Truly, Manaus is other-worldly. I visited for a glorious week a number of years ago. It is the safest large city in Brazil to carry around an expensive digital camera: as no roads connect Manaus to anywhere, and the jungle is forbidding, the only escape for criminals is by boat from its few ports. The city itself was built over a century ago on the riches of the natural rubber boom. Besides meriting its own opera house (see Werner Herzog’s “Fitzcarraldo” for an idea of the challenges), Manaus was the second city in Brazil to get electricity (after Rio) and for a time the rich sent their shirts to be laundered in London. Despite being 1,400km from the sea, Manaus has a deep-sea port, being only 40-80 meters above sea level. There is no other place on earth like it. The most remote, and unconnected, of backroads. [please hover over images for captions]
Loved the narrative and the pictures of Manaus. The captions are important to understand what you are seeing – can they be attached to the initial slide show? You are doing a great job of getting the word out and being noticed by Publisher’s Weekly. Can you get reviews by other publications? Some day you may be viewed as the best travel writer on Brazil? Much love. Dad
Hi Dad,
Thanks for the encouragment!
Yes, I’d love to have the captions show during the slideshow, but WordPress has its quirks and I – brainpressed – haven’t figured it all out yet.
Publishers Weekly was certainly a boon. Many reviews are paid for these days, so I was particularly fortunate to get a freebie. The interview (see my author site http://www.benbatchelder.com) with them also helped.
I’ve been called a Brazilianist before (no offense taken), and would claim “To Belem & Back” is the most up-to-date primer/introduction/joy-ride to Brazil out there. It’s a pleasure to share my love for the country with any and all.
Much love, Ben