Brazil - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 311

Santarém and all ports along the Amazon (Tues & Fri 6am,
Wed noon, Thurs 8am, Sat 7am; 2 days; R$159); Rio Negro
to São Gabriel da Cachoeira (regular boat Fri 6pm; 3 days;
R$240, express boat Tues & Fri 3pm; 28hr; R$300); Rio
Solimões to Tabatinga (two each on Wed & Sat 11am &
noon; 6 days; R$340).
By express boat If you're in a hurry to get to Tabatinga or
Tefé, you might want to consider taking an express boat
from Terminal Ajato ( T 92 3622 6047, W terminalajato
.com.br), located slightly to the northeast of the Mercado
Municipal, down a steep flight of iron stairs.
Destinations Tefé (Mon & Thurs 6am; R$220; 12-13hr,
Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun 7am; R$200-230; 12-13hr); Tabatinga
(Tues & Sun 7am; R$500; 36hr).
By bus The small rodoviária is 6km north of the centre,
hidden behind a motorway and fiendishly di cult to
navigate to or from; the only local bus that leaves from
outside, #006, follows a wildly circuitous route into the
centre and can literally take hours; save yourself the
trouble and splurge on a taxi (R$25). Coming the other
way (from the local terminal at Praça Matriz), #005 will get
you there direct, eventually, while #500, #640 or #311 all
pass the nearby Shell garage; ask the attendant where to
get off, otherwise you'll never have a hope of finding it.
Destinations EUCATUR ( W www.eucatur.com.br) serve
Boa Vista, where you'll find regular connections to
Venezuela. For Santa Elena, grab a taxi from Boa Vista's
rodoviária - it's actually cheaper and less time-consuming
than the bus as there are plenty of drivers keen to fill
up with cheap fuel in Venezuela. All tourists going to
Venezuela must have a yellow-fever vaccination card to
buy their tickets - you can get the injection and card at
the rodoviária or at the main floating harbour for free.
Boa Vista (5 daily; 16hr).
Tourist information The tourist o ce is close to the
back of the Opera House at Av Eduardo Ribeira 666 (Mon-
Fri 8am-5pm; T 92 3233 0739, W visitamazonas.am
.gov.br); it has helpful, friendly staff who can supply town
maps. There's also a small tourist o ce at the airport
( T 92 3182 9850; 24hr).

steps, plus wi-fi, i ntern et, inclusive br eakfas t, kitchen and
bar. 6-bed dorms R$25 , 4-bed dorms R$30
Ì Hostel Manaus Rua Lauro Cavalcante 231
T 92 3233 4545, W hihostelmanaus.com. Aussie-owned
HI-a liated hostel with firm comfortable dorm beds with
lockers in lovely old high-ceilinged colonial rooms (some
dorms with a/c), views of the Palácio Rio Negro from the
breakfast table and a sweetly eccentric and eclectic bunch
of staff. They proudly boast of having the lowest HI dorm
price in Brazil - and all with a bargain laundry service,
wi-fi, international call facility and Skype, TV lounge and
kitchen, slap-u p inclu sive brea kfast, beer garden and tour
agency. Dorms R$27 , doubles R$66
Manaus Hostel Rua Costa Azevedo 63 T 92 3231 2139,
W manaushostel.com.br. Pleasant bright-pink hostel in a
good location with reasonably clean if slightly poky rooms
and bathrooms, a little TV area, a basic kitchen for guests,
meagre inclusive breakfast and wi-fi. A hal f-decent choice
if GOL or Hostel Manaus is full. Dorms R$25 , doubles R$70

3

EATING AND DRINKING
There is plenty of cheap street food everywhere, especially
around the docks, the Mercado Municipal and in busy
downtown locations like the Praça da Matriz, where a
plate of rice and beans with a skewer of freshly grilled
meat or fish costs about R$9. There's a Carrefour super-
market on Av Eduardo Ribeiro.
Casa da Pamonha Rua Barroso 375 T 92 3233 1028.
All the atmosphere of a doctor's waiting room yet a
godsend for vegetarians who don't eat fish/seafood -
though slightly pricey, the lunchtime buffet (11am-2pm;
R$33.90 por quilo ) isn't bad at all, with the usual rice,
beans, quiche etc, and be sure to help yourself to a bowl of
the vegetable soup: thick, salty and delicious. Open for
salgados , sandwiches, (excellent) coffee and the like the
rest of the time. Mon-Fri 7am-7pm, Sat 7am-2pm.
Galo Carijó Rua dos Andradas 536 T 92 3233 0044. One
of the best local places for fresh fish and a friendly
welcome, with a cavernous corner location and plenty
of dishes to choose from, most tacked up on the ancient
wall-mounted menu - try the pirarucu (R$40 for two),
the largest freshwater scaled fish in the world. Mon-Sat
11am-4pm.
Tacacá da Gisela Largo São Sebastião, s/n T 92 8803
4901. One traditional dish you should definitely try when
you're here is tacacá - a soup that consists essentially of
yellow manioc root juice in a hot, spicy dried-shrimp sauce
- and this ever-bustling kiosk on Praça São Sebastião is
the place to try it (R$12). Daily 4-10pm.
Toca da Costela Rua Barão de São Domingos 268 T 92
3622 0230. Only open during the day and usually packed,
this is a great location from which to watch the daily
mayhem of the banana market as you feast on superb
meat and fish dishes (R$20.99 por quilo ). Daily 7am-5pm.

ACCOMMODATION
Dez de Julho Rua Dez de Julho 679 T 92 3232 6280,
W hoteldezdejulho.com. Though sometimes criticized for
its noisy a/c and concrete platform beds (albeit with a
decent mattress on top), the location is almost perfect and
- with rooms fairly dark and internal - it is at least quiet.
Staff are friendly and there's a well-respected tour agency,
Amazon Gero Tour s, jus t off the reception. Wi-fi and
breakfast included. R$90
GOL Backpackers Manaus Rua Barroso 365 T 92 3304
5805, W golbackapckers.com. One of Manaus' newest
hostels, in a fantastic location a mere stone's throw from
Teatro Amazonas, with 4-6-bed dorms up a flight of stone