I found some articles online about what had happened our first day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I actually found out about this because one of the girls that was robbed was in our hostel talking about it on her phone loudly as I was walking down the stairs to my locker. This alarmed me of course because this had happened somewhat near our area in Copacabana and I wasn't sure of what to expect about Rio; only what I have heard about it in the news and from other people. All I'll say about Rio is be aware of your surroundings but be open minded.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/19/british-teenagers-robbed-rio-carnival
http://www.cleveland.com/world/index.ssf/2009/02/rio_de_janeiro_mayor_tries_to.html
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Compilation of Michael Jackson Songs
I just wanted to add some songs on here by Michael Jackson that I love.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Amazon - Through My Eyes At The Time
So I thought about how I would describe the Amazon and what we saw accurately since it has been a little while and I decided that I would take excerpts out of my journal and put them up on here to descriptively express my feelings about this amazing adventure. I'll go by activity and not by date. I don't want to leave anything out because the Amazon deserves nothing but the best. So here goes...AMAZON--Through my eyes.
This all starts from leaving Foz do Iguassu, headed out to São Paolo for a few hours (which was beautiful, cold, and raining!), then on our way to Manaus for, what I wrote, "The most beautiful place in the world!"
We just landed in Manaus. Beautiful place so far, but there are mosquitos everywhere in the airport (yes, I wrote that). I'm really excited to finally be here. This is a dream come true. I hope it is everything I have been expecting and more. In a few hours we will be on our way. Hopefully there will be less mosquitos than expected, new friends, new memories that will last a lifetime, and maybe even some time to get to the fish and produce market in Manaus if we are lucky. All I want is good times and to look at life through a different perspective. Anyways, I should probably get to sleep now (in the airport) because a life changing journey is about to begin in a few hours! I think it is about 4 or 5 in the morning at this time (and I was writing, working on my word search booklet, and playing solitare with my deck of cards!).
Flora and Fauna
The Río Negro is BEAUTIFUL! Our guide is out of control! Pretty cool; a little too flirty (considering the fact that we were really the only young adults there) but mysterious at the same time (if you only experienced what we did our first day there!). Anyways, we had a drink of Taperebá with banana chips, which were good. Threw our things in our little cabin, which so happens to be pretty much away from civilization and everyone there. I love it because there is no internet access, no phones, no technology; just plain roughing it! Then headed out on the canoe to check out Río Negro and the flora. We saw the lovely HUGE spiders, which some had been carrying their eggs, squirrel monkeys, birds, bats, which Yuri was so nice to WAKE ONE UP FOR US! I thought that was it for me! I was getting rabies! (That was my ONLY fear of the Amazon--everything else, it didn't matter because this trip meant so much to me). Moving on, there were beautiful blue butterflies, which I tried to capture but they were hard to get. We tried to see a few caimans but they were too quick for us. After that, Yuri then told us there were ONLY 3 things we really needed to be scared about---mosquitos, jaguars, and anacondas. I was already scared of the mosquitos and anacondas--jaguars, I actually wanted to see some! I added bats to that list! It was beautiful there. We were inside this water area and covered with trees, where we couldn't see the sky. We were running into spider webs, branches, plants, and spiders in our canoe! Oh goodness, it was pretty funny how quiet we were when we saw the spiders in our canoe because we really wanted to take in everything during our time there. Yuri showed us "Amazon cigarettes", in which he climbed a tree, cut some down, rolled them up, and put them in the canoe. He was probably going to be smoking some later! He also pulled out his bow and arrow and tried to get a piranha with it a couple times; kept missing but it was okay. I just enjoyed watching him do all this, considering he is one lucky guy to have been born and raised in this beautiful environment. All in all, a beautiful couple of hours learning and exploring this wonderful area.
Our first lunch in the Amazon--It was EXCELLENT! Rice was great and so were the habas, potatoes, carrots, bread..pretty much EVERYTHING. We FILLED our plates, which of course we had to take advantage because this was the most food we had since being in South America and I insisted that we were trying ANYTHING and EVERYTHING on our trip! There was chocolate flan there, but mine is better! :o) I'll give them props because it was still good and the tea, which I tried making my te con leche there was ok; nothing compares to Argentina. Brazil of course is more for the café. We then hoped back on to the canoes to tour the local cabaclos.
