January 2nd: Day One
Today is the first day in Brazil! I can not believe that I am finally in the country we all have been learning so much about. As a class, we spent the last six months studying various aspects of the country and know we can experience it first hand. The plane ride was one I will never forget, the airlines fed us, and the food was actually very good! I had beef and rice for supper and a ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I was very impressed with the food, but a little confused about the breakfast choice. When we got off the plane in San Paulo International Airport, we had to go through customs, everyone made it through without a hitch, except me... There I was standing face to face with the man who was going to allow me into the country or send me back home, and he had a problem... with my passport. I watched him go to several different people and supervisors before he finally let me through the line. The worst part wasn't the fact that the group left me alone in customs, it was the fact that I was the only person who spoke English, and I didn't know a single word in Portuguese....
After that slight hiccup it was an another plane to Manaus. After arriving and gathering all of our bags we were greeted be three Brazilian men, who would turn out to be one of my favorite aspects of the trip. Their names are Rafael, Marcus, and Tayeke. From here we moved on to check into the hotel, and get settled for the next few days. We were all very hungry so we went to eat at a small restaurant down the street, and I was in for a very big surprise. I did not recognize anything in the metal trays in front of me, but "when in Rome" I ate whatever looked good, and boy was it good! I am still not sure of what I ate, but I highly enjoyed it! Now that our bellies were full, we went to visit the opera house, and see the town square. It was interesting, they actually changed the makeup of the streets to ensure a good atmosphere in the opera house. The bricks used in the streets were infused with rubber sap to quiet the horses outside. This ensured a quiet atmosphere inside the opera house. Once we left the square it was off to MUSA, Manaus's Botanical Garden. MUSA was incredible, we walked around and visited the fish tanks full of native species, the cages holding local venomous and no venomous snakes, including a fourteen foot anaconda! After viewing all the critters they had to offer we walked to the observation tower. The tower was enormous and we could see for miles at the top! After climbing the never ending spiral stairs, I realized I would have walked that four more times to see the view! It was nothing like I've ever seen before! The jungle was entirely different from the floor to the canopy. I saw the water vapor coming off the trees in the form of evapo-transpiration, and I saw the clouds blend in to the jungle. I saw macaws, and other species of parrots and birds. We stayed on the tower to watch the sunset, it was a sight I will never forget. Arriving at the hotel, we were hungry so it was back to the same restaurant for dinner. I realized that pizza was not a good idea in Brazil after the waiter brought a "pizza" that resembled nothing of what I assumed to be pizza, so local food was the choice from now on. Today was an amazing day that I will never forget, I can't wait to see what the rest of the trip has in store for me and the rest of the group!!
Fun Fact of the Day: The bricks outside of the opera house were made with infused rubber to quiet the shoes of the horses outside!
January 3rd: Day 2
Today I did things I never dreamed of doing! It began with a miscommunication which led to 15 students and one faculty member rushing out of the hotel with no more than three mouthfuls of the complimentary breakfast provided by the hotel. After this slight hiccup we were on the move to the market. We first walked through the meat market, that was an experience in itself! Walking down crowded isles, I was surrounded by piles upon piles of freshly caught fish, caught out of the Rio Negro which was only a few hundred yards away. There was so many species I couldn't even begin to count, or try to keep track. Besides the fish there was meat from all domestic animals and some meat I wasn't used to seeing like cow's tongue and sheep intestines. Doesn't that make you lick your lips at 7:00 AM... After making through the meat maze, we wound up in the craft market. They had everything, and we did some shopping. Everyone found themselves opening their wallet for a chance to take home a piece of their Amazon experience, myself included. Next we embarked on my