Ilha do Marajo, Brazil

Ilha do Marajo, Brazil slideshow

We arrived at the island after a three hour boat trip from Belem. Vans going to several different towns met us when we arrived. Peter and I had a decision to make. What city were we going to? Our more probable choices were either Soure, Salvaterra or Joannes.

We went to Salvaterra because it was in the middle of the two other cities, We also heard that it has more of a city feel than Joannes but it is not as big as Soure. I think we made a good choice. After spending a night at a hotel close to town, Peter and I rented bikes and scouted places closer to the beach, or to be exact, right on the beach. We found one: Pousada Encanto da Praia (Beauty of the Beach Guest House) had a room literally on the beach. On the plus side, they played cool music we could hear from the room and on the weekends, the restaurant served delicious food. On the minus side, although there were no mosquitoes and very few insects that we could actually see, aside from the tiny ants, there were some invisible bugs, the famous no-see-ums in North America that got us every night, usually on the feet. That was the only downside to our new found paradise a few steps from the Amazon river and Atlantic Ocean surf, combined probably into a 70/30 mix favoring sweet water. This is probably the only place in the world that we find a body of water that looks and acts like the ocean, but the water tastes more like river water.

We really enjoyed walking on the beach, usually completely empty. We found a secret beach, during one of our hours of explorations under the heat. I usually do fine with hot weather, but one day I started feeling dizzy and nauseous. It is hard to stop Peter when he is out exploring. It reminded me when we did the same thing in Hampi, India last year. We walked six hours in the heat over boulders and makeshift trails,and we both ended up sick with dehydration and diarrhea the next day. Peter gets so excited that he pays no attention to the weather or time when he is out exploring. Although tagging along is not always easy for me, I am always happy of what we find. There was never anyone at our secret beach, except for fisherman that showed up once in a while with nets, or sand crab pickers with buckets and a long iron bar with a big knife at the end. But for the most part, the beach was ours to skinny dip all we wanted.

Although we felt in paradise while in Salvaterra, we were very surprised and mildly annoyed by all the pentecostal churches (Igreja Universal de Deus) and the bible belt quality of the whole city. Most boats and stores had a Jesus or God name. And although people were not unfriendly, I found them to carry a little religious distrust towards anyone who is not part of their flock.

I was in awe though, to see this island, as big as Switzerland, with a population of under 300,000 people. So much green, so much water, so much sky, and so many mangroves. It was tempting to buy a beach front restaurant for US$40,000 but I guess this is still not the place I want to hang my hammock at.

Belem, Brazil

Belem, Brazil slideshow

Belem is the home of Acai, a purple berry which is squeezed into a thick juice. It is also home of regional foods like duck with tucupi (a spicy manioc juice and tongue-tingling jambu leaf sauce), and exotic fruits, similar to the ones we saw in Manaus, like acerola, cupuacu, graviola and many others, not to mention cashew fruit, guava, mangoes, pineapple and a large spectrum of tropical fruit.

The Acai is squeezed fresh and often times served plain in a bowl, without sugar. That is how the fish with Acai is served: Fried fish, manioc flour, and a bowl of fresh Acai. I did not really get how to mix only a little bit of manioc flour in a spoon and dip it in the bowl of Acai after taking a bite of the fish. But no matter how I mixed it, without sugar, the Acai did not taste very good. We could have added sugar, but as a matter of habit, we don't like adding sugar to anything, not even coffee. Fish with Acai is a famous dish in Belem, but the way I envisioned it before heading to the Mercado Ver-o-Peso to try it for lunch, was very different from the way it was served. In my mind, a nice grilled fish was supposed to be placed in a large round white plate, together with a couple of scoops of chilled Acai ice cream and a leaf of mint. I only knew Acai as ice cream before coming to Belem, which by the way, probably has tons of sugar in it turning it into a delicious snack. But the deep fried fish and sour bowl of Acai we had did not meet my expectation. As Peter pointed out, what we had was more like eating a regional style of fish and chips.

So much for the our first lunch experience in the land of Brazilian regional food. At dinner, we went to a nice buffet restaurant. We had duck with tucupi, manicoba, an Indigenous type of feijoada, made with sausage and the leaves of manioc leaves cooked for several days. The duck was good but nothing to write home about, and the manicoba was way too salty and heavy for us. It sat in my stomach like a piece of rock for the rest of the evening. The salads, meat, different types of rice and beans, and specialty pastas were much better. But speaking of local food in Belem, I loved the abundant river fish and calderada proved to be a light choice of meal. It is a stew of vegetables and fish served with pirao, a thick paste made of fish sauce mixed with manioc flour.