We saw amazing things on our way there and in the village. I seriously just thought it was plain cool the way we "embarked" on this fresh, deserted land. We saw the cabaclo homes, an "outdoor kitchen", Amazonian tools and weapons, and I loved the bright green grasshopper on the roof of the kitchen. We saw lemongrass and WOW it's smell is so enticing. I wish I had been able to bottle it up and wear it as a perfume! That would be my scent. Yuri also rubbed yura kune on all of us and said it was time for us to find "husbands" and if we wore this, we would be more attractive to them! I'm not going to lie, I enjoyed wearing that "paint" but by no means am I getting married anytime soon!
We saw the Amazonian residents. They performed a song and dance for us and had asked us to join in at the end. Rather interesting I thought, but nevertheless, took advantage because when will I ever get the chance to do this? They had trinkets that they made to sell. I bought two bracelets and an Amazonian necklace. Nicole bought a yellow wristband. We headed out back to our area on a beautiful exotic Amazon beach, waited for dinner, which of course, we were really excited about ---and then off to caiman watching. Please don't let us near the bats! :o) Yuri was, of course, teasing me, and trying to get us near as many as he could! I can honestly say that Nicole was the brave one! I give props to her!
Amazon Rainforest
The day had finally came when I would actually be walking through the rainforest. Yuri gave us some facts about the rainforest before we embarked on our next journey. *600,000 km of the rainforest destroyed
*15,000 different trees
*About 200-700 species of palm trees
*15 million bugs in the world/5 million in the Amazon
*piece of caju bark heals cuts, infections/put piece of bark in water, leave for five minutes to help stomach aches/problems
*an ant bite=24 hours of pain
*tree sap=like vicks vaporub; also tea for good memory and headaches
*big brown fruit=use for 6 months, removes C-section scar
*Monkey leather vine-good for diabetes
*Boorahna-1 seed ok; 3 seeds poisonous
*Natural Viagra tree--looks like it was been torn into!
*Armadillo fat- for infections
*Bushmaster snake-poisonous
*Turtle fat-wrinkle cream (which we rubbed on our hands)
*Coifera oil-for rhuematoid arthritis
*Roots from açaí tree cure malaria for up to 7 months (wish I had known this in advance!)
*Four different leaves soaked in alcohol-sinus/headaches (like Capacinha-also used for malaria cure)
*Vines pulled in with water-also good to make tea for women's periods--could that be our cure to less suffering?
**There were more cures that Yuri told us about but I'm not giving it all away!
Learned how to use a bow and arrow--WATCH OUT! PLAY NICE! Shoot a mini arrow through a tube at a target. We watched a bushmaster snake quietly in its environment. We got to swing around like Jane on a vine through a small part of the rainforest. We learned to climb a tree! Nicole was more successful and got a little higher than I did. My problem is most of my strength is in my legs and not in my arms. Got to work harder on my upper body! We also got to swing on a swing. Yuri make a bird out of a palm leaf for the Ukraine couple and made me a "Queen of the Amazon" crown! :o) I'm keeping that forever! He pointed out these beautiful, colorful seeds and we were all able to get one and of course take back to our own countries. It was a beautiful day spent in the Amazon Rainforest.
Monkey Jungle
We went to this one area where there were monkeys such as brown capuchins, red capuchins, and other different species. They try to rehab the monkeys here and send them back to the wild. All wild animals that we were not allowed to touch or hold which I was bummed out because I really wanted to hold just one! Anyways they were adorable. There was one monkey that just caught my eye though. To me, it reminded me of a drunk man or something! It would walk around all weird, but cute at the same time. It would swing itself on the little tree branches and even a couple times we would watch it throw itself on the ground and just lay there like it had been too tired and lazy to move! Very amusing to watch! We were watching them eat Amazon delicacies; a wonderful day.
Piranha fishing!
