Up the Amazon with a paddle

Go Brazil: MIKE MILOTTE takes to the mighty Amazon where acacophony of sound, colour and smells conjures up an unforgettableencounter with nature

PINK RIVER dolphins arch gracefully through the delicate waves asa congregation of lumpy yellow-eyed caimans glide past in menacingsilence. Overhead, what sounds like thousands of howler monkeys roarin a spine-tingling cacophony, while enormous slouching sloths peerlanguorously from the treetops.

Tiny, brilliantly coloured frogs stare at us as we drift past,and mesmerising electric blue butterflies the size of dinner platesflap around our heads. The air is thick with the intoxicating scentof an as-yet-unseen flower.

The experience is dream-like, without comparison. Welcome to theAmazon.

Our personal guide, Francisco, kneels in front of us in our two-person dug-out canoe, paddling noiselessly through the descendinggloom of the varzea, the flooded forest, stopping regularly toindicate another fantastic species which he identifies by pointingto a captioned photograph on a laminated card. He holds the canoeperfectly still while my lens whirs and clicks.

The birds are spectacular: dazzling yellow rumped caciques andenormous horned screamers on one side; mysterious crested hoatzinsand fluttering wattled jacana on the other. A rufescent tiger heronputs on an elaborate show just for us, or so we think till we seethe chestnut-eared aracari watching from the branch above.

A majestic ornate hawk eagle glides by, almost within reach. Theconstant red flashes are macaws, the blue and green ones,kingfishers.

Weird and wonderful bird noise fills the humid air - a piercingscreech; a descending whistle like a falling bomb; a rusty croakfollowed by loud boom-like calls, near and far. The tumult isunceasing yet ever-changing. All the senses are engaged.

And this is just the first evening of our visit to Uakari Lodgein the isolated western reaches of the Brazilian Amazon. It has beennamed after the elusive white-haired monkey with bald head andbright red face, unique to this region, but glanced tonight only indistant silhouette as the sun sinks behind the darkening canopy.

Uakari Lodge is matchless among tourist destinations in theBrazilian Amazon: ecologically unassailable - unlike most whichapply the "eco" prefix opportunistically; co-operatively run bylocal people rather than faceless businessmen, and integrated intothe experimental Mamiraua Ecology Reserve whose jungle and river-dwelling inhabitants have committed to sustainable hunting, fishing,and forestry, subsidising their consequently reduced incomes fromthe lodge's profits.

But as well as being a worthy venture, Uakari Lodge is hauntinglybeautiful, dreamily relaxing, and just great fun.

The lodge has 10 double rooms in floating straw-roofed cabinslinked by a narrow pontoon. Power is solar generated, and precious.Our spacious bedroom has fitted mosquito nets and ceiling fan.

The en-suite shower room has limited - but sufficient - hotwater, and our private veranda sports two hammocks where we doze,watching the basking caimans and huge river cormorants diving forfish. The food is simple, local, plentiful and delectable.

Throughout the night, intriguing jungle noises persist: theshrieks and screeches of nocturnal birds; loud watery plops as giantpirarucu fish pitch outside our window; dull thuds as caimans criss-cross beneath our floating cabin; and mysterious rustling sounds allaround.

THERE ARE NO roads in Mamiraua. We go everywhere by boat. Infact, just getting to Uakari Lodge is a large part of the Amazonexperience.

The journey begins in Manaus, bustling, down-at-heel capital ofthe Brazilian province of Amazonas, built around the now defunctrubber trade and boasting the celebrated neo- classical opera housewhere regular performances are either free or as good as. For somereason, sandals are prohibited.

We had booked a tiny out-of-town guest house on the internetbecause of the glowing reviews. Its website said guests would bemet, free of charge, at the airport but as our flight from Sao Pauloarrived at 1am, we didn't expect any such bonus.

So imagine our surprise when not only were we greeted by ourhost, but we quickly discovered he was from Bangor, Co Down - myhometown!

Clive Maguire, a former finance chief at the NI EducationalLibraries Board, and his Brazilian wife, Naice, were wonderful hosts- and they have a glorious swimming pool, a bird-filled garden, anda shady loggia, complete with ubiquitous hammocks, perched right atthe jungle's edge.

We take a day-long Manaus river excursion in Clive's boat,Shamrock. He learned his skills on Lough Erne. We slip throughflooded forests where we see our first caiman, and emerge at the not-to-be-missed 'meeting of the waters' where the black Rio Negrocollides with the white Rio Solimoes to create the Amazon-proper.Because of their divergent chemical compositions - acid and alkaline- the two rivers merge very slowly: it is 30km before the black andwhite give way to a uniform muddy brown.

