Gareth in Brazil: Cristalino Lodge, Southern Amazon

It was April 1st when I arrived at Alta Floresta on the first ever direct flight from Viracopos, Sao Paulo’s second airport in Campinas, which is an hour and a half’s drive from both central Sao Paulo and its main airport, Guarulhos. Alta Floresta is a relatively new town, founded in the 1970s to develop agriculture in the region. The first settlers from Paraná state in the south of Brazil were attracted by the promise of a better future in the surrounding, supposedly fertile lands, and their descendants make up many of its 60,000 inhabitants today.

The one-hour drive from Alta Floresta took us through corn and soya farms, which gave way to dense forest as we approached the Teles Pires river. From there our small motorboat crossed the ‘meeting of the waters’, where the milky brown Teles Pires meets the dark, tannin-rich Cristalino river, before we continued upstream for 25 minutes to Cristalino Lodge. 

I was at the lodge for a ‘flying visit’, some 10 years after my last one. The Lodge infrastructure looked as spectacular as ever, and there is some exciting news in the pipeline. One recent addition is optional air conditioning in all room categories except Standard, though the natural ventilation system, using ceiling air vents, is still in place in all room types. The cuisine has scaled new heights, with delicious local fish, vegetables, seasoning and fruits, and the staff, guides and activities at Cristalino Lodge were all excellent. Like many of the team, the general manager Rogerio and my ‘concierge’ Vini are from Alta Floresta and are descendants of the original settlers. I had the pleasure of being guided for my 2 days at the Lodge by Caio Silva, to whom I’m also grateful for a few of the photos here..  

     

With the end of the ‘green’ or rainy season approaching, the Cristalino river was several metres higher than in the dry season and overflowing into the surrounding forest. It was a great opportunity for us to canoe or take a small boat through the magical igapó (flooded forest), and navigate a winding igarapé (seasonal creek), thanks to the expertise of our ‘piloto’ Jailson. On the Cristalino river we were entertained by groups of endemic white-whiskered spider monkeys, swinging acrobatically between the trees, their babies clinging on for dear life. On the river we also saw our fair share of the 600+ bird species in the region, including some best seen in the green season, like the hoatzin. 

      

Unfortunately I only managed to get about a third of the way up one of the Lodge’s two, 50 metre high observation towers when my mind games, ie. vertigo kicked in, so I missed out this time on one of the Lodge’s key attractions, especially for birdwatchers. But I did 2 of the many forest trails, including the Brazil nut trail with its gigantic Brazil nut trees, one of which is said to be over a thousand years old. In Brazil they’re officially classed as threatened with extinction, mainly due to deforestation. I learned that their coconut-sized seed pods can weigh 2 kgs and hold up to 24 Brazil nuts. Agoutis are rodents which are the only experts at biting neatly through their hard shells, before eating some of the nuts and hiding the rest, if they haven’t already been mugged by monkeys. Apparently, and thankfully, agoutis forget where they leave some nuts, which then grow into new trees. 

Cristalino is a treasure trove for nature lovers, whatever the season!

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