favorite part of the trip, the boat ride, or should I say yacht cruise, up the Rio Negro. We boarded a 70 foot yacht, which included three decks and a living room area, and set course for our first stop. The first stop was a Native village, where we witnessed three dances and took part in one! We were greeted so graciously, and we were able to experience their culture. It was so eye-opening to realize that people still lived like that, and it was not just a hoax from National Geographic. Taking part in the dance showed me that I am not a good dancer, and that I was in for a day like never before! As we cruised up the river we all relaxed and soaked up the sun on the deck, while Tyler and myself hung our feet in the water and splashed behind the boat. Before we could realize, we were at the next stop, a floating platform with what appeared to be a small shed. This was where Tyler, Christian, and myself swam with pink river dolphins. Tait introduced the stop by saying "If you swim with the dolphins you have no soul," I guess I left my soul in New Jersey because I was in the water as fast as you could say "get in." I was amazed by how close the dolphins would come to us, and how magnificent these animals were in the wild. Yes, the wild, not a cage but free in the river! Feeling them touch my leg was a little freaky, but the experience was priceless. The dolphins are not only unique because they live in the river and they are pink, they actually have 3 more vertebrae in their necks than their grey cousins, allowing them to maneuver through the flooded trees and other obstacles. Back on the boat, and down the river we went. We all relaxed and listened to music before we hit the next destination, LUNCH! This was the best meal I have ever had, and it was all I could eat! There was fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, everything that I could ask for and more! My favorite dish was the fried piraruku, or arapaima , a native fish that grows over six feet long! It was hands down the best meal I had ever had. After eating that much nature called, which led to me falling to the back of the group with a few others. We walked up a long, narrow bridge to a "lake," and we were greeted by a small monkey. Being the snackaholic I am, I had two bananas in my pocket so I jokingly offered some to the monkey... and it was on! In a matter of minutes I was surrounded by monkeys and faced with a dilemma of feeding the monkeys or saving my bananas for snack. It was worth losing my snack as the monkeys grabbed the banana pieces right out of my hand! Back on the boat we went to continue our adventure! We had the pleasure of viewing a presentation by a local Professor about the Amazon Basin, it was fascinating!! We covered all sorts of topics ranging from the formation of the river to the chemistry of the water to the non-monetary value of the river. After a little more of soaking up the sun and listening to local music we arrived at the meeting of the waters! The meeting of the waters, is the region that the Rio Negro and Amazon clash together, but do not mix due to differences in water quality. It was so amazing to look of the boat and see the clear and distinct line drawn between the clear dark water of the Rio Negro and the light cloudy water of the Amazon! As incredible it was to see, it was even better when our guides said "Jump In," which I did with no hesitation! I was soon followed by the entire class, swimming splashing, and having a great time in one of the most amazing places on Earth! Front flips, cannon balls, and other tricks only added to the fun as we jumped off the bottom, middle, and top decks! This was an experience I will never forget! Thinking this was the end of the day walked back to the top deck to relax, but before I could realize I was learning to salsa and samba dance led by Tait and Rafael. We danced in the bow of the boat as the sunset over what seemed to be the perfect day. We docked in the dark and headed back to the hotel, and began the search for supper. Our search lead us to a small outside restaurant in the town center, and it was delicious! I enjoyed fresh caught piraruku, and split several different types of juice with Jacalyn. Dinner was the cherry on top of the perfect day. I can only hope tomorrow and the rest of the trip was as unforgettable as today was, and if it is, this will be the best two weeks of my life!
Fun Fact of the Day: The Reason for the meetings of the waters is created due to a temperature, pH levels, speed and turbidity. The Rio Negro is much slower, lower pH, warmer, and less turbid than the intersecting Rio Solimoes.