Now I have been waiting for this for YEARS! I have always wanted to look at a piranha closeup and look at its sharp teeth. We had to be very patient and quiet; which that was easy because the Amazon is very serene. Yuri caught the first fish in less than 5 minutes. Nicole caught the second fish, a piranha! I was so excited for her! Next up, I caught this HUGE trout and it just would not come up! I was on the other side of the boat STRUGGLING trying to get it out. One of the Ukranians tried to help me but he couldn't get it either. I caught a strong one! Sadly, it got away. :( It had really bummed me out because I really wanted to catch something! It's still a story that I am able to tell for the rest of my life so I guess I should be happy that I even have something to talk about! Nicole caught another fish-a trout. And I think that is all we were able to get.
I was hoping we could bbq the fish but we had sopa de piraña instead, which turned out to be really good. Piranha pretty much has the similar taste like good white fish, not the cheap fish you can get anywhere. It doesn't have that fishy aftertaste. Nicole tried it and loved it! It was "mighty tasty!"
We had also tried one of my favorite things there too. Sopa de calabaza y habas (Pumpkin bean soup). How to describe this...Just the flavors that were being used make this dish stand out! Let me try to pin point what seasonings and herbs that were used in this because I want to be 100% accurate. I went back for seconds!
Meeting of the Waters
We took a boat ride to the meeting of the Río Negro and Amazon River. It was breathtaking. We saw glimpses of Manaus; the theater, fish and produce market, the city. For all that didn't know this bit of information---the açaí berry is a seed, not a fruit; they crush it and put it in other such things like juices and other food items. We learned that the Río Negro is the 5th largest river in the world but poor on nutritious foods that the river offers. We went to another cabaclo village that was off of the Amazon river--which he told us that only 200 people live in that village and through most of the villages off that river. He gave us a history lesson of the meeting of the waters such as why they don't mix; pH balance and such. We also talked about the pink and grey dolphins that swim in the waters but not together. How Yuri was sad when we was talking about the rivers and how he used to be able to drink from them and now he can't because of the pollution and that it is no longer safe to drink from. Very sad and touching story.
This was an amazing day! I have waited for the day that I would actually ride in a boat on the Amazon River. We saw more cabaclos, exotic Amazon offerings, people, animals, CRAZY bugs that have probably yet to be named. Scary creatures that were flying at us in huge groups. Still not sure if I have been bitten by any mosquitos during our time in the Amazon, but today I was stung by 3 ants in the village! It was slightly painful and itchy. Yuri rubbed caju on my stings and on both of my feet just in case anymore wanted to come. It did help with the pain and kept them from coming back. I love the photos that I took today. Breathtaking and definitely helps me to remember my moments here in this part of the Amazon.
I can't even express how I feel about this amazing experience in my life. I never ever thought I would have ever had the chance to come out to the Amazon; that it was an impossible dream and guess what, I did it!♥ I want to become an even better person now because of this! Yuri's generosity and willingness to give have made me want to learn more about everything life has to offer. I will really miss him and his craziness when we leave! I only wish Yuri the best!
After touring the village we had lunch in another remote location, then took a speed boat out to journey down the long Amazon River. We saw many of the houseboats on the river. One had a for sale sign on it. Disappointed I missed the photo opportunity to get the number down! We stopped by this little area that was full of kids and adults and of course Amazonian creatures. There were a couple pythons, caimans, HUGE fish, and a sloth that broke my heart! At first Nicole and I were confused at the behavior of the sloth. It was moving really slowly and the way it was acting was plain weird to us. We describe it as "sick and sedated, like it was on something". Of course we both never saw a sloth in person before this trip so we didn't know what to expect. We were told that is how they act. They pretty much act lazy and slow. Nicole had guts to hold one! I really need to get over my little animal fears!
Our last day--bittersweet
So today we left the Amazon. I really did not want to leave. :( I actually got teary eyed and definitely felt my heart drop. I mean, how do you leave the most amazing place in the whole entire world? One that you have wanted to go to your whole life? I really feel like I am not ready to go. I still need more time. I miss everything about the Amazon already; the tours, the sites, the FOOD, the people, the friends, Yuri, and the memories that I will never forget. I think I feel like those characters on Lost...Kate, WE HAVE TO GO BAAACK!! (yes I actually wrote this in the journal!). You know and I even miss Yuri! I learned so much from him this week. I think he even grew on me...except for his INCESSENT touching! Now that was getting a little annoying!
