Manaus: City of Past Glories

The good ship "Lima"

Other than a moderate swarm of bees that had taken up residence on the underside of one of the sun loungers, we had arrived in Manaus unscathed from a profusion of insect visitors on our 900 mile cruise up the Amazon River.  The interlopers generally came by night and it was imperative to leave veranda lights off during the evening hours to avoid a deluge of exotica clinging to the windowpanes in the morning.

Stilted houses highlight the Amazon's
low water levels in November

The manufacturing, oil refining and fishing centre of Manaus has an intriguing history - colonized by the Portuguese in the 1600s, its heyday came when the commercial value of latex was discovered and the era of the rubber barons was born. Opulent buildings were constructed with materials imported from the far reaches of the empires of the various colonial powers who arrived in force to take advantage of the economic boom.

Unfortunately the rubber resource was not well managed - trees were planted too close together and the plantations eventually floundered.  Seedlings were smuggled by the British and taken to Kew Gardens in London and eventually transplanted in what is now Singapore and Malaysia where labour and transportation costs were more attractive. We have it on good authority that the 11 original descendant trees stand in Singapore's Botanical Gardens.

After a period of excess and opulence Manaus’s good times were coming to an end and the eventual discovery of synthetic rubber provided the final nail in its coffin.  The rubber boom was over.

Crumbling facades of a glorious past

The fine old buildings of Manaus’s boom times are still evident, notably the famous Opera House.  Many though have been reduced to crumbling facades, some softened by creeping ivy that over the years has used rusting window and door decorations as support.


Wandering through Manaus's main streets we negotiated the disintegrating infrastructure of uneven sidewalks and gaping potholes.  Street vendors occupied either side of the narrow roadways selling everything from fast food to racy underwear while loud music bellowed, horns honked and vehicles belched their emissions.  

Busy street market

In the midst of it all stood the cathedral.  Nearby, a massive paper mache Father Christmas occupied a street corner.   Seasonal music blasted from within its hollow structure, competing with all the street noise. The humidity was palpable despite a healthy breeze and overcast skies.  Santa's heavy red suit and its fur trimmings felt completely out of place.

Fruit drink stand selling
highly caffeinated Guarana 

We negotiated the busy streets, darting between cars, buses and scooters, eventually taking refuge in a vestige from our youth when we lived in the UK - a C+A store. The store’s air conditioning provided welcome relief while our eyebrows raised at the sight of more risque underwear ... there did seem to be a high proportion of undergarments in the store compared to other merchandise on sale!

Tourist police armed with serious weaponry watched the proceedings while military and civil police watched them.  All this was being observed by a kettle of vultures hovering overhead, circling in search of fish abandoned on the shoreline by receding water levels.  The rainy season was about to begin and the stilted buildings and floating docks would soon be put to the test.

No matter, we had plenty of time another day to visit the opulent Opera House with its marble edifice, intricate paintings and chandeliers of Murano glass, all echoing Manaus’s glorious past.