Day 1 - January 2, 2017
City of Manuas, heart of the Amazon rainforest.
After a long 9 and half hour ride we had finally arrived in Brazil. We were greeted by our tour guides Marcus Guerra, Tayke Monteiro and Rafael Estrela. During our ride to the hotel "The Taj Mahal" I couldn't help to notice the similarity Brazil had to my home country Colombia. I was excited and anxious to see what was in store. After checking in, we walked a few blocks to a buffet to have our first meal in Brazil. I grabbed some local fish, vegetables, rice and beans. I was surprised to find out that they weigh your plate and charge you based on a fixed price per weight. During this time our guides formally introduced themselves and expressed how excited they were to be our guides for the next three days in Manuas. After lunch we walked to the center of Manuas were our guide Rafael pointed out some historical sites and spoke briefly about their history. The first stop was at the Largo de São Sebastião were we all marveled at the unique monument called à Abertura dos Portos em Manaus. We also learned about the palace of Justice as well as the famous Amazon Theatre Opera house. A bus transported us to our second and final destination, Museu da Amazônia (MUSA). MUSA has a reserved area of 100ha of forest that is protected by a National Institute. Within it is a 42 meter tower we hiked to and climb for an amazing 360 degree view of the forest. It was breath taking to see the evpo-transpiration of the trees at sight. |
The Amazon Theatre Opera house, located in Manuas
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Day 2 - January 3, 2017
Our second day started a little chaotic due to the miscommunication the hotel staff had. The staff had promised to accommodate us with an earlier breakfast time which did not happen. The breakfast lounge opened ten minutes before we had to leave, I grabbed two slices of bread and made myself a sandwich and rushed downstairs. Downstairs awaited our three guides as well as Dave Menezes Sicsu, a graduate student who joins Tait every Brazil trip. Tait was waiting impatiently angry downstairs, most of the group didn’t get to eat anything. After a few minutes of him reprimanding us, we started walking passing through Parque Heliodoro Balbi and its historical attributes. During the walk I had completed my sandwich and my fresh orange juice, I was a happy camper.
We reached our first destination, Adolpho Lisboa Municipal Market. Before proceeding inside we were instructed to stay together and to watch our belongings very closely. As we entered the fish market I was taken back by the size of it, it was Manuas’s largest indoor fish market. There were rows and rows of sellers displaying the variety of seafood. Some also sold contraband fish that is prohibited to sell in Brazil. The smell was almost tangible, it was disappointing to see the amount of dead animals in one place at the same time. I couldn’t help to think that if this is in one spot right now, how are we globally destroying our oceans? After walking through the maze of dead carcasses we entered the fruit, vegetable and herbs section. What a relief! The walk concluded at various souvenir shops where I bought a couple things to take back home.
D. Sonia our three story boat ride was waiting for us at Ponta Negra. At the boat a Canadian researcher greeted us, Colleen Flanagan. After a few minutes into the boat ride we stopped at a place to visit a family of native Indians. The chief explained the importance of the three rituals they were going to perform. I was absolutely awed and fascinated by the dances, I felt the vibrations all thru my body. The last dance we all participated in, we danced in circles following the lead of our partners. Once finished we had time to buy some of the souvenirs. I took advantage of the time and took photos with the tribe.
Once back Colleen gave us a slide show presentation on “Amazon Basin and Climate Change” and spoke about her experiences living in Brazil. Half way through the presentation our guides had prepared a purple drink called Açai it was very bitter but after a few spoon of sugar it was tasty! We resumed the presentation, at this point everyone was tiered almost falling asleep. We were all happy when it ended because shortly after we reached the meeting of the waters. From a distance you can clearly see the difference in rivers, one black and the other brown. Most of the group jumped in for pictures and to refresh.
We arrived to a floating dock that was a restaurant were we had a buffet style lunch. Connect to one side was a souvenir shop that we spent a few minutes in. We then walked up an elevated bridge to find the most adorable Capuchin monkeys. I was so excited to feed them bananas, it was the highlight of my day! Walking towards the opposite side of the dock, men had fish buckets to feed the pink dolphins. Christian, Tyler and Andy T. paid twenty reias to swim with them. We all marveled at the dolphin’s distinctive color, the darker shade of pink meant that it was older.
On our way back we continued to enjoy the scene. We started playing some Spanish music and some Brazilian as well. Tait showed the group the basic dance moves to learn salsa. I enjoyed watching them try to mirror the steps given to them. After a few lessons of salsa, he started with bachata next. Since I was the only Spanish person in the group he pulled me to demonstrate to the class how to dance bachata. It was very hard to maintain a balance on the boat bouncing up and down. A few hours later our trip ended.
We reached our first destination, Adolpho Lisboa Municipal Market. Before proceeding inside we were instructed to stay together and to watch our belongings very closely. As we entered the fish market I was taken back by the size of it, it was Manuas’s largest indoor fish market. There were rows and rows of sellers displaying the variety of seafood. Some also sold contraband fish that is prohibited to sell in Brazil. The smell was almost tangible, it was disappointing to see the amount of dead animals in one place at the same time. I couldn’t help to think that if this is in one spot right now, how are we globally destroying our oceans? After walking through the maze of dead carcasses we entered the fruit, vegetable and herbs section. What a relief! The walk concluded at various souvenir shops where I bought a couple things to take back home.