The Amazon river, also has many kinds of fish seen only in this region. I ate fish almost every day. My favorite were the enormous Pirarucu, Filhote, Dourado, and Tambaki. eaten with onions, tomatoes, rice, beans, manioc flour and tucupi, a permanent item at the table.

Belem is a very pleasant town. It is probably not fair to compare, but I liked it so much better than Manaus! For one thing, the weather is not as hot and humid, and the neighborhoods are pleasant, with a cosmopolitan feel to it. We stayed at the Nazare district, walking distance to everywhere in the city. There is no shortage of good restaurants and it was very pleasant to walk around. We went to the Emilio Goeldi Botanical Garden with a small Zoo, a few blocks from where we were staying and were suddenly in what felt the middle of the jungle with sky high trees and forest.

When we arrived in Belem from Alter do Chao, we stayed for a couple of days and then left for Ilha do Marajo for a week. When we returned to the city on October 28th, we stayed for two more days before heading east to Sao Luis in Maranhao on the 30th.

From Santarem to Belem, Brazil

From Santarem to Belem, Brazil slideshow

A few miles before Manaus, the Rio Solimoes meets Rio Negro and it takes a few miles downstream for the two rivers to completely mix together and create the Rio Amazonas that runs from Manaus to Belem. It takes about eight days to ride on the slow boat through the whole extension of both rivers going downstream: four days from Tabatinga to Manaus and approximately four from Manaus to Belem. Although we broke up the trip from Manaus to Belem into two trips by stopping in Santarem/Alter do Chao, I can now boast that I rode the whole extension of both rivers, over 2,000 miles.

And I am glad I did. The trip can get a little monotonous, so much water, so many trees and few towns in between, few houses every now and then in the middle of nowhere! But it gave me a sense of perspective on the vastness and beauty of the Amazon region. It made me proud to be Brazilian, to be able to speak Portuguese and connect with people that at the same time seem so foreign to me.

After our 10-day stay at Alter do Chao, we were back on the river, the mighty Rio Amazonas, on the Clivia, a small boat transporting mainly fish inside large sealed ice boxes on the first deck. Passengers on hammocks on the second floor, and cabins on the third. We were very lucky (again) to be able to get an air-conditioned cabin for a very reasonable price. We also had the best food of all boats we've taken so far. I loved traveling and sleeping on a hammock for my previous river trips, but I've had enough of that for now. Having our own cabin allowed us privacy and a refuge from the heat and humidity. Sleeping on a bed and having our own electric outlet for our computers was also a plus. The boat was not very crowded, and two days after we boarded it in Santarem we docked in Belem October 19th.

Alter do Chao, Brazil

Alter do Chao, Brazil slideshow

It was often hard to leave our “tree” house – a room raised by several flights of wooden stairs from the ground. Three large windows and a door let in an amazing green from trees all around us - every possible shade of green. Birds visited us often, and always woke us up with a fine orchestra in the morning. Alberque da Floresta was separated to the beach by 50 yards of a dirt road lined up with ripe cashew trees. We couldn't resist the sweet smell as we passed by them and gorged ourselves on one or two juicy fruit.

The best thing about Alter do Chao is its remoteness and sultriness. Around high noon, all that was left to do is to succumb to the hot and humid air and surrender to inactivity. At the early hours of the afternoon, we took refuge in the shade under trees on the beach and just admired all the beauty around us. White sand, water, sky, trees...and then, when the sun was not so hot, we went in the river for a dip. Also when the stars were high in the sky, the warm bath-like water called us in.

Swimming at Rio Tapajos was a favorite activity, as well as taking walks along the river. The river touched the white soft sand forming many shapes and designs: new moon, quarter moon, half moon. Sand bars and spits stuck out of the water at some places, giving us a great place to bathe. Often times, we were the only ones on the beach.

Rio Tapajos extends for hundreds of miles to other communities and resorts: Pindobal, Cajutuba, Aramanai, Sao Domingos, Maguari and others, but it is very remote and isolated, not many people live here. It took us two hours on a speed boat to get to Maguari one day, a protected area called Floresta Nacional (FLONA) do Tapajos. The area covers 6.500 square kilometers of primary forest. The communities who live there are called ribeirinha, which means ”of the river border.” They are Indian descendants but most are mixed with white and black people and all of them are completely adapted to the European lifestyle. They produce latex from rubber in a small scale and andiroba cream, an Amazonian product that prevents itching and mosquito bites. They farm very little, mostly manioc root. They also fish and keep a few chickens running around. Everything else they consume, like beer, soft drinks, vegetables, pasta, rice and beans are imported.

