May 2014: Tree hugging

“Have you seen the Amazon rainforest?” my mother asked. It was a fair question. But even after living two weeks in Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, which is 98 percent Amazon rainforest, I still couldn’t answer “yes.”

In my effort to see and feel the Amazon Rainforest, I called up Amazon Tree Climbing. A guide named Mathias picked me up and, after an hour drive through the congested city streets, we were on the city outskirts. We walked down a short trail to a 40-meter-tall (120-foot) samauma tree. This is where I thought I’d finally see the Amazon.

Mathias stepped into a climbing harness, clipped into a rope, and quickly ratcheted himself up — in a movement that looked something like riding a rowing exercise machine. Within 5 minutes he was standing on a 30-meter-high limb. Then came my turn.

It took me three times as long to reach the thick branch (and one older woman in our group never quite made it), but from high up in the tree I finally had a decent look at the Amazon Rainforest. It looked pretty much like any jungle, just never-ending.

From my lookout, I could see several kilometers downriver to Encontro das Águas, the place where the dark-colored Rio Negro meets the sandy colored Amazon River, creating a sharp contrast of colors. At least a half-dozen vultures perched in the branches above my head, looking very eager for an unfortunate mistake that might provide them dinner.

The Amazon Rainforest holds mythic symbolism as a place of rich biodiversity and indigenous tribes. Which is true. But standing on a street of the industrial Manaus hardly feels like being in the middle of the world’s largest rainforest. I actually felt more surrounded by rainforest when I was living in Rio de Janeiro, whose inner-city Tijuca Forest is also, technically, a rainforest.

I had imagined Manaus and the surrounding area being a big playground, a wild place for adventure. But this city feels more like a prison that is walled in by the Rio Negro (which meets here with the Amazon River) and the dense jungle. They feel more like barriers to travel rather than avenues for discovery.