January 4th: Day 3
Today I felt like a real life explorer! After today I can only begin to understand how the first Portuguese explorers felt. The day began with breakfast, it was so nice to actually eat unlike yesterday. I enjoyed all the usual favorites, fruit, eggs, and one unusual dish, hot dogs in salsa. After we finished eating we loaded into the bus and we set off to hike in the Amazon jungle. We arrived at a restricted portion of the rain forest, where we met with four new guides, two were guides to the jungle and the other two were geologists. We began the hike walking through the jungle, stopping periodically to talk about the various plants we were passing. Some were huge trees, others were small vines, others were unique and indescribably. It seemed as if every plant had a use by the native people. My favorite plant is called "turtle leather" a hanging vine that is flat and wavy, a plant like I've never seen before. Each plant was adapted to thrive in their portion of the forest, making this region that much more fascinating! After continuing on the hike, we soon found ourselves face to face with an enormous cave. Masks were passed around to protect us form the bat droppings, and in we went. As we walked deeper into the cave, a new sense of darkness arrived. The cave was incredible, we saw thousands of bats, the worlds deadliest spider, a wandering spider, and even caiman tracks! Unfortunately we didn't see the caiman so I wasn't able to get the new boots I was hoping for! The cave was incredible, we hiked as far as we could go and walked to the head of the water that had carved away the sandstone to create the cavern. Hiking out of the cave and back to the bus, we we periodically stopped to discuss the plants and even a few insects along the way. One of the most unique parts of the hike was when Rafael, took a simple palm leaf and turned it into a handmade toy that even moved! It was simply amazing! From here we loaded into the bus and head to lunch and an afternoon full of activities! Lunch was to die for, great traditional Brazilian food! There was rice, chicken, fruit, vegetables, and what appeared to be a ham lasagna of some sort that I couldn't get enough of, it was delicious. After eating ourselves silly, we changed into bathing suits to "splash in the falls," or so we thought. We hiked down the falls admiring their beauty when we saw it. It was a long ramp extending over a pool of water 20 meters deep. Within a minute we were leaping off the ramp into the water and loving every minute of it! We did tricks from front flips, to cannonballs, to gainers! It was an unforgettable experience. My favorite memory from the time swimming was when I jumped with a strange Brazilian man. A man in a red speedo came up grabbed my hand and then we launched ourselves off the end of the ramp. We came up from the water, smiling and hi-fiving over the experience we both just had. Neither of us spoke the others language, but through smiles and fun we shared an experience! For me it was jumping with the Brazilian man in the red speedo, for him it was jumping with the blonde haired man who bled red, white, and blue! Back to the bus we went after the afternoon of jumping and swimming came to an end. The next stop was the geo-park, where we received a lesson of the land. The park was filled with sandstone structure exuding from the ground in a diagonal orientation. We discussed how they were formed and it was thought to have been left while the ground around them eroded away. The other less logical explanation was that the are was on a fault and that the rocks arose due to shifting of the plates. The truth was no one truly knew why the formations formed the way they did, but many people attempt to hypothesize reasons, either way it was incredible to see and be able to experience. From here we loaded the bus, and out the window I saw a military macaw, and it was so cool! We arrived back at the hotel, and relaxed before heading to dinner. Dinner was at a small cafe where I had a burger that blew my mind. It was called Banana X, and came as a regular cheese burger topped with a fried egg and fried bananas! This burger was incredible, probably the best I've ever had. Of course every great dinner needs dessert, so off to the ice cream shop we went. I got a bowl caramelized banana ice cream, it was to die for. At this point, I couldn't get enough bananas. Today was incredible so far, but was about to take a hilarious turn. After packing up all of our luggage and loading it onto the bus, we noticed there was a bit of time before we needed to leave for the airport. Earlier in the day the group noticed there was a few hookers at the street corner, and Tyler and myself were dared to go ask for a picture, so we did. We took a photo with two Brazilian hooker at 11:30 PM and one got too friendly with Tyler. We ran back to the bus and laughed as Tyler attempted to wipe the hookers lipstick off his cheek. We laughed about this all the way to the airport, where we are going to catch a flight to Rio. Manaus was incredible, a place full of experiences I will never forget, I can only hope Rio and the rest of the trip is as good as Manaus! If it is, I know I will never forget this trip as long as I live!
Fun Fact of the Day: Most caves are carved from sandstone and water. The water erodes a small channel through the stone, and over time eventually erodes a cave which continues to grow with each flowing drop.
Fun Fact of the Day: Most caves are carved from sandstone and water. The water erodes a small channel through the stone, and over time eventually erodes a cave which continues to grow with each flowing drop.