9 hours later....back in the Manaus Airport
We got to try the açaí berry ice cream in the airport. Nicole, a coffee expert, told me to look for the cocoa notes in the flavor, so that's what I did with the ice cream, in which we had two that day! Don't judge, we were losing, not gaining weight on this trip! We were hungry so we went in search of some good good. We found the La Ville Restaurante in which Nicole got the Tornedor ao Molho de Champignon R$18,00 (US$9)
File mignon, molho de cogumelos, batatas fritas e arroz branco. Filet with Madeira Sauce. Filet mignon, champignon sauce, fries, and rice.
and I got the Pirarucu a Baiana R$20,00(US$10)
Pirarucu cozido com azeite de dendê, leite de coco, arroz branco e pirão. Pirarucu Fish Baiana Style. Pirarucu fish cooked with dendê olive, coconut milk, rice, and Brasilian pirão cream. What was also a surprise to me in this dish was the SHRIMP! I didn't know there was going to be any in this and I got LUCKY! You can never keep me from it (which you will soon find out how bad I am with shrimp when I write about Rio--I did something bad!)
All in all, impressive dishes with two satisfied customers!
We are now finally waiting for our flight. Got lucky and saw some computers at the airport and seeings that we hadn't had internet access for about two weeks, we decided to pay the R$5,00(US~$2.50) each to use the computers for a 1/2 hour. Low and behold, I had 3 messages from one of my sisters telling me to WRITE BACK NOW because she hadn't heard from us and was starting to get scared. My dad wrote an email to and sounded scared. Of course Nicole and I have hearts and we understand their fears of us being in South America, but we did say we were going to be in waterfalls and rainforests and I would hope there would be no internet access in those locations! I love the rustic feel of traveling with no technology--I'm that kind of girl. They looked/went into our situation with fears (and I still tell them to this day, South America is not like the US but it isn't what you think it is or what you've heard.) So I emailed them with a stuck keyboard, in which my message looked like this:
"
hey dad! sorry replying back late...this keyboard is hard to type on but we are in the amazon and don~t have access to the internet...it is great out here!!! the amazon is the best! i have not been bitten by any mosquitos...nicole has...but i got stung by 3 ants! anyways we are doing fine and the mosquitoes aren~t bitting me! ill email again when i get a chance! love everyone and i will try to call sometime this weekend!
reima"
(bitting=biting. That and my dad was worried about the mosquitos so I had to reassure him a couple times!)
A half hour goes by FAST there when you are trying to catch up so I couldn't write longer than that but at least they knew we weren't dead!
Bits and Pieces of what I wrote on the plane to Rio
I don't want this journey to end. I would never trade in this experience for anything. I am already missing the good cooking in the Amazon! Hopefully our taste buds will be alive and kicking in Rio, like I'm expecting!
Appreciate life and the people in your life. Don't ever take anyone for granted and don't treat them the way they don't deserve to be treated.♥
This all starts from leaving Foz do Iguassu, headed out to São Paolo for a few hours (which was beautiful, cold, and raining!), then on our way to Manaus for, what I wrote, "The most beautiful place in the world!"
We just landed in Manaus. Beautiful place so far, but there are mosquitos everywhere in the airport (yes, I wrote that). I'm really excited to finally be here. This is a dream come true. I hope it is everything I have been expecting and more. In a few hours we will be on our way. Hopefully there will be less mosquitos than expected, new friends, new memories that will last a lifetime, and maybe even some time to get to the fish and produce market in Manaus if we are lucky. All I want is good times and to look at life through a different perspective. Anyways, I should probably get to sleep now (in the airport) because a life changing journey is about to begin in a few hours! I think it is about 4 or 5 in the morning at this time (and I was writing, working on my word search booklet, and playing solitare with my deck of cards!).