We also experienced ayuasca at Alter do Chao. It was twelve hours of cleansing and psychedelic trip, much like a sweat lodge of North American first nations. It was performed in a sort of traditional ritual, conducted by an experienced facilitator. We were nineteen people altogether, surrounded by trees, beach, water tubs and a “waterfall”- a huge shower falling from about ten meters high. I had never had such intense cleansing before and never so many thoughts and insights. I am still connecting the dots and processing everything that went through my mind. And my body has not completely recovered from the strong cleansing.

It was difficult to leave Alter do Chao, but we managed to get on the boat to Belem on October 17th, ten days after our arrival. This is a place I will always remember and I hope I am able to return to one day.

From Manaus to Santarem, Brazil

Boat trip from Manaus to Santarem, Brazil slideshow

I think we (Peter and I) really lucked out on our choice of boat from Manaus to Santarem. As it turned out, it took “only” 26 hours for the trip instead of the 36 hours I was told it would take. The boat had a strong motor and on October 6th at 3pm it sailed quickly through the Rio Amazonas. The only problem is that Forro, a Brazilian style of music, was being played almost the whole time, at a very high volume, while people sat on the deck, drank beer and watched cheesy Forro music videos. I knew Brazilians drank a lot of beer, but somehow, the beer culture right on my face, in the North of Brazil kind of shocked me. These ferries are party boats.

The boat was a lot more crowded than the one I took from Tabatinga to Manaus, and the food was almost equally bad, but we had a nice trip overall. We arrived in Santarem at 5pm on October 7th, and twenty minutes later we were on a bus heading towards Alter do Chao, an hour away.

Manaus, Brazil

Manaus slideshow

On Saturday, October 3rd, , close to midnight, Peter and I were embracing at the International Airport of Manaus for the first time in six months. He looked traveled out as he waved through the glass at the baggage claim. I could see that the 30 hours of travels from Vancouver to Sao Paulo, plus the ten hours of wait at the airport and finally the four in the air to Manaus wore him out.

It was hard to get used to the hot and humid weather in Manaus, so we stayed in our air-conditioned room most of the day after Peter arrived. He needed to get over jet lag and I needed to rest from three months of almost non-stop travels. We did go out for food, juices, air and water though. We tried regional juices and Popsicles from several local fruits like Caja, Acerola, Cupuacu, Acai, Graviola and other less exotic fruits. Peter was disappointed with his first barbecue in Brazil though, but on Sunday, there were not many choices. We tried Tacaca, a gummy soup made from manioc root, dried shrimp and jambu leaves. It was very different and surprisingly delicious, and the local fish is always good.

On Monday we went to the beach at Rio Negro. The coffee color of the river looks cleaner and more appealing than the muddy Solimoes river. From Ponta Negra, the upscale beach front area in Manaus, we took a small boat to Praia da Lua (Moon beach.) It was pleasurable to cool off in the water, sit by a restaurant/bar right by the river and swim, although our bodies were prickly afterward. Not sure the reason, but we were told it could be little pieces of wood in the water.

Although hot and humid, there are no mosquitoes in October, because it is the dry season. We truly appreciated the lack of mosquitoes and bugs. But we found out, the ants bite year round. It would have been difficult to combine heat, humidity and mosquitoes, although I was prepared for all three in the Amazon area. In any case, we decided not to take any jungle tours leaving from Manaus, since we planned to go to many places in the north region with pristine forests and wild life.

The Teatro Amazonas is a real jewel, and I was so lucky to be able to see the Philharmonic of Manaus perform a beautiful piece by Villa Lobos. It was quite a show, incorporating percussion instruments that blended in the full orchestra with less traditional instruments. Sitting at one of the box seats on the right side of the theater, only a few feet away from the stage was a real treat.

The city is working hard on becoming a cultural center. The restoration of Palacio Rio Negro, a rubber baron's mansion turned cultural center is getting its final touches. Praca da Policia in the center of town looks really nice with brand new fountains and a cluster of remodeled buildings around it, including four museums. The historical building next to Mercado Municipal, imported from Europe during the rubber boom is in shambles but it's supposed to be restored by the World Cup in 2014. Right now, Manaus is still a pretty unattractive frontier city. But I think we'll see some glitter by the time the World Cup arrives.