D. Sonia our three story boat ride was waiting for us at Ponta Negra. At the boat a Canadian researcher greeted us, Colleen Flanagan. After a few minutes into the boat ride we stopped at a place to visit a family of native Indians. The chief explained the importance of the three rituals they were going to perform. I was absolutely awed and fascinated by the dances, I felt the vibrations all thru my body. The last dance we all participated in, we danced in circles following the lead of our partners. Once finished we had time to buy some of the souvenirs. I took advantage of the time and took photos with the tribe.
Once back Colleen gave us a slide show presentation on “Amazon Basin and Climate Change” and spoke about her experiences living in Brazil. Half way through the presentation our guides had prepared a purple drink called Açai it was very bitter but after a few spoon of sugar it was tasty! We resumed the presentation, at this point everyone was tiered almost falling asleep. We were all happy when it ended because shortly after we reached the meeting of the waters. From a distance you can clearly see the difference in rivers, one black and the other brown. Most of the group jumped in for pictures and to refresh.
We arrived to a floating dock that was a restaurant were we had a buffet style lunch. Connect to one side was a souvenir shop that we spent a few minutes in. We then walked up an elevated bridge to find the most adorable Capuchin monkeys. I was so excited to feed them bananas, it was the highlight of my day! Walking towards the opposite side of the dock, men had fish buckets to feed the pink dolphins. Christian, Tyler and Andy T. paid twenty reias to swim with them. We all marveled at the dolphin’s distinctive color, the darker shade of pink meant that it was older.
On our way back we continued to enjoy the scene. We started playing some Spanish music and some Brazilian as well. Tait showed the group the basic dance moves to learn salsa. I enjoyed watching them try to mirror the steps given to them. After a few lessons of salsa, he started with bachata next. Since I was the only Spanish person in the group he pulled me to demonstrate to the class how to dance bachata. It was very hard to maintain a balance on the boat bouncing up and down. A few hours later our trip ended.
Day 3 - January 4th
Today I made sure I woke up extra early to have time to enjoy breakfast. Since we already knew where the breakfast lounge was, we didn’t waste anytime getting there. I had my regular orange juice with bread and some fresh fruits. Once finished I went downstairs to ensure I was on time and waited for the remaining group. Our tour guides were very punctual with time; they were never late! We boarded the same bus and headed for our two hour ride to Presidente Figueiredo.
We arrived at a place that seemed very quite and lonely, down hill we were greeted by Geologist Gilmar Honorato, Juliane Tavaresa and Frederick Ratti. While they gave a brief summary of the Amazon I wondered to the entrance of the forest and took pictures. We then started our adventure hiking, every now and then Rafael will give us information or natural remedies found in the forest. From a natural replacement for malaria to the Apa Maranga tree that Channel uses for its fragrances. What I found the most interesting were the ants that were known for its potent sting. After hours of hiking through the Amazons, we reached a large cave. We were all given mask to prevent us from inhaling any particles, the cave was very dark. I often times used my cellphone to light the way, I didn’t want to get my hiking boots drenched. There were bats, spiders and grasshoppers everywhere. After spending some time in the cave we headed out to Judeia Grotto a beautiful waterfall. After a few selfies and group pictures we headed out.
We stopped at Santuário to eat lunch then headed to a river with a diving off ramp. Since I’m afraid of heights I relaxed in the water enjoying the view. All my classmates were jumping off and acting clumsy. We enjoyed ourselves there for about an hour or two then headed over to the GeoPark. Geologist Gilmar lectured us on the formation of horizontal sandstone beds. I personally didn’t enjoy the GeoPark as much as I did all day.
We arrived at a place that seemed very quite and lonely, down hill we were greeted by Geologist Gilmar Honorato, Juliane Tavaresa and Frederick Ratti. While they gave a brief summary of the Amazon I wondered to the entrance of the forest and took pictures. We then started our adventure hiking, every now and then Rafael will give us information or natural remedies found in the forest. From a natural replacement for malaria to the Apa Maranga tree that Channel uses for its fragrances. What I found the most interesting were the ants that were known for its potent sting. After hours of hiking through the Amazons, we reached a large cave. We were all given mask to prevent us from inhaling any particles, the cave was very dark. I often times used my cellphone to light the way, I didn’t want to get my hiking boots drenched. There were bats, spiders and grasshoppers everywhere. After spending some time in the cave we headed out to Judeia Grotto a beautiful waterfall. After a few selfies and group pictures we headed out.
We stopped at Santuário to eat lunch then headed to a river with a diving off ramp. Since I’m afraid of heights I relaxed in the water enjoying the view. All my classmates were jumping off and acting clumsy. We enjoyed ourselves there for about an hour or two then headed over to the GeoPark. Geologist Gilmar lectured us on the formation of horizontal sandstone beds. I personally didn’t enjoy the GeoPark as much as I did all day.