We had decided that to enjoy the flesh pots of Manaus we would rent an apartment, and here’s the odd thing: Layne’s first two choices were rented right out from under her. It is not of course Labor Day weekend in Brazil, nor is it as far as I know any kind of holiday but the demand for air bnb accusation is surprising. We did get a place for $353 for the week from Sunday to Sunday and we moved in Sunday evening. Only to discover the main a/c in the living room was not working! Layne was fit to be tied as the whole point was to have a cool comfortable place for us to rest, a safe base from which to explore the city and a place for Rusty to rest and dry his hot spot.
True to her word the rental agent, on the couch above, got the repair crew in to install a new unit, which repair was not working. We have bed room units but they freeze the bedroom and barely cool the rest of the apartment with the result that we are confined to a room. It’s neither pleasant nor restful. What happens next I don’t know but Layne is grumpy and Rusty is enjoying the apartment and his hot spot is healing so that’s good and when Layne gets grumpy I get unnaturally cheerful in an attempt to compensate. In short Team Lost is going through a rough patch.
This might be a good moment to point out some of the pitfalls of renting apartments through the air bnb system. Landlords lie and exaggerate and we have learned to read between the lines. We require safe parking for a 9 foot tall minibus, air conditioning or heat, of course pet friendly, and reasonable access to the city in question. These are difficult issues especially GANNET2 and height limitations which most people can’t picture. 
We use apartments as needed and only campground near Manaus is thirty minutes outside the city with no electrical plug ins. That means limited use of a/c for a night and a long drive into town to take a tour. The idea with an apartment is to leave Rusty safe and in comfort while we drive a few hours a day touring the city. It’s so hot out here is happy to be left alone in a cool apartment to sleep these days as the years pile up on him too. 
Sunday was it turned out a good day to do laundry in Manaus as traffic was light and we had the laundry to ourselves. We had heard about Brazils infamous situation self serve laundries but this was brilliant. 
You get a QR code on the door to unlock it which will prevent casual pilfering then once inside another code yields instructions in English. You use one of the baskets to measure a load and with your credit card pay for a machine then you load the machine but add NO dips, the machine uses soap and softener automatically. Brilliant! And there no signs saying no fogs do himself was happy.
It was three bucks each off the washers and three more for the dryers and we washed everything in the van, sheets, seat covers, dog bed cover (illegal per the sign) and got rid of as much of the red dust as we could. With the van interior in a shambles of clean bedding and clothes and rugs we needed a place to sleep…but first breakfast.
Luckily for us she had a sandwich shop open till noon Sundays and hardly knowing what we were ordering we got pressed egg and cheese sandwiches and two huge con leches. It was I swear a Key West breakfast in Manaus. Amazing.
It tasted good but it was that strange, unexpected yet perfect reminder of home. I could close my eyes and be at the White Street Pier doing nothing but listening to the ocean and eating Cuban food.
And then I had to give GANNET2 another interior clean to remove one more layer of red dust. The idea was to have a clean comfortable home to return to in a week when we drive north to Guyana. Oh and by the way we are scheduled to cross the equator again into the northern hemisphere.
Up next week went shopping at an Assaí supermarket which Layne explored and did not much like, describing as less like Publix and more like Gordon Food Service but I liked the easy access parking with shade and Rusty enjoyed a lengthy (for him) urban walk, about two blocks in the heart. Then the weather turned.
We had a massive squall with heavy rain like summer in Key West but with the huge roof it was no problem, and soon enough the rain went away leaving puddles.
On the way to the apartment through a city closed down on a Sunday afternoon Layne spotted a food stand.
We took grilled chicken, two sausages and a fish for future meals. The fish comes in a pizza box as demonstrated by these young customers:
I took Rusty for a walk and bought some sodas from a convenience store, and I noticed he had three card readers so when he picked up the red one I asked could he use the orange or black pointing to them and he laughed but I have no idea why they have them all.
Check them out lined up on his counter, I qualified for the red one only.
And finally we got to the apartment in a vast complex and discovered our parking spot for Block 2 Unit 306 is right round the lot beyond the swimming pool. Look what you have to do to park a 21foot van; imagine if we had an expedition truck…
The guy in the photo with his tiny three month old puppy hung out and chatted about the van and our journey, a few slow words at a time and then a young couple with a an infant spoke some pretty good English and it took ages to unload GANNET2 and fill the apartment fridge. Brazilians are just curious and friendly and chatty and totally approachable. I wish I spoke Portuguese but I am working on it.
Rusty assumed the position. A short walk to pee, then a long ice cold air conditioned nap. His needs are simple and I am happy to accommodate him. Here’s hoping this apartment works out and the a/c gets fixed, and Layne can get used to the quirks of this strange rather uncomfortable layout. I just want to stay out and read a book, watch a tv show, something that takes me far from Brazil and ignore the 105 degree heat. In a couple of days let’s take a city tour. For now I want to rest on my laurels in Manaus.
