroon at the Arena Amazonas a few kilometers away.  Major thumbs up to Manaus for expanding on the World Cup fun with these free cultural bonuses.

We are off on a jungle adventure the next several days and are unlikely to have Internet access at the jungle lodge.  We will update the blog once we are back in wifi world with tales of excessive humidity (while wearing long sleeved shirts and pants to keep the bugs off), amazonian wildlife, and hopefully not too many bug bites (yes, we've all gotten yellow fever vaccinations and are taking anti malarial meds).