May 6 to May 17, 2026
Christie, Kay, her sister-in-law, Pat, and Jamie and Lee
Two flights there; two flights back
Orlando to Panama City; Panama City to Manaus. We were seated on second flight when we all had to leave, wait an hour until they did a hard reboot on the electricity, and get back on (I had 3 seats to Manaus).
Manaus to Panama City — but only after the 3:35 AM flight was cancelled. We had to get a hotel room and catch a 2:35 AM flight the NEXT DAY. Then Panama City to Orlando BUSINESS CLASS! Still not worth $200 for 3-1/2 hours.
Since Christie needed a wheelchair at the airports we got to board first.
After having to get off the plane for an hour until they rebooted the electricity, once I got on I was ready for sleep as you can see. I heard all sorts of comments as travelers came onboard, with people mentioning how lucky I was and wondering where I got the blanket. For your information, I stole it from an international Delta flight several years ago.
After being in five star hotels all through Indonesia I was extremely underwhelmed by the one and a half star hotel we had in Manaus. Yes it was close to downtown but it was sadly lacking in many amenities.
Downtown seemed a bit well worn.
Christie and I took a city tour the day we arrived and it was wonderful.
We visited the opera house that was built in the late 1800s and had a full tour of the building.
The opera house was equipped for Christie’s walker but it was slow going up the little elevator to get her up the marble steps.
The Opera House was just beautiful. The chairs were original except padding velvet padding had been added later.
The ceiling was painted to look like you were standing under the Eiffel Tower looking up at it.
There was no central air conditioning when the building was built. The round metal things under the seats sit it up from the floor several inches so that the cool air underneath the building would flow through these openings to cool the theater.
The floors were beautifully inlaid. And the last painting is of a famous opera of Brazil.
The initial idea to create an opera house in Manaus was by Antonio Jose Fernandes Júnior, a member of the local House of Representatives with a passion for opera and the arts. Inspired by the Belle Époque period, which began in 1871, Fernandes Júnior proposed to build a theatre in the heart of the Amazonian jungle. At that time, the city of Manaus was undergoing a wealthy phase due to the extraction of rubber, known as the ‘rubber boom’. As a result, Manaus (its name in the native tongue meaning ‘mother of the gods’ ) became one of the wealthiest cities in the world, and began to construct many grand buildings including the Amazon Theatre. Fernandes Júnior’s dream was to make the city a center for the arts and a culture capital of Brazil.
Work on the building started in 1884, and took a total of 15 years to complete with several pauses between 1885 to 1892. cThere were problems with funding from the state and the county’s extreme climate also caused issues. The Italian architect Celestial Sacardim planned the theatre in the Renaissance style, while state of the art design included the installation of electrical lighting. Many of the materials were brought from all over Europe to create the theatre: the roofing tiles came from Alsace, France, while furnishings in the style of Louis XV were imported from Paris. From Italy came Carrara marble for the stairs, statues, and columns, and the steel walls were ordered from England.
The inlaid floors depict the Meeting of The Waters at the mouth of the Amazon. The Negro River is very dirty while the Solimoas River is much cleaner. When they meet, the waters don’t immediately mix and you can see the color demarcation for a long time.
The lighter building is a very old Catholic Church and the pink building in the second photo is owned by the opera house and many many pieces of furniture and equipment owned by the opera house are stored there. I was not able to get into that building while we were there.
This was the original chairs. Eventually they were padded with red velvet, thankfully.
I found this model to be exceptionally beautiful. I don’t know her backstory.
Note the comparison. When we arrived you could see under the stage and it was full of musical instruments and things. Once we toured the entire building and ended up on the other side, the chairs were all set up and an entire stage floor rose up to meet the stage and hid all the junk below. It’s on a hydraulic lift and happens easily.
These are Legos! Amazing! Donated by the Lego Company.
This house was built by a rubber Baron who became rich during the time when the only place rubber could be obtained was Manaus.
Palácio Rio Negro is a beautifully restored 19th-century estate located in the historic center of Manaus. Once the residence of Waldemar Scholz, a prominent German rubber baron, it has served various purposes over the years, including as the Amazonas state capital and a private home.
It actually sat in the middle of water like an island.
Since then the river has moved a bit so it is now totally surrounded by land.
The front staircase is amazingly beautiful.
One of the rooms contains photos and as you see the river is completely covered in trash. The Tour guide was quick to say people of Manaus don’t throw garbage but all the people who live upriver don’t realize the problems they cause; and once it gathers and comes downriver, it’s horrible.
Another horrible tidbit is that the 2.4 million people living in Manaus use no septic system — except for dumping it in the river. That is why the people of Manaus drink bottled water and don’t eat the fish out of certain parts of the river.
The smaller circular staircase goes up to the third story. The owner used it to be able to look outside at the canal behind his house and see all the boats he owned.
This building was built by the architect Eiffel who built the Eiffel Tower.
It is filled with the actual plants, the dried leaves, and pills of all the natural remedies found in the Amazon forest.
If I didn’t have so many maladies with every part of my body, I might have bought something for the part that hurt.
We were taken to the market and this is where I bought a pound of assorted candies for Dad that cost about $2.
Christy loves Brazil nuts and of course they were plentiful.
I took this picture to remind me that not only the Opera House but this building is held up by steel poles imported from Liverpool, England. How cool is that — straight from the Beatles hometown.
Normal sights of the city. These were the homeless people waiting for the soup that was being served. And the police on horses.
Christie took her walker to dinner. It wasn’t the smartest idea, because the sidewalks were very bumpy and it would have been easier to navigate by her walking with the cane than the walker. She stopped to recognize and pet the horses in front of the opera house.
Christie wanted me to take this picture to show what kind of sidewalk she had to navigate.
Jamie and Lee had made friends with a local businessman on their City Tour who insisted they must eat at this restaurant and order the tambaqui fish. It did look delicious — except for the head. It was cut in half and only one half was served.
The little fish was a sardine.
We had a guitar player throughout our meal and then these two dancers showed up to entertain.
So while we were at the Opera House Tour our tour guide, Tarik I believe, checked the schedule and found that there was a show that evening at 8:00 p.m. That was free.
So after dinner I walked Christie home and I turned around and came back to the Opera House. Because she had a walker at our tour and was able to come in the side door, I realized I could get in the side door instead of dealing with all the people at the front door. They questioned why I was there without a ticket and I explained I was told I could get in from the tour guide that morning. There was a bunch of discussion and then they asked if I was only one. When they found that I only neede one seat, they said follow us. A very well-dressed lady asked where I was from when I said Florida she said she had lived in Florida for a while and was happy to put me in a wonderful seat on the main floor.
I had texted the other three to see where they were with no answer. Days later I found out they had been up on 4th floor in seats where they couldn’t even see the orchestra.
This is where I got to sit for an hour of the orchestral concert. I stayed for the aria and a clarinet solo and then I was fading and left for home.
