Today is Homer's birthday...or rather the day Step and I arbitrarily picked for his birthday. I sang "Happy Birthday" to him, but I don't think he appreciated it very much; he didn't bark or howl or anything rude like that, but he did look at me funny and tried to bite my feet. Stepan gave him some raw liver for a birthday present. We're pretty sure he liked it, but he wouldn't eat it in front of us - so for all we know he may have buried it in the back yard somewhere.
I had dim sum for the first time today. Step and I met some friends at Tien Hong for lunch. Dim sum is kinda like a buffet on wheels. It's best to go with a large group of people so you try a little bit of everything...most of it was very good (the tripe was interesting, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to order it). I think it is actually the first time I've had a decent dessert at an oriental dinner - they had the pastry things that were covered with powdered sugar that pretty much melted in your mouth - YUMMY!
I've got a date tonight :-) Today marks the two year anniversary of my first date with Stepan...no idea where we're going and he's at the door now - so more later :-)
I've got a date tonight :-) Today marks the two year anniversary of my first date with Stepan...no idea where we're going and he's at the door now - so more later :-)
We had a marvelous time last night. Louis 106 is a great place to go before seeing a show at the State or Paramount - it's just a block and a half away and has great food though next time I'll try to remember that we should only order tapas or only split an entree....having both is way too much food! I really like the tradition we're creating of going to live theatre on the anniversary of our first date. The show we saw last night, I Love You, You're Perfect...Now Change! was very enjoyable - a light musical comedy about the various stages of a relationship. Stepan his kitchen torch and fired it up as soon as we got home. We're both excited about cooking with it when we return from Brazil.
So much to do tonight! We must pack, put a label on the music CD we burned for Doug, bathe the dog, confirm our reservations with the airlines, and send our itinerary to our mothers. Tomorrow, we have a tennis lesson at 10am-12N; on the way back home, we have to stop at the bank to get some cash and at REI for a long sleeve "jungle" shirt for me. Once we're home, we have to corral the dog and take him to Hutto (about 20 minutes away), then dash home to shower and change by 2:30pm when my Favorite Cousin Elizabeth picks us up to take us to the airport. I hope we're ready by then....and I hope she brings Jonathan 'cause I haven't seen him in a while - he's probably grown 2-3 inches!
Well....obviously I gotta go!...I hope to have internet access in Brazil, but if I don't, I'll have pages and pages of good stuff to write about after the 23rd :-)
Here we are - our 2nd day at Carnival - and we are having a blast. The mornings of Carnival are spent at Olinda, a short 20 minute bus ride from the hotel. Its hot and crazy there. There are massive water gun fights in the streets. I'm usually in a group of 15-17 mostly Americans who mostly have really big super soaker guns....one even has a 2 gallon backpack attached to it!. We present a pretty nice target for the people in the streets....they attack us with their little pistols and then run laughing and screaming when they feel the brunt of 7-8 guns aiming for them - everybody is having a great time.
In the evenings, (after siesta), we go to Recife Antigua were our hosts (Doug and Luciana) have reserved a table for us. Having a table is fabulous. You really don't have to walk around very much since all the bands and dancers and people in costume are on an endless parade. There's tons to see and fabulous music to listen and move to.
The trip was mostly uneventful. I did have to remove my boots at the security check point in Austin, but of course, I didn't mind that at all. We flew from Austin to Dallas to Sao Paulo (that last leg was a nearly 10 hour, overnight trip). Since we had a 7 hour layover in Sao Paulo, we took a bus to the Ave Paulista and walked around. There was a beautiful, shaded park across the street from a museum where we ended up taking a nap until it was time to head back to the airport. We couldn't do much else since it was Sunday and during Carnival....apparently EVERYTHING closes down during Carnival (except the Internet Cafe - Thank God!). From Sao Paolo, our plane made 3 stops before getting to Recife....it's really screwed up my ears - one is clogged. Luckily, I'm already taking antibiotics for an absessed tooth my dentist discovered before leaving Austin.
Everyone here is wonderfully friendly. I can tell this is going to be one of the best weddings I've been to in a long time. It's great because everybody is on vacation and everybody is getting a chance to meet everybody else before the actual ceremony. Of course, we've only met a handful on Luciana's relatives and friends (they are apparently expecting almost 300 Brazilians to attend), but the Brazilians we have met go our of their way to make us feel at home and to make sure we're enjoying our Brazilian experience.
