I arrived back in Salvador and back to the ship yesterday at about 1pm from my trip to Manaus, Brasil and the Amazonas region. (Manaus is pronounced Muh-Nouse) Let me start at the beginning. The night arriving into to Salvador I didn't really get any sleep and watched the sunrise come up over the city. It was beautiful and very exciting to see land. We got off the ship at about 10am and spent the day wandering around the city. Some buildings were beautiful, but many parts of Salvador are very poor. The streets smell like urine and we saw countless people doing their duty on the streets. I did not enjoy that part one bit. Sunday, September 7th, is Brazil's Independence Day. We saw a parade which was fun but there were so many people, we really had to watch our bags. As you can imagine, a lot was closed in the city because of what day it was. We mostly just did a little shopping, and we also got lunch at a Brazilian restaurant where they spoke only Portuguese. We were trying to get some authentic Brazilian cuisine, and were trying to communicate with our waiter... After we tried to order one thing and they were out, we settled on something with the word "frito" in it. This means fried if you were wondering. So anyways, can you imagine what food we ended up with??? French fries!!! Way to be American... We laughed quite a bit but they were delicious anyways. We also saw two men performing capoeira. This is a mix of a form of karate as well as dancing. It's very interesting; it's like an art form. We also got suco, which is juice...and we settled on orange, and it happened to be very good. We were concerned they might use Brazilian water but we didn't get sick so it was okay. We planned on going to dinner that evening but things closed early (6pm!) Later that night I went out with a bunch of friends to the beach and we tried a capourenina (wrong spelling). Basically it is lime juice, sugar, and a sugar cane alcohol. It was pretty good but a little strong for my taste. It's the traditional drink of Brazil though so it was interesting to try. We had a good time...there were 10 girls including myself and 2 guys looking out for us so it worked out well.
At 4am the next morning, we had to get up for our flight out of Salvador. We were all so exhausted, but luckily I fell asleep on the plane and I think in the airport too. We arrived in Manaus on Monday at about noon or so where we met our guides for the next few days. Enilson, or as we fondly referred to him, Ennie, was amazing. He is maybe 5 feet tall, speaks both Portuguese and English and is hilarious. We had a great time with him and he taught us everything we could hope to know. We took a bus from the airport to the river where we boarded our riverboat. We gad 30 hammocks strung up maybe an inch from each other! The boat was nicer than I thought actually, although the bathroom was not and the shower was in the same room so the water drained in the floor. I only took a shower once because it was so gross and you kept wondering what was splashing up on your leg... On the riverboat headed down the river, we saw the Meeting of the Waters where the Rio Negro and Solimoes Rivers meet. The Rio Negro is black and the Solimoes is a brownish color, and because of their temperatures, densities, and acidies, they never mix. Then...much to my excitement...we saw dolphins!!! We saw at least 15 dolphins within the first half hour of the trip! Not only did we see gray dolphins...we saw the elusive pink dolphins which I have heard are very rare. They are a very light pink color and I was ecstatic at this point. Next we went to Lake Jacaures to see the giant lily pads. We also saw some howler monkeys in the trees. It's so hard to get pictures of wildlife in nature because it's not like at a zoo where they pose for you and aren't hidden in the trees. We saw a caiman (alligator) on a lily pad and he actually did seem to be posing for our pictures. It was beautiful there. On the way to our next activity, there were locals on a canoe going down the river. Two of them were holding sloths (I think they're very cute) and another local was carrying a bag. Out of the bag he pulled out a huge anaconda!! It was so cool, I wish I had gotten to see it closer. It turns out another group got to hold both the sloth and the anaconda!! Next we docked the boat at some trees and went piranha fishing with bamboo poles. I didn't get anything - I got a few bites - but two people in our group did. When it began to get dark, we were in search of caimans. When our guide found the eyes of one with a flashlight, he dove out of the boat, grabbed it, and hopped back on. It happened faster than I knew what he did. The alligator was only maybe 2 feet long but he was really cool. I have a surprise picture to post soon.... :) When we got back to the riverboat they had dinner waiting for us. The food was better than I thought it would be, and everyone would agree that the pineapple was absolutely delicious!