Flora and Fauna
The Río Negro is BEAUTIFUL! Our guide is out of control! Pretty cool; a little too flirty (considering the fact that we were really the only young adults there) but mysterious at the same time (if you only experienced what we did our first day there!). Anyways, we had a drink of Taperebá with banana chips, which were good. Threw our things in our little cabin, which so happens to be pretty much away from civilization and everyone there. I love it because there is no internet access, no phones, no technology; just plain roughing it! Then headed out on the canoe to check out Río Negro and the flora. We saw the lovely HUGE spiders, which some had been carrying their eggs, squirrel monkeys, birds, bats, which Yuri was so nice to WAKE ONE UP FOR US! I thought that was it for me! I was getting rabies! (That was my ONLY fear of the Amazon--everything else, it didn't matter because this trip meant so much to me). Moving on, there were beautiful blue butterflies, which I tried to capture but they were hard to get. We tried to see a few caimans but they were too quick for us. After that, Yuri then told us there were ONLY 3 things we really needed to be scared about---mosquitos, jaguars, and anacondas. I was already scared of the mosquitos and anacondas--jaguars, I actually wanted to see some! I added bats to that list! It was beautiful there. We were inside this water area and covered with trees, where we couldn't see the sky. We were running into spider webs, branches, plants, and spiders in our canoe! Oh goodness, it was pretty funny how quiet we were when we saw the spiders in our canoe because we really wanted to take in everything during our time there. Yuri showed us "Amazon cigarettes", in which he climbed a tree, cut some down, rolled them up, and put them in the canoe. He was probably going to be smoking some later! He also pulled out his bow and arrow and tried to get a piranha with it a couple times; kept missing but it was okay. I just enjoyed watching him do all this, considering he is one lucky guy to have been born and raised in this beautiful environment. All in all, a beautiful couple of hours learning and exploring this wonderful area.
Our first lunch in the Amazon--It was EXCELLENT! Rice was great and so were the habas, potatoes, carrots, bread..pretty much EVERYTHING. We FILLED our plates, which of course we had to take advantage because this was the most food we had since being in South America and I insisted that we were trying ANYTHING and EVERYTHING on our trip! There was chocolate flan there, but mine is better! :o) I'll give them props because it was still good and the tea, which I tried making my te con leche there was ok; nothing compares to Argentina. Brazil of course is more for the café. We then hoped back on to the canoes to tour the local cabaclos.
We saw amazing things on our way there and in the village. I seriously just thought it was plain cool the way we "embarked" on this fresh, deserted land. We saw the cabaclo homes, an "outdoor kitchen", Amazonian tools and weapons, and I loved the bright green grasshopper on the roof of the kitchen. We saw lemongrass and WOW it's smell is so enticing. I wish I had been able to bottle it up and wear it as a perfume! That would be my scent. Yuri also rubbed yura kune on all of us and said it was time for us to find "husbands" and if we wore this, we would be more attractive to them! I'm not going to lie, I enjoyed wearing that "paint" but by no means am I getting married anytime soon!
We saw the Amazonian residents. They performed a song and dance for us and had asked us to join in at the end. Rather interesting I thought, but nevertheless, took advantage because when will I ever get the chance to do this? They had trinkets that they made to sell. I bought two bracelets and an Amazonian necklace. Nicole bought a yellow wristband. We headed out back to our area on a beautiful exotic Amazon beach, waited for dinner, which of course, we were really excited about ---and then off to caiman watching. Please don't let us near the bats! :o) Yuri was, of course, teasing me, and trying to get us near as many as he could! I can honestly say that Nicole was the brave one! I give props to her!
Amazon Rainforest
The day had finally came when I would actually be walking through the rainforest. Yuri gave us some facts about the rainforest before we embarked on our next journey. *600,000 km of the rainforest destroyed
*15,000 different trees
*About 200-700 species of palm trees
*15 million bugs in the world/5 million in the Amazon
*piece of caju bark heals cuts, infections/put piece of bark in water, leave for five minutes to help stomach aches/problems
*an ant bite=24 hours of pain
*tree sap=like vicks vaporub; also tea for good memory and headaches
*big brown fruit=use for 6 months, removes C-section scar
*Monkey leather vine-good for diabetes
*Boorahna-1 seed ok; 3 seeds poisonous
*Natural Viagra tree--looks like it was been torn into!
