second half of Alta Florista flight

May 3
Second half of Alta Floresta flight

There was a huge storm cloud ahead. I couldn’t decide whether to go right or left but as I got closer, I could see the rain shafts and decided to go between them. It was VERY bumpy for a while, maybe two to three minutes, but felt longer. Finally clear on the other side, back in touch with Amazonica control, I was allowed to descend. Wayne had been through the bumps also and said it was hot down low. I stayed at 4000 feet until I had to descend for landing. There were lots of fields below and few trees; definitely the result of deforestation to make room for cattle grazing. The local tower did not have as much English as Amazonica control, but also much less traffic. I landed about 5 minutes after Wayne who was already gassing up.

It was so nice to be on a small, non-international, airport without the massive paperwork. Inside the terminal we were escorted to one office. We had to show our paperwork from Manaus that allows us to fly around Brazil, pay the landing and parking fee and we are good to go. They let us go back and forth to the planes with no worries. Boy, it’s nice to be on a small, non-international, airport.

We’re picked up and taken to the local hotel. This is where groups meet to be taken to the jungle lodge and where we’ll return after two nights in the jungle. Luckily, they have wifi, and I get the last two flight legs published to the blog so that followers will know that we landed.

We load into a 4-wheel drive jeep along with a Brazilian couple who are birders. It’s a one hour drive along red dirt roads kicking up lots of dust when cars pass. Thankfully we only see two other cars. The arrival is to a dock where we load everything onto two boats for a 15 minute ride to the lodge.

The lodge is simple as are the rooms. The generator is run only twice a day for charging batteries and lighting; otherwise we use candles and flashlights. Water is heated by solar and is plentiful. Before dinner, we meet the guide along with another couple who is just ending their stay here. The food is delicious and we learn about the tours we’ll be on and what we’ll be seeing over the next two days.