...was just but one of the unusual instruments featured by the group we saw in manaus yesterday. we were told that the group had gone into the rainforest and collected materials found in nature to create some of their instruments. of course, it goes without saying that the river itself produces its own "sound" too.it was my hope to find some kind of instrument to buy as a souvenir today...but alas, that was not to be.
today the sky was very cloudy and the air quite warm. such is the norm for manaus. this would not deter me from my quest tho this day. today it was all about finding the store where i could buy the CD of the group we heard. i am surprised at myself that this music by this group, was compelling enough that i was willing to brave the streets of manaus one more time.
after all, between the heat and humidity, we know that alone is a bad combo for susan.
then add to it that i do not speak portuguese; these people do not speak english by in large; even my sad, sad spang-lish is of no real use here.
we've been told repeatedly not to venture out into the city "alone"...yikes! what is a girl to do when the music has stolen her away from her good senses?
that's right...convince other people to go with you! really, it wasn't my intention to drag our friends on this search of mine. but i am grateful that they wouldn't allow me to make the journey into the asphalt jungle that is downtown manaus, alone.
and so the hunt began in earnest about 11am yesterday. i emailed the musician directly to plead that maybe he/they could come to the dock. i emailed a resident of manaus who blogs on the group that performed...perhaps he could come help a brutha out (okay, i know i'm a girl, but, it is mo' betta the other way).
no answer.
now there is no choice but to bust-a-move and get on the good foot. james, james brown that is, would be pleased i think.
our friends and i set out to find the CD. this was my planned activity for the day. mom sat this one out. wasn't feeling great.
armed with the name of the CD and a store that sold it, we set about our trek amid light rain (i was directed to the store by a representative from manaus who was on the ship for our time there--he kindly phoned someone and got the exact name of the store and location i would need in order to get this prized music). ridiculously warm temps made this an especially impressive feat for me. i was determined tho.
i think my dad, who was a very determined person, would have been pleased. just yesterday would have been his 74th birthday. happy birthday dad.
anyway, back to the story--we jumped across traffic without lights; dawned umbrellas; kept moving when it would have been easy enough to get trapped by unofficial "guides" on the street offering lots of things...in portuguese.
with the building in our sights, now finally we arrive. bemol! this is the store. this is the promised land today. we must find that CD! we must find bemol--the store i was directed to last night by an official representative of manaus who was kind enough to call and locate the exact place i needed to find in order to get the CD. bemol is my mantra this day.
inside bemol, there is every appliance you can imagine. flat-panel TVs; stereo equipment; stoves; microwaves; a jewelry counter; credit card application counter; oh yes, and CDs/DVDs!
knowing that we did not speak portuguese and they would likely not speak english, i dig out my little piece of paper with the name of the CD from my wallet. the salesperson instantly knows where to find it. as he is flipping through the stacks and no sign of the CD in sight, i am now thinking that the search may necessarily have to extend to the shopping mall i was originally directed to go to.
by taxi. with unscrupulous drivers and not a lick of common language. this was a frightening thought to contemplate.
moments pass and finally, he finds a single copy of the CD! bravo! only thing tho, i had told people waiting for candomble last night that this would be my activity the next day. so of course, they asked what had i planned in terms of this "needle in a haystack" notion i was about to engage in. you see, they too fell in love with the music we heard at the opera house, but also, had not been successful in purchasing a copy as it sold out instantly! they wanted copies too. they offered to pay in advance. which i refused since i did not really know (a) if i could locate any CD whatsoever (b) what it would cost. instead, i told them i would look and if successful, they could pay me later.
but there was only one copy. or at least that is what we thought. soon i am at checkout. buying my precious CD. my friends who came along on the walk-a-bout, they too wanted a copy. the salesperson struggled to understand our request. he returned to the bins; he found another CD by the group--just not the same one. our friends happily purchased that. of course, i will share mine with them and they will download it to their computer. copyright, schmopy-right.
tenaniousness overcame me...i asked again if there might not be a possibility of finding another copy in another store location. this bemol is a lot like starbucks here in manaus. there are many bemol locations. again, the language barrier ... we think they are looking to find the answer to that question. moments later, a delightful young man named marcelo appears in front of the three of us. he speaks english! obrigado (portuguese for thank-you; woo-hoo in english for me)!
we make our request. additional copies, at another location--can you check? he is wonderful. we regale him in our efforts and trepidation about getting in taxis driven by somewhat unsavory sorts we've been told about...he tells us how afraid he is of los angeles for the very same reasons. tho he has lived in colorado.
their computer is down for the moment. so he cannot check another store. so he gets the salesperson to check one more time. again, flipping through all the stacks because as it turns out, their inventory is not organized alphabetically. it isn't even really organized i guess--brazil. so a thorough search can sometimes, net results.
another copy is found! bravo! only what to do--there were at least two other people wanting copies and now there was only the one extra. the computers come back on line. nine copies are available at the original location i was directed to. we were told of one more store locally downtown that might, might have the CD as well.
that was the good news i could pass along to the others wanting copies. the bad news--we were done searching ... totally wet/soaked and hot, it was time to come back to the ship.
along the way back, we did stop in at the one other place we were told about by dear marcelo. no luck tho.
once back, a second non-environmentally friendly shower was needed by me. we've been asked to conserve our water use while on the amazon. the ship cannot make its own water while we are here. but i could not, NOT have the second shower. it was absolutely necessary (truly would have gone nuts right there if not for the shower).
mom still not feeling well at all...we whiled away the hours until night on board. a special performance of local dancers had been scheduled for 8pm.
they were quite good and the girl dancer (one girl; one boy), well, she was just too beautiful. not fair at all! their names: Wayine Jeplen Vieira Costa and Fabiana Cristina de Souza Figueiredo. they were sharing dance, song and ritual from the boi bumba tradition. it is a festival that tells the story of the death and resurrection of an ox. the mythology and animal life of the amazon are depicted in their dance.
i watched the performance on the TV in our room as i was keeping an eye on the very clever creature known as...my mother.
after she drifted off to sleep, i watched "a fish called wanda" for the first time in a very long time. i'd forgotten how good it was. finally, it was 11pm and that marked our departure from manaus.
we are off to santerem tonight. we will be at sea all day tomorrow. santerem is another city located at the banks of the tremendous amazon...some 500 nautical miles away.
Travelers never think they are the foreigners - Mason Cooley