The next day we woke up at sunrise (maybe 5:30 or 6am?) and got ready to go on a trek through the Amazon rainforest. We spent a few hours exploring the area and honestly it was so hot and we were so tired, it's hard to remember exactly what happened from this point to the end of the trip. Let me just say the Amazon rainforest is nothing like you might imagine. It is very different from what I imagined as a child. First of all, it is not misting like pictures seem to depict. And more importantly, there are not animals everywhere. In fact, there are really not any visible animals anywhere. We heard monkeys and birds but they are not perched on trees like I expected. Contrary to what I expected and dreaded for the last 3 months, there are no tarantulas to be found! Not on the trees, not on the ground, not falling onto my face. Not one. The most I saw was a spider smaller than a golf ball that was actuallu quite cool looking. It was bright orange and black. However, the girl in front of me squealed and I was sure she saw a tarantula. So I kinda yelled and ran away only to realize it was just a little thing! We saw a few bugs here and there but honestly there were not that many. And there were mosquitoes, but not in the rainforest. I really can't explain it, but the Amazon is nothing like what I thought, yet I still had an amazing time. It was an experience of a lifetime and I can say with almost certainty that I will never go back. Although I do miss Ennie and if you ever decide to go and want to see for yourself, find him with the company Brasil Nuts. I can guarantee he will provide you with an amazing time. Later on we went to a village and played soccer with the Brazilians...native inhabitants of the Amazon. It was amazing and we got to interact with a variety of people as well as the cutest and most friendly children you can imagine. They were so happy to see us and loved seeing the pictures of themselves. We went to bed very early both nights we were in the Amazon ...they really wore us out. I do remember they had a cookout for us on the beach with lights strung up and a great barbeque. The next day we went to a caboclo, which is a small settlement where people do not buy anything and only live off the land. A woman made us traditional pancakes of the Amazon, which are really not pancakes at all, and have a sort of jelly consistency. They live off manioc root found in the jungle and the fruit ascii, which we had actually tried in the juice form. We visited local beaches later in the day and you cannot imagine how hot it is. I am developing a nice tan. That night they had a big party for all of the Amazon groups (about 180 students). An Amazonian tribe performed a traditional ritualistic dance. It was absolutely beautiful. The costumes were elaborate and colorful and there was a story behind all of it. I can't really explain it but I did take a video of some of it so if I will upload it if I can find a way. I actually got split up with my roommate Brittany because even though we were both in group B, we had to be split in half an alphabetical. Even though I missed her, it forced me to branch off and meet new people. I met so many nice, interesting, cool people and had a great time. Marcella (my friend I met the first day) was also in my group and we were both thrilled we did not see spiders! :)
Alright so I am sure there is a lot more that we did, and if it comes to me I will update or add another post. As you can see, this was very long, so if you took the time to read it, I hope you found it interesting. All in all, Salvador has helped me to appreciate what I have as I seem like a millionaire compared to many of its inhabitants. Their living conditions and standards are so different compared to ours. I am glad I got the chance to experience the culture, and I am happy I stayed safe as I have heard that it was the most dangerous port we were docking in. As for the Amazon, again, it was nothing that I expected. But somehow it was more. I don't know Portuguese, and although I know some Spanish, it didn't matter. You can interact in a way that goes further than the language, and even the attempt of a simple "Oi" (hello), "Obrigada" (thank you), "Tchau" (goodbye) puts a smile on their faces. The most you can do is try and out of respect, I think it goes a long way. A simple smile to a local, whether an old man or a little girl, lets them know that you care, and that you are interested in their culture and lifestyle. I got the chance to experience something most never will, and I will appreciate it and cherish it for life.