These past couple of days, I've been mentally noting things that I need to post here....unfortunately, I didn't write any of them down as they occurred and can't really remember any of them at the moment. I'll do better next time though I know that anything I fail to post will be covered by Stepan....It's now time for my siesta - Boa Noite!
Most of our group has dispersed across the globe. Only a handful of us are staying through the weekend and I believe the Stepan and I are the only ones staying as late as Sunday. It's odd having various couples and individuals separate from the group and continue their travels on their own (though most of them are spending the next week in Rio and will meet up there). The official and unofficial events have all passed as well so that now we're pretty much on our own for entertainment and planning our sightseeing activities - Doug and Luciana have been fabulous hosts and event coordinators; they have made it possible to have a worry free and tremendously entertaining vacation...many and eternal thanks for all the care they have taken of us on this trip. I hope I'll be as organized as they are when my turn comes to walk down the aisle.
I believe it was on Wednesday that a group of about 10 of the visiting Americans struck our on our own (without our Portuguese translators), hired a bus and traveled to Porto de Galhinas - another beach about and hour's drive from Recife. We spent the whole day on the beach (and I survived WITHOUT getting a sunburn - YEAH!). Stepan and I ordered a grilled fish from the bar that was serving us under our umbrellas on the beach and it was FANTASTIC! I only wish I know what kind of fish it was. It was wonderfully flavored and beautifully presented - the waitress brought our a table, set out some rice and picante and then proceded to debone the fish for us. We end up paying a premium since we were served on the beach, but we were very happy that we did. We also put our snorkel gear to use, but there wasn't much to see where we were - just some meger coral and a couple of small fish. Later, the majority of our group went to a restraunt in town while Stepan and I explored the shops. We didn't buy much of anything (just a coin purse made out of a clam shell), but it was fun looking around.
By now the days we've spent here are starting to run together and I'm not sure what happened when. One night, possibly Wednesday, Step and I ventured out into the wild and crazy nightlife of Recife. We were with 7 other people (all from California) and tried out a nightclub on the advise of our cabbies that turned out to be a dud. Unfortunately, we didn't find that out until we had paid our R$10/person cover. We were able to sell one of our tickets to someone coming in behind us, but ended up eating the other one. Next we tried a club called Fashion Club. This club was obviously a happending place since there was a line of people in the lobby waiting to be let in. When we finally made it to the door, we were almost bounced immediately because Stepan had sandals on. I'm afraid we've grown too accustomed to Austin's relaxed dress code - it never occured to either one of us that we may be underdressed! Luckily we had a Portuguese speaker with us who was able to convince the doorman that we were just uncouth American tourists and should be given a break. It was quite an ordeal getting in the club even after we made it past the doorman though it's pretty cool the way they have their system set up. Everyone is issued paper, barcoded cards upon entry. Everything ordered in the club is put on the card and you have to pay your tab and clear your card before being allowed to leave. Once the cards are issued we had to pass through security. I was waived through but they passed a metal detecting wand over Stepan and went through Lisa's purse (she's one of the girls from CA) and confiscated a bottle of water. Once in the club, I was having a great time, but techno/dance music is hard to take for any length of time and Stepan really wasn't enjoying it at all so we left the group around 1:30am and made our way back to the hotel were we collapsed in utter and total exhaustion - what a blast!
