Brazil - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 306

ARRIVAL
By boat Boats from Belém (see p.306) dock at Porto
Camará, about 30km from Soure, and Salvaterra, further
south, about 26km away, from where you can grab a bus to
any of the island's towns.

Laundry Lav e Lev, Rua Doutor Moraes 576, Batista
Campos (Mon-Sat 8am-8pm).
Post o ce The central post o ce (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) is
at Av Presidente Vargas 498. However, as this is frequently
crowded, it's often quicker to walk to the small post o ce
at Av Nazaré 319, three blocks beyond the Praça da
República (same hours).
Shopping Belém is one of the best places in the world to
buy hammocks (essential if you go upriver) - particularly
the Ver-o-Peso market, where you can also buy beautiful
local crafts.
Taxi Cooperdoca Rádio Táxi T 91 3226 3300; Águia Rádio
Táxi T 91 3276 0100.
Tourist police Policia Militar do Estado do Para, Travessa
Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco 393 ( T 91 3236 2223).

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
In Salvaterra, head to Praia Grande, where there are cheap
places to eat spread along the beach.
Ponto Certo Quarta Rua between Travessa 15 & 16,
Soure. Friendly and bustling neighbourhood joint serving
excellent local food (mains R$10-20).
Pousada O Canto do Francês Sexta Rua at Travessa 8,
Soure T 91 3741 1298, W ocantodofrances.blogspot.com.
This beautiful French-owned place is a good choice, offer-
ing cool, terracotta-tiled inte riors an d simple whitewashed
rooms fringed in hardwood. R$130

3

ILHA DE MARAJÓ
he ILHA DE MARAJÓ is a vast island in
the Amazon delta, opposite Belém,
consisting of some forty thousand square
kilometres of largely uninhabited
mangrove swamps and beaches. Created
by the accretion of silt and sand over
millions of years, it's a wet and marshy
area, the western half covered in thick
jungle, the east flat savanna, swampy in
the wet season (Jan-June), brown and
firm in the dry season (June-Dec). It is
home of the giant pirarucu fish, which,
growing to over 180kg, is the largest
freshwater breed in the world. The island
is a popular resort for sun-seekers and
ecotourists alike.

MACAPÁ AND THE ROAD TO
FRENCH GUIANA
The main reason to pass through
MACAPÁ , capital of the impoverished
state of Amapá, on the north side of the
Amazon across from Ilha de Marajó, is to
get to French Guiana. You'll need to take
a boat from Belém or fly to get here: the
key road in the state then heads north,
connecting Macapá with Oiapoque ,
on the river of the same name which
delineates the frontier. The road isn't
asphalted all the way, but mostly it's
pretty good quality; Amazontur
( T 96 3251 3435, T 96 9112 0892,
W

amazontur.com.br) run regular buses
to Oiapoque. These are scheduled to
take around twelve hours, though the
journey can be nearer twenty in the worst
of the rainy season.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
The main port of Soure is a growing
resort offering pleasant beaches where
you can relax under the shade of ancient
mango trees. Magnificent empty beaches
can be found all around the island - the
Praia do Pesqueiro , about 13km from
Soure, is one of the more accessible. If
you want to see the interior of the island
- or much of the wildlife - you have to
be prepared to camp or pay for a room
at one of the fazendas : book with travel
agents in Belém or take your chance on
arrival. Joanes , with another tremendous
beach, is much quieter.
It's wise to take some cash with you
from Belém as there's only one ATM
on the island (in Soure), and there's no
guarantee it'll accept your card.

MANAUS
MANAUS is the capital of Amazonas,
a tropical forest state covering around
one-and-a-half-million square kilometres.
Manaus actually lies on the Rio Negro,
6km from the point where that river
meets the Solimões to form (as far as
Brazilians are concerned) the Rio
Amazonas. Arriving in Manaus may
at first seem overwhelming given its
near-two million inhabitants, noise and
confusion, though it'll have you under its
spell soon enough.