Cara equipe da Viverde,
Me chamo Tiago Castro e viajei por Manaus com minha esposa e sogra há cerca de 3 meses usando os serviços da Viverde. Reconheço que este e-mail chega com uma enorme defasagem, mas meu mais sincero desejo de enviá-lo me impede de deixar o assunto de lado. Nos hospedamos por alguns dias no hotel silvestre Aldeia dos Lagos. Ao longo da estadia, todavia, minha sogra desenvolveu uma crise aguda de dor lombar, de tal intensidade que ela mal conseguia caminhar. Apesar de sua forma física e disposição, a dor que sentia acabou motivando a desistência, e nos vimos forçados a encurtar nossa estadia. Por tratar-se de um imprevisto, contactamos vocês no susto, requisitando soluções mirabolantes, que nos foram prontamente atendidas. Esse e-mail tem, portanto, uma função primária de agradecer a cordialidade e o profissionalismo da equipe da Viverde, principalmente do Ricardo, que foi fundamental para a solução de nossos problemas.
Quanto ao problema de saúde de minha sogra, confirmamos mais tarde se tratar de uma inflamação do nervo ciático, provavelmente causado por uma postura ruim nos longos passeios de lancha. O caso desde então não voltou a repetir-se e ela está em perfeitas condições.
O segundo propósito deste e-mail é escrever uma resenha sobre a pousada Aldeia dos Lagos, que nos atendeu em nossas necessidades com igual carinho e dedicação, e nos ajudou prontamente quando o quadro clínico de minha sogra se agravou. Acho que esta pequena resenha talvez possa vir a ser aproveitada por vocês para fins de divulgação do local, ou para que pelo menos vocês tenham um feedback da parte dos clientes sobre o estabelecimento. Minha esposa e eu decidimos escrever a resenha em inglês para que a divulgação para clientes estrangeiros seja complementada.
Um abraço a todos, com votos sinceros de sucesso e plenitude. Sem mais delongas, a resenha:
As we first read about Aldeia dos Lagos Jungle Lodge, in a catalogue, we could’nt avoid getting carried away by excitement. The hotel originally built in cooperation with the Austrian governament and WWF was a pioneer within ecotourism. Not solely because of the environmental commitment they have shown along the years, but because of the social reach of the project. The ecotourism is provided by the local community, which has learned the know-how from their austrian predecessors, and has sucessfully developed it. We read too that the way there was long and the trip by car from Manaus lasted several hours. After considering it for a while, we have decided to try it. And I am glad we did.
The hotel:
If you are looking for a jungle hotel that offers you day-spa service and 4 star french couisine, you should’nt be looking here in first place. But if you are looking for the real jungle experience without sacrificing too much on comfort, Aldeia dos Lagos is the place for you. The hotel is a simple, unpretensious place. They offer you the basic for a perfectly comfortable stay, without luxury. By the price payed you get tidy rooms with air conditioning, mosquito-nets and a decent warm shower. The meals are simple and made of fresh ingredients bought (or sometimes caught) locally. They seem to adjust a bit the menu according to the wishes and demmands of the clients, which we found thoughtful of them. The fresh pressed exotic-fruit juices at the end of the day were always a caress to the soul.
The motorboat incursions happened mostly during the morning or at dawn, to avoid excessive sun exposure. This meant a lot of colorful water and sky palletes. The guides are very experienced, specially when concerning the local fauna and flora, as well as geography and history. The trips were therefore not only beautiful but also very informative. Not rarely you get to see wild-life in full motion, and if you are lucky, you may get to see the botos playing (freshwater dolphins), as well as monkeys, sloths and others. The birds are everywhere, and their unfamiliar sounds were the melody of our trips. Our guide war also a bird-watcher, and has successfuly recognized and explained at lenght every single one of the species we got to know.
Comparing to some of the other “fancier” jungle lodges we stayed in in other occasions, Aldeia dos Lagos was particularly worthy of mention when concerning the visitor’s individuality. During our stay there we were two small groups, and each of those got a particular guide at their disposal. The visitors also define which incursions they want to make and when, as well as meal times. The staff was open to suggestions and willing to serve.
Our trip happened on the beginning of July 2009, during the flood time. We, particularly, found the flooded landscape very unique and beautiful, and would recommend a trip there during this season. We didn’t experience the dry season, still. So we cannot comment on it.
Since we were all portuguese speakers we could also not evaluate how adequate is the guide-service concerning non-portuguese speakers.
Conclusion: we considered our stay in Aldeia dos Lagos a very pleasant one and plan to return there some day.