Apparently, Valentine's Day here is Brazil is celebrated sometime in June. Not many of our party remembered the signicance of the day to Americans though there were occassional wishes for a "Happy Vday". This was also the day of the rehearsal dinner which wasn't so much a dinner as an all day party at Luciana's dad's yacht club - though I'm not real sure that he actually owns a yacht. The party started at noon and the club had an amazing pool we all got to play in for the majority of the day. It had a tremendously cool slide - like one of those you see in a water park, all twisty and turny with a continuous jet stream of water to help your accelleration to the pool. I got a very cool pic of Stepan coming down on his belly. As always, we ate well at the party. A deliscous barbeque was cooked on the outdoor grill with sausage, chicken harts, ribs, and beef. There was also a version of potato salad that was pretty good and this grainy meal that Brazilian dip their meat into. For desert they had a huge stock pot (about the size of the one Kathleen uses for large family gatherings) filled with a wonderful fruit cocktail that was probably made with fresh fruit....I don't even remember how much of that I ate! After lunch, a tour boat took some of us out for a river tour. It was amazing seeing the city from the river which isn't at all utilized as a recreation facility. I think we only saw one other tour boat and the few other boats on the river was just little row boats with fishermen throughing nets off the bough. It was also amazing passing Pointe Cero - the location of the main stage during Canival. We had walked by there a couple of time during Carnival but there was no way we would have recognized it - the place was nearly deserted...no bands, no dancing hoards - it was a very different place from what we remembered of it. That night, on the advise of Doug's effusive praise, we went to a tiny little alley restraunt called Sopa Quinte (Hot Soup) for dinner. The place was tiny with accomodations for only about 20-25 people. The group of us (I believe we had 7 in our party though we were later joined by Ricardo, Luciana's brother) ordered 4 soups which were served in crocks with everybody getting their own bowl (duh!). My favorite was the potato soup and the chicken/corn soup. I think Stepan liked the shrimp/pumpkin the best. The fourth soup was a shrimp soup. All were yummy and really creamy. I enthusiastically endorse Doug's recommendations for this restraunt though you should definetly go with someone in know since it isn't at all an easy place to find.
After searching all afternoon at the shopping mall, Stepan and I found a nice shirt and tie for him to wear to the wedding (he forgot to pack his) and a beautiful earring and necklace set for me to wear with my dress (the same dress I've worn to the last 4 weddings I've attended). The wedding was held at an ancient fort called Forte de Cinco Pointes (or something like that). The wedding went off without a hitch. It was an Episcapalian ceremony held on the roof of the fort with another old church and the sun setting in the background. It was one of the only nights since we've been here that it didn't rain. The reading was done in English and Portuguese. Doug's vows were said in English and Luciana's in Portuguese - everything else was in Portuguese...it's amazing how long the wedding ceremony seams when you can't understand a word the officiant is saying. During the ceremony, there were photographers and videographers all over the place. We later found out that some of the photographers were from the media because this was a High Society Wedding - Luciana's father is a well-respected doctor. In fact, the Vice-President of Brazil was in attendance at the wedding....in additional fact, he was at the time consided the acting President since the president is currently out of the country. I found out kinda late in the ceremony that he was there....by the time I had resolved to ask him to dance he wasn't anywhere to be found. There were about 500 people at the reception and as you can imagine from our descriptions of Carnival - these Brazilian know how to party. This is pretty obviously a country with relatively lax labor laws - the band played pretty much nonstop from 8pm-1:30am. While they started with a waltz for the bride and groom's first dance, it was a vienese waltz and never once played a slow song. Obviously a lot of songs they played were Brazilian songs with great drums beats, but they also played a number of popular American songs - some were sung in English and some were sung in Portuguese. Thoughout the reception, the wait staff was circulating with all kinds of bevereages and appetizers to suppliment the buffet table - regrettably I wasn't able to sample everything. I did get a piece of the bride's cake which was amazingly bad - pretty much the worst I've ever tasted (if you're reading this Luciana, I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I'm fairly certain it isn't anything you haven't already heard from Doug). The cake itself was very dense and reminded me of a fruit cake. The icing was pure sugar, but sweeter than anything I've ever had before. It did have a slight lemony tang that almost redeemed it, but even that didn't make it palatable. Thankfully, Doug managed to convince them that there is a faily strong tradition in the states to also provide a groom's cake that was very tasty. Of course they also provided a sweets table and a chocolate table so there was plenty of edible confections to temp my sweet tooth (you know - the absessed one :-) All in all it was a truely memorable wedding and we were pleased and priveleged to be able to be here to witness Doug's marriage and very happy to stay up with him and Luciana until 2am in celebration of their nuptials.
