PPS Destinations Report 

Royal Amazon Lodge, Agua Boa Univini, Roraima State, Brazil

Date:        February 2006

Speakers and Topics:   

Drs. Rodney Wentworth and Ernst Schmidt; Ethics and Patient Navigation. (Note:  A Manaus portion with local experts was also organized, however, due to altered airline schedules, it had to be cancelled)

 Reported by Dr. Ernst 'Ernie' Schmidt, Vancouver, BC, Canada

(*For those of you too impatient to read through this adventure, feel free to skip to see more Amazon 2006 photos)

Where to begin?  There is so much to report on this winter’s PPS Dental/Medical Seminar that I find it hard to know where to start.  Fourteen of us –including 4 spouses - ventured to the remote jungles of the Amazon headwaters in an area of Brazil considered to be the least populated and most pristine.  Aside from the obvious goal of visiting the ‘mother of all rainforests’, a good number of us had the intent of chasing away the ‘winter blues’ with some good fishing.  

The week we chose to visit this area was considered optimum as it was in the middle of the traditional dry season, therefore, we all looked forward to the thought of sight fishing in the clear waters of the Agua Boa.  Needless to say and weather patterns being what they are, we ended up visiting during abnormally high water conditions.  Instead of predominantly sight fishing, we found ourselves predominantly blind casting to structure along the shore.  Still, one of the amazing features of this destination is the ability to make it happen in a grand way.  I doubt any of us felt that we had less than an excellent fishing experience.  During the week we were heartened to see water levels rapidly dropping to expected ideal conditions, only to witness several Amazon rain showers, each causing water levels to rise further and in the process, become less clear.  

What really saved our trip was the structure of the Agua Boa Univini River .  Whereas the majority of other lodges had cancelled all their clients for the season, the Royal Amazon Lodge continued to function with minimal (if any) problems due to the high water.  Attached to the main river were countless lagoons which served as rain catchment areas.  Some of these lagoons had further hidden lagoons accessed either by foot or by jungle water-ways.  These lagoons were generally clear, tranquil and without any discernible current.  In fact, some of the best fishing was had in these lagoons during the high waters.  It should also be mentioned that by any standards, the Agua Boa is a very large river.  Although it is a tributary to a tributary of a tributary of the Amazon, one can easily see why the Amazon is such a large body of water.  

Our main quarry, the Peacock Bass, was really a study in itself.  The Peacocks are really not bass at all, but the largest form of Cichlid, of which there were three kinds.  The most abundant was the Butterfly (Boboletta) which tended to run between one and five pounds and had three distinctive spots instead of a lateral line.  The Spotted (Paca), ranging from 2 to 10 pounds, and the Temensis, ranging from five to 20 pounds +, were less numerous and somewhat tougher to catch than the more numerous Butterflies.  Without going further, it needs to be said that these powerful fish have to be considered among the most beautiful fish we have ever seen.  My impression of all three of the Peacocks was that they were actually porcelain figurines hand painted by an imaginative artist.  Trying to proceed and describe them is useless and thereby I refer the reader to the photographs which I feel will do better justice to the fish.  

By the end of the week, I felt that my Portuguese was probably just as good, if not better, than the English of our guides, however, we got along famously as they knew the river intimately and added a lot of colour to the experience.  Where some were laconic by nature, others were loquacious and couldn’t help but get excited with our fishing.  With two to a boat, we would pole or paddle along the shoreline and cast into the structure, rapidly stripping our streamer patterns as soon as the fly hit the water.  If a large fish were hooked, it then became a battle to keep the fish from wrapping one’s line around a submerged snag.  With 30 pound test, large fish could not always be held back and, as predicted, at least 3 rods were broken during the trip.  Anytime a fish became entangled or one caught the fly in the brush, our guides were quick to retrieve the fly even if it meant diving into the water.  Flies were generally only ‘retired’ due to the numbers of fish caught or when destroyed by the teeth of pesky Piranhas or Payara, the latter giving me the impression of a trout fitted with the dentures of a vampire.  It was the experience of my wife, Deb, as well as some of the other spouses, to give the fishing a try and then exalt in the catching of six or more species of fish during a half-day of fishing.  Everything from the 3 Peacocks to the split-eyed Arowana (Aruana) on one hand to the unexpected were caught on a daily basis.  The bottom line for the fishing of this trip was that we came away unaware of the ‘fact’ that conditions were less-than-ideal.  How can you explain to someone that you caught up to 50 fish in a day with as many as 8 species and still tell them that the water was ‘too-high’?  

The Amazon has many more attractions than just the fishing.  I personally fished 60% of the week and reserved the remainder of the time for hiking and wildlife viewing.  We saw a considerable variety of species ranging from an impressive array of birdlife to larger animals such as monkeys, caimans and tapirs.  In general, more animals were seen from the boat as opposed to the jungle trails since the dense jungle made seeing the animals a real challenge.  Overall, our unanimous impression for the trip was that the wildlife abundance was a lot less than expected.  Of the seven days of our trip, I personally saw three species of monkeys on four of the days. Some of the members never saw any monkeys, however, I sometimes wonder if it wasn’t due to the intensity with which my colleagues applied themselves to the fishing aspect of this trip.  Wildlife highlights of the trip included the Pink and Gray River Dolphins which are the only freshwater dolphins on earth, caimans, anacondas and the various species of monkeys roaming the forest canopy.  When the whole experience of the group was tallied, it still remains an impressive list of flora and fauna witnessed during the week.  

