Brazil September 13-17

The Amazon was unforgettable. It seems like every little experience on this trip is life changing.

Arriving in Brazil, we couldn't get off the boat til noon because of all the technicalities. We went to this outside cafe place that was super sketchy and no one spoke English or Spanish. After we ate, we visited Marcado Modelo, which is the tourist market. I didn't buy anything, but I practiced my bargaining and got pretty good at it. I learned not to point at things or have any interest in them, or else the vendors would leech onto you.

Salvador is divided into the upper & lower city by a steep bluff. You can get up and down either by this massive elevator or cable cars. My group took the elevators up and wandered around. Got to try this local snack called Carajay. The shrimp in it was gross, but I liked the rest. I also tried the local drink, Kiperinna, which is pretty much a very strong margarita.

Traveling in the towns with other students has been a lot different to living with them on the ship. The living part really isn't that hard because everyone is happy and glad to be on the voyage. Traveling in port with people is a little bit harder. If I'm not on the same level as the people I am with, it hard to figure out what we want to do and make everyone happy. Smaller groups are definitely easier to deal with. Everyone is very nervous about a lot of the place we are going, which is understandable, but they are taking it a little to the extreme. Its also hard when everybody wants to be the leader, especially when I am use to taking that role.

Already there have been a few mishaps from people not being careful:
A girl got her camera stolen right out of here hands while she was walking with a group of 11
Another girl lost her passport, so almost got left in Venezuela... passport is the one thing you can't do without
A couple girls walking alone in the streets got dragged down the ally and had there cameras stolen... one of the girls got a punch off, but the thieves still got away

After wandering the city of Salvador, got on a bus to go to the welcome reception. It was this big party for SASers and it took place in this old abandoned orphanage. It was a really big and cool place. The party was in the middle courtyard. Everyone got to learn this dance called Capoiera that looked like fighting. A youth drumline came out to play and it reminded me of my days in drumline. They were giving out lots of local snack, like cheese on a stick. I drank a lot of this awesome Brazilian soda called Guarana that has 7 times the amount of caffeine as coke!!

A band called Sudaka played and these guys were intense. It was a fusion of traditional Brazilian beats and instruments mixed with electronic samples and guitar, a little bit like Blue Man Group. I got a chance to talk to some of the Brazilian students who were also there. At 12 AM I had to go back to the boat to catch my bus for the Amazon!

The plane to the Amazon left at around 3:40 AM. The airlines was pretty nice and give us lots of snacks. I ended up sleep during practically all the flights... all 4 that is. For some reason, we practically went around in a circle to get to the Amazon. Not to mention our flight was diverted once. I guess it was exciting landing in every major city in Brazil, but 12 hours seemed like a heck of a lot of traveling time to where we were going. On top of that, the airlines played all this Disney music in Portuguese.

The boat we end up living on for the next 2 nights was a lot more luxurious than I expected. It had two floors, the bottom was the kitchen and a place where we ate. Above is where we slept in hammocks and hung out. Our tour guides were really awesome and I think that we got the best of them. They were both name Francisco.

The first thing we did was to take the boats to this place that had giant lilly pads. We walked on this raised wood platform that reminded me of something you'd see in and Indian Jones movie. Afterwards, we went back to the riverside and went fishing for Piranas. Our bate was bloody beef. I caught a few, but they were all pretty tiny.

It started to get dark, so started off in our canoes back to the boat. On the way, we went hunting for these alligators called kymins. We found a couple and got to hold them. For dinner we had an amazing feast on board. I can't imagine how they made such good food on a boat so small. It was a lot better than some of the food on the cruise.

The next day we work up bright and early to explore the rain forrest. Supposedly there are giant ants around the places that we explored. The first time they bite, you get severe pains for 24 hours. The second time, you run a fever and possible can fall into a coma. In the forrest, we ran across a giant hairy spider that looked like a tarantula. I don't think I'll ever see a spider bigger than it was... this thing was huge.