Yesterday, our final organized outing, our group rented a bus to take us to a place Doug and Luciana considered having the wedding at called Sea Paridise where we chartered a boat to a small sand bar called J Island (though I don't remember what the place is actually called). I think the boat trip out took much longer than expected - at one point we encountered a sand bar where we all got out to play while the boat waited for the tide to come up so we could pass the bar. We saw a few small fish and found some sand dollars that were fairly big for sand dollars and still alive - when you turned them over, you could see the filla moving around. Once we got to J Island we were only allowed about 40 minutes to explore the beach before the boat had to head back. On our walk to the point, we saw a very cute, sand colored crab that we harrassed for a while. It was fast little critter and would scurry sideways at our approach and eventually burried itself in the sand. Once back on the boat pretty much everybody took a nap for the return trip. Though boat ride was long, we were well cared for on the trip. There was food and beverage available for purchase and a live 2 man band that played great music on both legs of the trip. Once back at Sea Paradise, we enjoyed a seafood buffet. The food was okay, but not nearly up to what I've come to expect from Brazilian cuisine. We were promised shrimp and lobster. While the shrimp was tasty the lobster was well disguised in a casserole that I would be surprised if it contained more than one or two lobsters for a dish meant to feed 20 people. It was a very satisfying excursion and a great way to end the trip for most.
I expect the rest of our stay to pass in blessed rest and relaxation. As I've mentioned, the Americans of the group are slowly dispersing to various destinations around the globe and there are no more planned excursions for those of us remaining. Today, Stepan and I shamefully spent the majority of the day in our room finishing our book (the book group book, Gates of the Alamo, that is). We did emerge briefly for breakfast (which is included in the cost of the room and is always very tasty) and we did join the party in the streets outside our hotel....yet another Canival parade though this one was staged by the local police who had to work during the day of the actual Carnival. Though this "Blocko" missed the traditional days of Carnival, it was no less impressive than any of the other parties we've seen. There were massive crowds of people dancing through the streets and following probably 10 or 15 different trucks hauling huge speakers and live bands with singers and dancers down the street. When we tired of the crowds we had a great view both from the roof top pool and the balcony of our room. It's amazing how peaceful these parties are. We never encounted any violence or drunken roudiness which is extremely counter to pretty much any similar gathering you see or hear about in the states. While I'm sure the care that everybody in our party has taken is called for (Brazil does have some well known crime problems), I've never felt threatened or harrassed in any way. Recife has my ringing endorsement as place to visit during Carnival or for any feista that they care to celebrate.
So much for rest and relaxation! Monday started out well enough. We went to the Brennard museum with Doug's mom (Ellen), grandmother (Marky), and brother (Malcolm). The works displayed there are many and varied - Brennard is a tremendously prodigeous artist. My favorite piece was one call Galetea (I'll link to a picture when we get those on-line). We were even fortunate enough to meet the artist himself and even got a picture with him. We left there happy, relaxed, and owning a couple of original souvenir pieces. Once we returned we spent a couple of hours at the internet cafe then met up with Doug and Luca at the hotel. We were scheduled to eat dinner with Luca's mom (Do–a Teresa) and wanted to take a small bottle of Bailey's as a hostess gift, so Doug and Luca offered to take us to a nearby liquor store. The liquor store just happened to be next door to a TAM office, so we ducked in there as well to verify our flights for the next day...so the agent checked the computer...and checked another flight....and checked another flight....and checked all flights out without any success at finding our names anywhere!!!! Turns out our tickets were for a flight leaving at 4:30pm!!!!.....and it was already 5:30pm!!!! As you can imagine, there hasn't been much rest and relaxation since then. We made a frantic dash to the airport to try to get a ticket for today - but of course everything is full. Currently, we're at the top of the waiting list for the TAM flight for today and we have options on two other airlines that would cost and additional $720-$1000 (US). Dinner last night at Do–a Teresa's was delicious though I think it passed in a stupor for most of us - Step and I are a little out of sorts and regret being such a pain to our hosts and Luca was exhausted and wanting a nap even before we discovered our itinerary mistakes. Hopefully we'll leave here this afternoon - wish us luck!
Also, please send prayers for health for Do–a Vera, Luca's grandmother. She is in poor health and took a turn for the worse last night. This morning while pestering the various agents at the airport, Luca had to admit her via phone to the hospital - both Luca and her father (and vast numbers of her extended family) are doctors so she is in the best of hands, but prayers would most definitely be welcome from one and all.
