rollin' on the river

...and onto Lake Maica this day.

lake maica is a very large body of water and our trip today was by river boat. our guide was a lovely young woman named Rachel; she was delightful in every way. and believe it or not, she told us she learned to speak english...watching TV. her vocabulary was impressive. and her scope of knowledge even more so!

the river boat is so adept at multi-tasking; not only transporting tourists such as we to our desired destination, but normally, acting as the main conduit for residents to pass from one town to another along the river banks (please note the floating gas station in the picture below)--the rio tapajos is the major artery feeding into the amazon from here. again, these places can only be reached by either boat or plane. and air travel is restricted to very limited range--just between cities and towns located within brazil i believe.

as we made our way around the docks to board our chartered river boat, we noticed many, many people in hammocks that were attached to hooks on the posts of the other boats at the dock; there are hammocks mounted in every available space inside passenger area. i hope to have a picture that will demonstrate these sleeping quarters better, later.

so efficient and sensible, the people of this place are, they travel lightly. as all things must go by water, unless one is very wealthy and has their own boat, they must out of necessity choose wisely what to bring along. and one's own hammock is one of those things. the hammock also permits better sleep when you consider the heat and humidity that are almost always present in this region which experiences only two seasons: dry and rainy. dry meaning only, not as much rain as in the rainy season. it is never truly dry.

santerem is named, according to local lore, for a devout young woman who had protected her virginity and who had been a most stellar of individuals; upon having her virginity stolen through the act of rape, she was so ashamed of the violation she committed suicide. santerem is portuguese for saint irene and this was the young woman's name. she was an ordinary person who through her devotion to god and all that is good, was elevated to sainthood after her tragic decision.

it happens that santerem is a major hub between manaus and belem; boats of any size can be built here we were told. but as rachel astutely pointed out: the size of the boat is wholly dependent upon the size of one's pocket.

and truly, isn't that always the case.

back to the boat tho...as we continued along, we were able to see "the meeting of the waters"; this is where the black-brown water of the rio negro meets the muddy brown of the amazon. the sea is over 1,000 nautical miles away. along the way, to those with really good eyesight, pink dolphins revealed themselves. rachel told us that when the pink dolphin is just born, they are white in color with only a blush of color on the underside.

a bevy of birds also accompanied our sailing on the river. terns; herons; egrets. on the banks, cattle and horses grazed; goats and water buffalo too. when these animals are to be transported, there are corrals situated on the river boats to hold them safely during their journey. dwelling space for human situated one deck above.

the scenery we were privileged to see totally evened out the heat and humidity that also accompanied us. modest homes built on elevated foundations tell the story of life on the river so well. children swam in the waters in front of their homes; diving off of boats and ramps; freshly washed clothes dancing in the breeze on a clothesline; families assembled to have their afternoon meals; lone fishermen in smaller boats out for the day to catch the evenings meal no doubt. the songs of birds, water and a very slight wisp of air moving as the boat moved through the water is our soundtrack.

as if all of this were not enough, imagine our total amazement when our guide announces to us that we are now going to have the pleasure of going piranha fishing!

of course, she advised us of the "do's and don't do's". first and foremost, not to attempt to touch the fish should we catch one. in all her years of doing such tours, no one has ever been injured she tells us. let's not ruin her record, right?

we are given modest fishing implements; but they are perfect. they resemble something you might use to fly a kite at home. a handle that is notched so as to hold the line; a weight is attached to each line; and a hook at the end. our bait this day we were told was none other than filet mignon. piranha who are caught and subsequently eaten, have had at least a decent "last meal".

there are different types of piranha--black and cashew; they are of course considered very delicious and in some cases, depending on the particular coloration of the fish, also believed to be in possession of aphrodisiatic qualities.

eagerly we get our fishing gear and set about trying to catch piranha. the boat's captain caught one with his eyes closed practically.

we were encouraged that indeed fish could be had once we saw that. not all of us wanted necessarily to keep our catch...but, some were kept. a few others were caught by the passengers and the captain. perhaps the fish know i do not like them, read=i caught nothing.

that's okay i think to myself.

meantime, the unlucky ones that were caught and kept, were later prepared by our guide and her crew. they were served with manioc meal. i was told by our friend that it was the most delicious thing and i wonder now how she will be able to find piranha to eat when she returns home.

after our fishing expedition, it is now time to return to the ship. along the way, i reflect on the words our guide has shared with us ... how she has really never gone outside of santerem and more importantly, has no intention of ever leaving. she loves her homeland; she has a rich ancestry; her children will grow up with all that they need--food is plentiful; education is free; there are hospitals to meet any illness (she tells us they even have oncology units at their local hospital). the air is clean and the water of the amazon, originating far away in the peruvian andes is, well, its everything.

There are three kinds of people in this world; those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened - James Lovell (astronaut)