We glide home via the pulsating harbour, bursting with colourfulriver ferries, where scores of nimble porters balance massive loadson their heads and weave across narrow slippery gangways swayingover the caiman-infested waters.

Our short stay with the Maguires has acclimatised us to the heatand given us a foretaste in microcosm of what awaits us.

And now it's time to start our daring 600km trip upstream to theremote Uakari Lodge. As we're not on a package tour, we have to makeour own way to Tefe where we will be met.

Tefe is a crumbling riverside town 40km from the lodge and thereare three options for getting there: plane (2hrs), speed boat(12hrs), or unhurried river junk (48hrs). We choose the slow boat,and manage to find the right one in the seething harbour byfollowing the porter we get to carry our bags.

We are the only Europeans on board, but never a source ofcuriosity. Everyone is friendly. They help us sling our hammocksacross the deck - like the rest of the passengers, and point us tothe canteena at meal times.

We also booked a cabin - just a windowless broom cupboard withtwo narrow bunks - but it is air conditioned, a godsend when theafternoon temperatures soar. And it has a gurgling loo andspluttering shower.

Our boat hugs the shoreline the whole way, providing anunparalleled opportunity to view river life up close: peoplefishing, herding skinny cattle, tending sparse crops, and washing -clothes, pots, themselves, their children.

Small wooden houses are built on stilts against the floods, manyincongruously bedecked with satellite dishes attached to TV setspowered by petrol generators.

AFTER AN astoundingly engorged sunset, we sit on deck watchingthe stars come out and fill the sub-equatorial sky in dazzlingprofusion. From the fo'c'sle, strains of the Bee Gees' I Started aJokewaft absurdly on the warm night breeze. I don't want thisjourney to end.

When we get there, Tefe is steaming under a vulture-laden sky.But before long we are met by the Uakari Lodge boatman, and alongwith a dozen others who either flew here or came by speedboat, weare soon heading upstream to our floating paradise and first eveningwith Francisco in our canoe.

The rest of our visit passes all too quickly: several canoe tripsto diverse parts of the flooded forest, each revealingexhilaratingly different flora and fauna; a night trip into theforest where we watch a snake hanging from a tree lunging at passingbats.

We shine huge torches on the pitch-black water and see hundredsof caimans' eyes glow bright red like car brake lights in a midnighttraffic jam.

We visit a riverside village where we clomp through sticky mud,guided by proud community leaders happy to explain their philosophyof ecological sustainability.

This is the only occasion when we can buy local produce: delicatejewellery fashioned by shy young women who were embarrassed to takepayment. Commercialisation creeps slowly.

After bidding Francisco farewell and exchanging e-mail addresseswith fellow adventurers, we return to Manaus by speed boat, whichnecessitates a memorable night in Tefe - sleepless thanks to aviolent storm. The boat trip is remarkably comfortable, and lunch isincluded.

We have had an unforgettable encounter with nature, and can onlyhope that if our presence in this delicate and threatened landscapedid any damage, it was offset by whatever benefits our passing tradebrought to the people of Mamiraua.

Amazon where to . . . Stay Uakari Lodge, uakari lodge.com.br.Three-night stay costs [euro]550; four nights [euro]650; six nights[euro]1,000. Prices include transfers between the lodge and Tefe,all meals, guided tours, trips and lectures. Maguire's Guesthouse,28 Rua Modolva, Taruma, Manaus, maguirenet.com. See also CliveMaguire's guidebook at visitmanaus.com for alternatives. TropicalHotel, Manaus, tropicalhotel.com. This is the biggest tourist hotelin town. Rooms start at about [euro]150. Hotel Oliveira II, 112Rua Marechal Deodoro, Tefe. Basic but clean, about [euro]30 for twosharing. Breakfast included. Eat Fish and Art, Manaus. Next tothe Opera House, simple and exceptionally good value. You might evenbuy one of the owner's paintings. Quitutes da Fatima, Tefe. Aspotlessly clean, inexpensive buffet-style experience. PanoramaHotel, 90 Rua Floriano Peixoto, Tefe. Fine dining in a picturesquelocation. Getting there : TAM airlines (tam.com.br) flies fromSao Paulo to Manaus (fares from about [euro]200 return) and fromManaus to Tefe (about [euro]350 return). Slow boat from Manaus toTefe one way, with cabin and all meals, about [euro]90pps. The speedboat costs about the same, with one meal included.