Our accommodations at the Royal Amazon Lodge were amazingly good.   Air-conditioned bungalows were beyond expectation given the remoteness of the camp.  Keep in mind that this was not a ‘canned-Amazon’ experience, but the real thing.  The lodge was well equipped and served as our meeting and dining place.  Amenities included a games room, large screen TV, an outdoor pool and even a large outdoor entertainment theatre where ‘steamy’ Brazilian videos were shown.  Without question, most of us were more impressed with the ‘waking’ jungle as the day began to wane and drift into night.  To say that it was a night and day difference is not too far off the point.  During the heat of the day, very little activity was present, however, as soon as the day started to wane, the jungle sounds and animal activity began to ramp up and continued right on through till dawn.  The insect and toad sounds in particular were amazing and certainly could not be imagined without having been there  

The staff at the lodge deserves a special mention.  These had to be among the most accommodating crew we had ever encountered.  No sooner did our boat arrive at the dock then Jose came to greet us with the expected Caipirinhas (a potent lime and sugar cane drink).  Laundry service was continual and there did not appear to be anything that the staff, fishing guides included, would not do for us at any time of the day.  Meals were hearty, easily palatable to the Western palate albeit with a Brazilian bend.  

The lodge is owned by a charismatic entrepreneur from Boa Vista (capital of Roraima province) and is booked exclusively by Sweetwater Travel of Montana .   Jeff of Sweetwater Travel deserves a lot of credit for the logistics applied to all aspects of the operations.  Having said this, there is still one sore point to this venue.  Currently, the only realistic way of arriving to Manaus is via a direct charter from Miami using the carrier LAB (Lloyds Areo Boliviano).  Although there are no safety concerns with this carrier, they certainly have gained a dismal reputation for the way they run their operations.  During our week, no flight was on time and other groups in the area were either re-routed via Sao Paolo (a mere 5-6 hours further flying time in the opposite direction) or altogether cancelled for no apparent reason.  Other groups had to spend 3 extra days in Manaus or did not arrive into the camp until a day later.  Currently this is the only show in town and despite all the efforts of Ray, the Manaus coordinator, the adventurous traveler must take this into stride and accept it as part of the adventure package for this exotic destination.  Certainly, your overnight stays in Miami and Manaus are factored in as Sweetwater Travel is more than aware of the limitations of LAB airlines and all clients are warned of this eventuality.  In retrospect, especially once the jetlag and tiredness due to the delays is overcome, it looks no less than part of the adventure.  There is some speculation as to the possibility of a major US carrier (AA) taking this route on as a seasonal scheduled flight.  This idea has the tourist industry in fits of delight at this possibility, however, I wonder what it might do once this destination becomes mainstream?  

There is still so much to tell on this adventure destination but I run the risk of running on.  This destination gets the two thumbs-up from all members of the group, spouses included, and we are seriously considering including this venue in the future PPS program.  If we can catch it during the low water period, it will certainly feel like a whole new experience.  There are simply only two ways to look at an adventure to the Amazon.  It’s either something you do at least once in your life, or, something you will do repeatedly.

For more pictures of this adventure, please see Amazon 2006 photos

Note:  If the reader has any further questions, please feel free to contact me at pps@shaw.ca.

More comments by Attending PPS members:

....."besides the singular memories of individual fish flashing out of the depths, mouths agape, aggressively chasing our  flies (usually followed by their bigger "brothers") or the sheer strength of a good size peacock heading for the trees is the overall perception of the Rio Agua Boa.  It was total sensory overload!  All of my senses came into play each day through the palpable heat and humidity.   The jungle smells, the sounds and sights of the birds and monkeys, the beauty of each fish, even the taste of the cai parinas are what will stay with me the longest.   Throw in the easy conversation among PPS friends, old and new, and it certainly came as no surprise that the experience was a 'given'.  Yet each time the experience is appreciated more than the last.   Tracy and I had a great time with the group and the fact that the fishing was wonderful only served as additional incentive to keep exploring the world with this bunch of people.   Long after any one fish is forgotten, this trip will not be."  Brian and Tracy Griffith, NJ, USA

"What can we say about the Amazon that many have said better.  However, it was Diane's first real fly fishing trip where she really fished....Guess what?  She really liked fly fishing for those big Peacock Bass.  Along with the post card beauty with every gaze, the lodge guides, hosts, and helpers were wonderfully attentive and liked helping us.  The evening blaze of awesome Amazon jungle noise will always be in our dreams.  There is nowhere like the Amazon!  The best part of our adventure was sharing it with our PPS friends.  It is where the lasting memories are held."
Chris and Diane Travis, CA, USA