After our long day yesterday we were determined to have a quiet unstructured day. Saturday in Manaus was so incredibly busy. Picture NYC on 5th Ave in December on a Saturday. that is how it was. We made our way to the Mercado- market to watch the fish unloaded. Merchants everywhere set up small kiosks, each next to each other selling anything from food to boat supplies to clothes to booze. A short downpour stranded us beneath a portico but we eventually made our way uptown 1/2 mile or 6 blocks to the Teatro Amazonas. the opera house. I remember learning about this when I was in grade school. How tons of granite and marble and great tapestries were brought up the Amazon and assembled for the greatly wealthy rubber plantation owners of 150 years ago. Descriptions do not do it justice. It is just breathtaking. the frescoes on the ceiling, the artistry accorded to the 701 patrons. We took an English language tour with Bruno, a terrific young 20- something man, half Japanese and half Indian. To make things even better, the symphony was rehearsing for the upcoming opera festival next week. Magical! Perfect acoustics. There is also a ballroom with Murano glass chandeliers and parquet flooring for which we wore felt slippers. How did they do this? Unbelievable. you have to imagine how remote this was in the 1800s. Hell, it's remote now!
We stopped outside in the plaza for lunch and visited Sao Joachim Cathedral known for its altar of praying hands- unique. I could have done with another day in Manaus but we left our floating dock at 6PM to begin our journey back down the Amazon, though with 2 more stops to come.
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