Well, after much scrambling and fast talking by the newly-wed Doug McLean, Stepan and I were confirmed on the flight out of Recife bound for Manaus at 4:30pm on Tuesday. We arrived after many stops (Forteleza, Sao Louis, Belem, and Sana-something) around 10:45pm and made it to our hotel, Hotel Tropical, around 11:30. This hotel was AMAZING! It was huge and included amenities like a small zoo, horseback riding, a hydroplane, a orchidary, and many many others. Our room was on the main floor but down 3 extremely long hallways (at a guess, I would say that each hallway was about 100 yards long). The room itself had ceilings probably about 15-20 feet high with dark hardwood, built-in armoirs for the wardrobe and television that reached up to the ceiling. It is by far the most luxurious hotel I had ever stayed in. Sadly we had to leave at 7:30am the next morning to catch our boat to the jungle lodge so we didn«t have the opportunity to utilize the swimming pool, tennis courts, or massage therapist :-(
On Wednesday, we got up for breakfast at the Hotel Tropical at 6am. Hotels in Brazil really know how to do a good breakfast. The Hotel Jungadaro in Recife always provided an ample amount and variety of fruits, breads, juices, and cereals - now magnify that by a factor of 10 and you might have an adaquate conception of the breakfast provided by the luxurious Hotel Tropical. There were several buffet stations set up thoughout the restraunt, each with an assortment of 5-6 tropical juices, exotic fruits, breads, pastries, and a wonderful selection of hot dishes as well as an omelet station. After this trip, Stepan and I really excited about hosting a Brazilian themed Gourmet Club party!
So we met our guide at 7:30am and began the last leg of our trek to the Amazon. The bus ride to the port seemed very long though it probably wasn«t much more than 30-35 minutes. Driving though Manaus, you see a fabulous collection of street art. I«m not sure if the pictures on the walls are city sanctioned murals or just random graffitti, but most of them are very well done and contribute favorably to the overall feel of the city.
Manaus and the surrounding region is in the state of Amazonia. One of the most amazing sights to see in Manaus is the confluence or meeting of the rivers that make up the Amazon River. Manaus is mostly located on the Rio Negro (The Black River). The opposite side of the shore (approximately 4 miles distance) is actually on the Rio Solim›es (The Yellow River). These rivers are appropriately named - the Rio Negro is like very black coffee - when the sun was shining directly on it, I could only see maybe to a depth of 2 feet (this river would not be appropriate for diving). The Rio Solim›es is the color of a rich latte or cafŽ com leite - visibility isn«t much better, but makes a striking contrast with the Rio Negro. At the confluence, the rivers come together around a spit of land and flow side by side for a number of miles. Our boat stopped at the division so we could look down at the Amazon River - it was marvelous seeing the distinct rivers flowing side by side as far as the eye could see. Our guide said that eventually the waters of the Negro and Solim›es do mingle, but that didn«t happen for many, many miles down the river.
After leaving the confluence, we headed up the Rio Negro to our Jungle Lodge. We tried very hard to stay awake (and succeded for a number of hours), admiring the vastness of the river (it was so wide, it looked more like a lake than a river), the verdant rain forest on the shores, the birds flying overhead, and constantly looking out for the pink and grey dolphins that inhabit the waters. The boat trip to the lodge was over 5 hours long though and the nights previous weren«t extremely restful, so we did nap quite a bit on the way to the lodge.
Well we finally made it! And I«m very happy to report that it was immediately apparent that our Amazonian adventure was going to be well worth the many, many hours in transit and the worry and stress suffered after missing our original flight (there was brief talk about scraping the Amazonian portion of the trip all together if we didn«t make the TAM flight on Tuesday). We were greeted in the main lodge (not an actual room, but a open air, thatch roofed hut) with a small glass of liquore made from one the many local fruits (it was pretty tasty, but I don«t remember what it was called). Lunch was waiting for us (the dining room was another open aired hut, but this one was screened in on all side to prevent the resident macaws from pestering us while we ate), so we ate quickly and got ready for our first sight seeing tour in the Amazon. Everybody was extremely friendly and their were a sufficient number of English speakers on staff so we didn«t need to worry about making ourselves understood. Our room was one half of a walled hut that was sparsely furnished (a full size bed, one multilevel table, and a clothing rack) with an attached bath. There wasn«t any hot water (and the cold water was very cold!) or air conditioner, but it was exactly what I would expect from a jungle lodge - primitive, but comfortable.
