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Amazingly, the trees in the jungle survive having their roots submerged for up to six months out of each year. The natives that live along the river were not as adaptable as the trees. Virtually all of the natives had bad teeth because there are no cattle in the jungle to give milk, and no other sources of calcium. The soil in the jungle is sandy and poor, so farming is not very productive. Fish provide protein, but their diet is not rich in other nutrients.
There is one product that the natives can grow, called manioc, a root that is rich in carbohydrates. It is a staple in the native diet. We know it in the United States as tapioca. It is difficult to process to make it edible because it is poisonous when raw. Every Brazilian restaurant in which we ate had manioc on the table. The form in which the Brazilians use it is a dry granular powder. It has no taste of its own, but they sprinkled it over everything. It looks like saw dust, has the same consistency of saw dust, and tastes like saw dust.
Ariau Amazon Towers appears to have changed considerably since 1998. Their website shows a resort that is much more upscale. The guest rooms are nicely furnished and decorated now. They are all air conditioned and, of course, have windows with glass in them. The complex has grown, and they have added many amenities that weren’t available when we were there. In some ways the trip in 1998 was more of an adventure. It never was an extreme Eco Resort, but it does immerse the visitor in the jungle environment, an experience difficult to replicate elsewhere. Sadly, the theme park was never built. None-the-less, the experience was one I will never forget. Would I consider returning? Absolutely, although next time maybe I’ll opt for the helicopter ride from Manaus.
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