*Armadillo fat- for infections
*Bushmaster snake-poisonous
*Turtle fat-wrinkle cream (which we rubbed on our hands)
*Coifera oil-for rhuematoid arthritis
*Roots from açaí tree cure malaria for up to 7 months (wish I had known this in advance!)
*Four different leaves soaked in alcohol-sinus/headaches (like Capacinha-also used for malaria cure)
*Vines pulled in with water-also good to make tea for women's periods--could that be our cure to less suffering?
**There were more cures that Yuri told us about but I'm not giving it all away!
Learned how to use a bow and arrow--WATCH OUT! PLAY NICE! Shoot a mini arrow through a tube at a target. We watched a bushmaster snake quietly in its environment. We got to swing around like Jane on a vine through a small part of the rainforest. We learned to climb a tree! Nicole was more successful and got a little higher than I did. My problem is most of my strength is in my legs and not in my arms. Got to work harder on my upper body! We also got to swing on a swing. Yuri make a bird out of a palm leaf for the Ukraine couple and made me a "Queen of the Amazon" crown! :o) I'm keeping that forever! He pointed out these beautiful, colorful seeds and we were all able to get one and of course take back to our own countries. It was a beautiful day spent in the Amazon Rainforest.
Monkey Jungle
We went to this one area where there were monkeys such as brown capuchins, red capuchins, and other different species. They try to rehab the monkeys here and send them back to the wild. All wild animals that we were not allowed to touch or hold which I was bummed out because I really wanted to hold just one! Anyways they were adorable. There was one monkey that just caught my eye though. To me, it reminded me of a drunk man or something! It would walk around all weird, but cute at the same time. It would swing itself on the little tree branches and even a couple times we would watch it throw itself on the ground and just lay there like it had been too tired and lazy to move! Very amusing to watch! We were watching them eat Amazon delicacies; a wonderful day.
Piranha fishing!
Now I have been waiting for this for YEARS! I have always wanted to look at a piranha closeup and look at its sharp teeth. We had to be very patient and quiet; which that was easy because the Amazon is very serene. Yuri caught the first fish in less than 5 minutes. Nicole caught the second fish, a piranha! I was so excited for her! Next up, I caught this HUGE trout and it just would not come up! I was on the other side of the boat STRUGGLING trying to get it out. One of the Ukranians tried to help me but he couldn't get it either. I caught a strong one! Sadly, it got away. :( It had really bummed me out because I really wanted to catch something! It's still a story that I am able to tell for the rest of my life so I guess I should be happy that I even have something to talk about! Nicole caught another fish-a trout. And I think that is all we were able to get.
I was hoping we could bbq the fish but we had sopa de piraña instead, which turned out to be really good. Piranha pretty much has the similar taste like good white fish, not the cheap fish you can get anywhere. It doesn't have that fishy aftertaste. Nicole tried it and loved it! It was "mighty tasty!"
We had also tried one of my favorite things there too. Sopa de calabaza y habas (Pumpkin bean soup). How to describe this...Just the flavors that were being used make this dish stand out! Let me try to pin point what seasonings and herbs that were used in this because I want to be 100% accurate. I went back for seconds!
Meeting of the Waters
We took a boat ride to the meeting of the Río Negro and Amazon River. It was breathtaking. We saw glimpses of Manaus; the theater, fish and produce market, the city. For all that didn't know this bit of information---the açaí berry is a seed, not a fruit; they crush it and put it in other such things like juices and other food items. We learned that the Río Negro is the 5th largest river in the world but poor on nutritious foods that the river offers. We went to another cabaclo village that was off of the Amazon river--which he told us that only 200 people live in that village and through most of the villages off that river. He gave us a history lesson of the meeting of the waters such as why they don't mix; pH balance and such. We also talked about the pink and grey dolphins that swim in the waters but not together. How Yuri was sad when we was talking about the rivers and how he used to be able to drink from them and now he can't because of the pollution and that it is no longer safe to drink from. Very sad and touching story.
