It’s hard to believe the urban city of Manaus lies in the middle of the Amazon jungle. With a population of 2.5 million the city’s principal attractions are its lavish, brightly colored houses and civic buildings. The city is located on the Rio Negro a few miles before it meets the Rio Solimões to form the Amazon River properly.

Founded in 1669, Manaus took its name, which means “mother of the Gods,” from the Manaó tribe. The city has long flirted with prosperity. Of all the Amazon cities and towns, Manaus is most identified with the rubber boom. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it supplied 90% of the world’s rubber.

The city was rich and the rubber barons afforded the biggest luxury from Europe, a copy of the Grand Opera de Paris – the Teatro Amazonas. Yes, they built an Opera House in the middle of the rain forest. This gorgeous, now pink, opera house is stunning and Mum and I decided to take a guided tour of the stunning building.

Construction of this masterpiece began in 1884, by the Italian architect Celestial Sacardim. No expense was spared: roofing came from Alsace, furniture from Paris, marble from Italy, and steel from England. On the outside of the building, the dome was covered with 36,000 decorated ceramic tiles painted in the colors of the Brazilian national flag. The inside was decorated by Italian painter Domenico de Angelis. Walking through the building was beautiful and included some very quirky historic stories of the city.

Other than Opera House touring our time in Manaus was very relaxing. We had of course come to the city in order to start a trip to the Amazon jungle but our days in the city were spent relaxing in the mail square, listening to buskers and people watching – and drinking my body weight in 100% FROZEN ACAI. YUM.