After lunch, we set off in the canoe. I was kinda disappointed at first because the canoe was motorized and very loud and we were going pretty fast. Thankfully, though, about 15-20 minutes from the lodge, the canoe driver shut down the motor and Krishna (our guide), moved to the bough of the boat with a paddle. From there we spent about 2 hours paddling though the marshy tributaries of the Negro River. Krishna explained that during the dry season, the area we were exploring was inaccessible by boat though there would be more fauna to see at that time. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the local flora though he«d only been in the region for 4 years or so (he was originally from Britich Guayana). We saw rubber trees, wild rice, and spike trees that you really needed to keep an eye for (our canoe was just a regular canoe, very close to the water - often, we would pass so close to the various plants that someone was always carefully scrambling out of the way of a spike tree). As far wild life goes, we only saw a couple of birds and a lot of insects. One particular type of bird was a beautiful black, with striking, vibrant yellow markings on it«s belly, back and tail feathers.
On our way back to the lodge, we stopped at the house of a local farmer. Our guide showed us the primitive equipment the family uses to make manioc flour (a ubiquitous condiment throught Brazil), the farmer cut open a husk from one of his palm trees that contained brazil nuts (I had no idea that was how they grew!), we also got to sample a creamy fruit that is usually served cold and is often compared to ice cream. They had an amazing lemon grass plant and a garlic plant. They sold home crafts (I bought a necklace) made from the seeds of various native plants. The children were beautiful - the man and his wife had 6 children - and the homestead was neat and clean though primitive. There was a marking on the house that indicated the local health inspector had recently visited to search the area for malarial breeding grounds (and didn«t find any). According to Krishna, the family owns quite a bit of land and harvests a number of different fruits and vegetables that are regularly picked up via boat bound for nearby villages and the larger city of Manaus.
After dinner (around 8pm), we again piled into the canoe. It was fascinating being in the middle of the wilderness with the nearest city over 30 miles away. It wasn«t nearly as dark as I thought it would have been - the moon was only half full, and there was a considerable amount of cloud cover, though it didn«t actually rain during this excursion. We quickly left the lights (mostly tiki torches though the reception and dining areas were lit with dim florescent lighting) of the Acajatube Jungle lodge behind and went off in search of the caiman, a small aligator like reptile. They are extremely hard to find during the day, but at night, when they hover at the surface of the water, you can spot them fairly easily with a high powered flash light that reflects off their eyes - eyes that glow an eerie reddish/orange. Now it was pretty easy to spot them, but quite another to actually catch one. We located 4-5 before our guide actually caught one. Once we spotted one, we would cut the engine on the canoe and quietly paddle up to it. But just like most reptiles, they are fairly skitish and very fast. When we finally caught one, we were slowly, slowly making our approach. Nobody was making a sound....then, suddenly, the canoe driver launched himself into the river with a head first dive off of the bow of the boat and disappeared under the surface of the water!!!....!!!!....none of the tourists in the boat were expecting such a move and we all gasped in surprise (I«m currently grinning uncontrollably and my heart is picking up its beat in remembered excitement and thrill :-). After what seemed like 5 minutes but was probably less than 30 seconds, the driver resurfaced, waded over to the boat, and triumphantly presented us with a caiman. The reptile was about 3 feet long and was male. Krishna estimated it«s age at about 1-1.5 years old. I believe they can live about 60 years and obtain a length of about 3 meters. Stepan was brave and foolish enough to hold it for a bit (Krishna was constantly warning him not to let it go). Krishna also expained the difference between caimans and crocodiles (thier nearest reptile relative). The belly of a caiman is white while the belly of a croc is yellow. The caiman has 5 toes on the front feet and 4 on the rear while the croc is reversed. And the caiman opens it mouth from the bottom while the cros opens it from the top. Other fascinating things with got to see were the 2 different lenses the caiman possesses (one for in the water, one for out). Krishna would touch the caimans eye and one lid would come up horizonatally from the bottom and one would come out vertically from the side. He also got the caiman to open it mouth and we were able to see the muscle in the back of the throat the covers the caiman«s air passage and prevents him from drowning while under water. The caiman would drown if he opened his mouth wide enough to expose this air passage. Eventually, we returned the caiman to the waters and watched it scurry off indignantly.....then it was back to the lodge and to bed. Exhausted and happy and very pleased with our decision to come to the jungle.