This was an amazing day! I have waited for the day that I would actually ride in a boat on the Amazon River. We saw more cabaclos, exotic Amazon offerings, people, animals, CRAZY bugs that have probably yet to be named. Scary creatures that were flying at us in huge groups. Still not sure if I have been bitten by any mosquitos during our time in the Amazon, but today I was stung by 3 ants in the village! It was slightly painful and itchy. Yuri rubbed caju on my stings and on both of my feet just in case anymore wanted to come. It did help with the pain and kept them from coming back. I love the photos that I took today. Breathtaking and definitely helps me to remember my moments here in this part of the Amazon.
I can't even express how I feel about this amazing experience in my life. I never ever thought I would have ever had the chance to come out to the Amazon; that it was an impossible dream and guess what, I did it!♥ I want to become an even better person now because of this! Yuri's generosity and willingness to give have made me want to learn more about everything life has to offer. I will really miss him and his craziness when we leave! I only wish Yuri the best!
After touring the village we had lunch in another remote location, then took a speed boat out to journey down the long Amazon River. We saw many of the houseboats on the river. One had a for sale sign on it. Disappointed I missed the photo opportunity to get the number down! We stopped by this little area that was full of kids and adults and of course Amazonian creatures. There were a couple pythons, caimans, HUGE fish, and a sloth that broke my heart! At first Nicole and I were confused at the behavior of the sloth. It was moving really slowly and the way it was acting was plain weird to us. We describe it as "sick and sedated, like it was on something". Of course we both never saw a sloth in person before this trip so we didn't know what to expect. We were told that is how they act. They pretty much act lazy and slow. Nicole had guts to hold one! I really need to get over my little animal fears!
Our last day--bittersweet
So today we left the Amazon. I really did not want to leave. :( I actually got teary eyed and definitely felt my heart drop. I mean, how do you leave the most amazing place in the whole entire world? One that you have wanted to go to your whole life? I really feel like I am not ready to go. I still need more time. I miss everything about the Amazon already; the tours, the sites, the FOOD, the people, the friends, Yuri, and the memories that I will never forget. I think I feel like those characters on Lost...Kate, WE HAVE TO GO BAAACK!! (yes I actually wrote this in the journal!). You know and I even miss Yuri! I learned so much from him this week. I think he even grew on me...except for his INCESSENT touching! Now that was getting a little annoying!
9 hours later....back in the Manaus Airport
We got to try the açaí berry ice cream in the airport. Nicole, a coffee expert, told me to look for the cocoa notes in the flavor, so that's what I did with the ice cream, in which we had two that day! Don't judge, we were losing, not gaining weight on this trip! We were hungry so we went in search of some good good. We found the La Ville Restaurante in which Nicole got the Tornedor ao Molho de Champignon R$18,00 (US$9)
File mignon, molho de cogumelos, batatas fritas e arroz branco. Filet with Madeira Sauce. Filet mignon, champignon sauce, fries, and rice.
and I got the Pirarucu a Baiana R$20,00(US$10)
Pirarucu cozido com azeite de dendê, leite de coco, arroz branco e pirão. Pirarucu Fish Baiana Style. Pirarucu fish cooked with dendê olive, coconut milk, rice, and Brasilian pirão cream. What was also a surprise to me in this dish was the SHRIMP! I didn't know there was going to be any in this and I got LUCKY! You can never keep me from it (which you will soon find out how bad I am with shrimp when I write about Rio--I did something bad!)
All in all, impressive dishes with two satisfied customers!
We are now finally waiting for our flight. Got lucky and saw some computers at the airport and seeings that we hadn't had internet access for about two weeks, we decided to pay the R$5,00(US~$2.50) each to use the computers for a 1/2 hour. Low and behold, I had 3 messages from one of my sisters telling me to WRITE BACK NOW because she hadn't heard from us and was starting to get scared. My dad wrote an email to and sounded scared. Of course Nicole and I have hearts and we understand their fears of us being in South America, but we did say we were going to be in waterfalls and rainforests and I would hope there would be no internet access in those locations! I love the rustic feel of traveling with no technology--I'm that kind of girl. They looked/went into our situation with fears (and I still tell them to this day, South America is not like the US but it isn't what you think it is or what you've heard.) So I emailed them with a stuck keyboard, in which my message looked like this:
"
hey dad! sorry replying back late...this keyboard is hard to type on but we are in the amazon and don~t have access to the internet...it is great out here!!! the amazon is the best! i have not been bitten by any mosquitos...nicole has...but i got stung by 3 ants! anyways we are doing fine and the mosquitoes aren~t bitting me! ill email again when i get a chance! love everyone and i will try to call sometime this weekend!
reima"
(bitting=biting. That and my dad was worried about the mosquitos so I had to reassure him a couple times!)