At one point, when I was at the back of the group, the guides decided to go a little off trail. They accidentally went towards a wasp nest and as soon as Francisco saw the wasps, he started yelling "run" and ran past everyone else, only to save himself. Luckily, nobody in our group got stung, but the tour guide from the other group got stung all over his back. We ended up at a small waterfall at the end of the trail and a bunch of us, including myself, went swimming. It felt really good getting all the sweat off.

When we got back to the boat, we went to a beach to have lunch and relax a bit. This is when my Brazilian dream was first realized. I got to play soccer with the locals on the beach. It was truely amazing, but it gets even better. We jumped in the Amazon to get cool again... even though it was a bit dirty and there were piranas swimming around.

After a good game of soccer and another wonderful meal, we went to visit this native town along the amazon. We were greated by all the children of the town, who were extatic when we dropped down balloons off of the boat for them. We went up these stairs into the town and got a chance to see how they lived. Then my dream came true for the second time! They set up teams and we played soccer again. USA vs. Brazil and for the first time in history, USA was the victor! We thanked the town for their hospitality and got on the boat in route for another village to compare too.

By the time we arrived there it was already dark and I was just about starving. I got some gifts from the local gift store and learned the history of their town hero and how he fought an anaconda. By the time we left the town, I felt my stomach was going to cave in I was so hungry.

It took another good 45 minutes to make it to the beach where we were having are BBQ, but boy was it a show. On arrival they shot off fireworks. The set up was amazing... our own private beach with 7 tables worth of food surrounded by a giant circle of chairs.

After the feast, everyone got up and danced on the beach. Our boat had a nice sound system, so they blasted music from the boat. The thing is, they only had one CD to play for our entire trip... not only that, but they only played 2 songs from the CD, over, and over, and over again! One of the songs was that Romanian song by Ozone and the other was another techno song I'd never heard off. These songs became to themes songs for our group. I love them and hate them at the same time. Hearing them will forever bring me back.

A few people decided to go skinny dipping in the Amazon. Some guy got bit by a fish or something and that was the end of that. The next morning we woke up to an amazing sunrise. The skies were amazing. We set off to visit another town on our motor canoes, but one of the boats got lost. Eventually they made it and caught up to us. We got to see how they made Manioc, which is this root that they turn into flower and make different things like pancakes. It tasted pretty good!

We went pirana fishing again from our canoes, but had no luck at all. Shows how long we'd survive in the Amazon! After that, we ate aboard the boat and then got relaxation time on the beach. Here's where my dream was realized its third and final time, but this time was even better that all the others. We set up a soccer game on the beach with all the crew and passengers from the boat. 30 minutes later the skies turn gray and suddenly it starts to pour! Nobody even thinks twice about it and the game goes on.

PLAYING SOCCER WITH BRAZILIANS IN THE MIDDLE OF AN AMAZON RAIN STORM

It doesn't get much better than that. After playing our hearts out for a few hours, we got back on the boat depart for the performance at the lodge. On the way there, we had a little mishap. Two of the canoes we were towing somehow tipped over. They started to sink, so the entire crew got out to save them. They miraculously tied them to the other canoes and towed them to shore to tip them back over and get the water out. You have to realize when I saw they took them to shore, this wasn't a short distance. Much of the Amazon seems like an ocean.

We made it the rest of the way to the lodge without any other problems. At the lodge, we were entertain by a native dance and fire blowing performance. They even taught us part of the dance. The dance was intense and really got your blood flowing–a great ending to an unbelievable experience.

The flight back to the real world was just about the same as the flight there. The first two stretches I was dead asleep. 5 hours went by in what seemed to be a few minutes. I guess the amazon really knocked me out. The one hour layover was annoying, but one I was back on the plane, I was happy again.

Arriving in Salvador, we didn't waste anytime before the boat left. We had a nice dinner and then went to search for a super market. The taxi driver totally took advantage of us, but not having any change and the fact that we had to be back at the boat soon, I gave in this time.

I wish I had had a couple more days in Salvador to see the beaches and explore a bit more... but I guess there's always next time?

NEXT STOP SOUTH AFRICA