We were lucky our first day at river. We made it to the lodge after the morning rain and it didn«t really rain much at all during our excursions. That night however was a different story. I was woken up in the middle of the night (not sure what time it was) to the sounds of an incredible deluge of rain. And it just kept raining thought the night....and it was still raining when we woke up in the morning. The entire area was so damp and humid that I don«t think I dried out completely until we made it Sao Paulo on Friday!
On Thursday morning, after breakfast we headed out in the canoe again. This canoe trip was only about 20 minutes long and took us to the head of a very faint trail through the jungle. The variety of vegitation was amazingly vast and my poor poor memory isn«t nearly adequate to the task of remembering all the information Krishna passed on to us. There were several trees whose barks were used for perfumes. There were trees that smelled of clove and trees that smelled of cinnemon. There were spike trees and blossoms that almost looked like birds of paradise. Several trees had medicinal uses: milk of magnesia tree, vic«s vapor rub tree, ferns growing as ground cover that could be used to stop a wound from bleeding. There was a palm tree that I«m pretty sure produces the palms the Catholic church in the USA uses on Palm Sunday. That particular palm grows staight up from the ground and is very hard and compact. Once it reaches a certain height the palm fronds spread out from the top. Krishna demonstrated this by showing us what appeared to be a limbed - it was very hard and smooth - then he gave it a couple of hard, violent shakes and the palm leaves spread out....appeared as if by magic. For the remainder of the trip, Krishna and the canoe driver would use these pond fronds to create beautiful, intricate crowns and origami grasshoppers for us. There were rubber trees and tar trees (which Krishna took a match to so we could see the bark melt into into a black gooey substance that quickly harded as it cooled). Mahogany trees. And huge trees with natural holes in them that were known as telephone trees. Not only are they used as actual telephone poles, but they have a remarkable resonance that echos fairly well though the forest when struck with a heavy stick or the blunt end of a machete. There were nuts that contained worms that apparently tasted like coconut milk (luckily, we never actually found an inhabited nut). And vines that you swing from (just like Tarzan) and vines that were hollow and stored a vast quantiy of water that you could drink from. We heard many birds and a couple of owls, but never saw any - we were all hoping to see a jaguar or a toucan, but weren«t that lucky. After hiking for 2.5 hours, we had circled back to the canoe and pushed off. We spent about 30 minutes at Acajatuba Village then returned to the lodge for lunch. After days and days of travel, hiking for over 2 hours felt absolutely wonderful...despite getting caught in yet another deluge in the canoe just 10 minutes from the relative dryness of the lodge.
After lunch, we were hanging out in the hammocks hoping to see some more fauna before leaving. I was lucky enough to spot a sloth on a not too distant trees and since those creatures aren«t known for their speed, everybody was able to gather with cameras and binoculars to see it as well. On our return to Manaus from the lodge we traveled through 3-4 rainbursts. We also got to see a dolphin or two in the distance.
The Hotel Tropical provided transportatin for us to the airport though we got there hours (like 7 hours) before out plane was scheduled to leave at 2:16am for Sao Paolo. We have a 12 hour layover in Sao Paulo, but we decided to just hang out at our dayuse hotel (a Marriott about 10 minutes from the airport) instead of wandering around the city. We«re both really tired, and are relishing the opportunity to relax before starting the final, 12 hour leg of our journey home.
This has been a great trip. Many many thanks to Stepan for organizing most of it and to Doug and Luciana for providing such a fabulouse excuse to come south of the equator. I look forward to getting to know Luciana better once they move to the Austin area. I«m also looking forward to being home and picking Homer up from Triple Crown.....that last one most of all.....Hang in there Homer - we«ll come pick you up tomorrow!
I picked up my engagement ring from the safe deposit box at the bank after lunch. I had forgotten how pretty it is :-)