A half hour goes by FAST there when you are trying to catch up so I couldn't write longer than that but at least they knew we weren't dead!
Bits and Pieces of what I wrote on the plane to Rio
I don't want this journey to end. I would never trade in this experience for anything. I am already missing the good cooking in the Amazon! Hopefully our taste buds will be alive and kicking in Rio, like I'm expecting!
Appreciate life and the people in your life. Don't ever take anyone for granted and don't treat them the way they don't deserve to be treated.♥
Monday, June 15, 2009
Bem Vindo a Amazonas
Yuri - Our Amazon Guide
Our Cabin in the Rainforest
Rio Negro
Flora and Fauna
Cabaclos
Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Creatures
One bite from this ant = 24 hours of pain
Amazon dragonfly
Bushmaster Snake. Poisonous.
Got stung by 3 ants in the Cabaclo Village off the Amazon River. Not a pleasant feeling at all.
Scarlet Macaw
Sloth
Python
Alligator in action.
The Monkey Village
Piranha (and Trout) Fishing
Caiman Watching
Amazon Exotic Beaches
Meeting of the Waters
The Amazon River
A couple dishes that still have my heart
Taperebá con virutas del plátano
Lemongrass -- This wasn't a dish, but the smell was so ENTICING!
Sopa de calabaza y habas --This was PERFECTION. I have yet to find a recipe that contains the similar ingredients and flavors of this one. I think I have an experiment on my hands!
Sandía y mango. FRESH fruit!
Sopa de piraña
Sopa de calabaza. lisa (smooth)
Sandía y papaya
I thoroughly enjoyed everything on this plate, but the main thing I wanted to point out was the raíz de la pastinaca (parsnip root). Never had it before and LOVED it.
Exotic offerings from the Amazon
Sour sap guava
Marajá
Açaí
Yura kune
Boorahna. One seed=good. Three seeds=poisonous
Removes C-section scar within 6 months
Natural Viagra Tree
Caja
Camu camu
Rubber tree
Manioc Flour
Cacao
Tapioca
Picture Clouds (Loving the vibe of the Amazon!)
We did it!
Sueño apenas un poco más.
Our Cabin in the Rainforest
Rio Negro
Flora and Fauna
Cabaclos
Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Creatures
One bite from this ant = 24 hours of pain
Amazon dragonfly
Bushmaster Snake. Poisonous.
Got stung by 3 ants in the Cabaclo Village off the Amazon River. Not a pleasant feeling at all.
Scarlet Macaw
Sloth
Python
Alligator in action.
The Monkey Village
Piranha (and Trout) Fishing
Caiman Watching
Amazon Exotic Beaches
Meeting of the Waters
The Amazon River
A couple dishes that still have my heart
Taperebá con virutas del plátano
Lemongrass -- This wasn't a dish, but the smell was so ENTICING!
Sopa de calabaza y habas --This was PERFECTION. I have yet to find a recipe that contains the similar ingredients and flavors of this one. I think I have an experiment on my hands!
Sandía y mango. FRESH fruit!
Sopa de piraña
Sopa de calabaza. lisa (smooth)
Sandía y papaya
I thoroughly enjoyed everything on this plate, but the main thing I wanted to point out was the raíz de la pastinaca (parsnip root). Never had it before and LOVED it.
Exotic offerings from the Amazon
Sour sap guava
Marajá
Açaí
Yura kune
Boorahna. One seed=good. Three seeds=poisonous
Removes C-section scar within 6 months
Natural Viagra Tree
Caja
Camu camu
Rubber tree
Manioc Flour
Cacao
Tapioca
Picture Clouds (Loving the vibe of the Amazon!)
We did it!
Sueño apenas un poco más.
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