1-2 January, 2017 Finally, the day came when myself and sixteen others, began our journey to Brazil. After all of the videos, papers, meetings, and random web searching about the country, this was a rewarding moment. Seeing the other students at the airport was so exciting. I did not know any of them, so I was eager to be experiencing everything new. After a few Harry Potter movies, a couple of meals, a second flight, and some attempted sleep, we landed in Manaus. We were picked up in a comfortable bus by our tour guide, Rafael, who informed us for all of the time we were to spend in Manaus. Driving through the city was stimulating: seeing how people dress, the architecture (or lack thereof), and even just the traffic is different everywhere you go. It is always a very exciting moment for me during my travels. As a little introduction to the city, Rafael told us that the city’s name comes from an Indian tribe, known as Manáo, who used to inhabit the area; it means “Mother of the Gods.” Surely, the people there are gods, as quickly proved to me upon meeting Rafael. Anyway, the land there was consistently well preserved due to the lack of roads running through the area. Since there was only one entering Manaus for a long time, not many people made their way. For a long time, Manaus’ main economic was rubber business, attracting people with money from around the world who bought farm land. Although this monopoly died, many structures remain from this economically prosperous time.
We arrived at the hotel, I roomed with Anne, who would be my roommate for the remainder of the excursion. Finally, before exploring Manaus further, we ate. Buffet style, right next door, all seventeen of us, to my surprise, dug in without hesitation. My love for buffets is beyond words. Combine that love with food I have never experienced, and you get a plate way too full for any sized human. Every last bite was delicious. We walked a few blocks away to São Sebastião Square where there was a church, an opera house, and famously patterned stone that covered the ground, all of which were remains from the times of the rubber monopoly. The opera house, known as Amazonas Theatre, was surrounded with a surface (lots of which still remained) made of stone and rubber combination, meant to absorb sound from horse hooves so that the operas were never to be disturbed. The architect and other pleasant designs covering the city came from around the world, due to governor Eduardo Gonçalves Ribeiro, who had a vision for the city: to make it beautiful and to welcome to everyone.
We ended the day at Musa, meaning museum, which is a protected area of the Amazon Rainforest, adjacent to the city. The Rio Negro is nearby, and unlike other water grounds, mosquitos do not breed there due to the natural acidity. For this reason, it is an area where people prefer to develop. However, it has been preserved by the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA, translated to National Institute of Amazon Research), which is a public educational and research institution headquartered in Manaus. There are different types of environmental educators who work there, with intent to inform locals about issues with the delicate Amazon Rainforest. We took a walk through our first true experience of the Amazon Rainforest. It was complex and beautiful. We got to see snakes and lily pads that were so large, I was convinced that I could sit atop them. The best part of the day, and one of my favorite moments of the two weeks, was climbing to the top of an observing tower. To my surprise, as we climbed endless flights of stairs, we exceeded the tree tops by a few meters. We had a 360˚ view of bumpy treetops of many different shades of green. When a wind would pass it looked like a sea of leaves. We’ve learned that lots of water is stored within these trees, and that lots of the rain gets put right back into the air. It was very cool to actually see water evaporating all over the place. It was haunting to see the city in the distance, knowing that without the efforts of a few people, all of the life and beauty we were witnessing would not exist.
3 January, 2017 After an attempted hotel breakfast and a short walk, we arrived in a crowded area along the river. Here people were selling things from fish to jewelry, all of which we got to check out. The fish market was very interesting. Between the smell, the volume, and the expressions coming from the faces of the local people, it was a sensory overload. I am not sure I can compare it to anything I have experienced before. Seeing one or two fish being fileted is no problem, but there was something disturbing about hundreds of their bodies lying side by side. Additionally, the cow body parts were alarming, further pushing me to become vegetarian. Anyway, we weaved through the aisles of the place, seeing lots of different species, some of which would have had me running out of the water if I had seen it while swimming. We shopped for a bit, buying jewelry, decorations, gifts, and even little perverted toys, lots of which was locally crafted. Continuing on with our day, we went to hop on a boat that we thought would be a little, beat up dingy thing. To our surprise, we boarded a fine, clean, and spacious (even enough room for dancing) boat. As we departed on the Rio Negro, Rafael and Tait got speaking about how it is the largest tributary, bringing in the most water. It is anywhere from about fifteen meters, to more than 100 meters deep. Coleen, a researcher from Canada, now residing in Brazil told us that it was known as Blackwater, as it resembles coffee. It is like this because it is basically a tea of decomposing plant materials. This tea contains compounds which are toxic to mosquitos and many microorganisms, creating an area lacking the buggers. This type of water is often found in lowlands with sandy soils and is found in all Amazonian countries. As an intermission to her presentation, we chowed down on açai that Rafael brought for us. This is a fruit from the Amazon that, sold in the United States, is deceptively sweet. In Brazil, without any additives, açai has a very earthy taste. I loved it, especially in combination with fresh fruits. I had two servings, and even finished another student’s. Mmmmmm. Soon enough we approached the home of a traditional Amazon Tribe who performed dances for various occasions. It was very fun when they all took our hands for participation. The men’s attire was cool, and barely there, consisting of intricate hats and ankle instruments. The women wore skirts and a beautiful array of jewelry and flowers hanging over their chests. Their dark skin and shiny hair was all so lovely. Although they still follow old traditions of their ancestors, some of them do occasionally enter the city for emergencies. I think it is a wonderful thing how they are preserving the oneness that they have with each other and nature, rather than getting sucked into the nonsense society has to offer. At some point during our boat outing a few students swam with dolphins, which, to our surprise, were free to come and go as they pleased. These dolphins, known as pink river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) are endemic to a few river systems of the area. They are an interesting species because their cervical vertebrae are not fused, allowing head movement of 90 degrees. This particular evolvement lets them maneuver the crowded rivers, especially during the rainy season.
Eventually we had lunch, which ended up being my favorite meal of the whole trip. The food in Manaus was perfect, there was not one thing I did not like. I also, with every meal, had the opportunity to try a new, freshly squeezed juice, most of which I was completely unable to pronounce. The only thing that let me know what I was drinking was pictures depicted on the menus, if any. Also, the setting of the meal was surreal. It was right on the water, a stilted restaurant. We were outside eating in the sunshine. We walked up a ramp, entering a monkey community that probably lives off of the food given to them by tourists. The cute little things are known as Capuchin. After this pleasant experience, we continued the Rio Negro. Coleen informed us about the meeting of the Rivers, which we would eventually approach. This is where the Blackwater of the Rio Negro and the Whitewater of the Rio Solimões meet to form the Amazon River. Whitewater is actually a light, cloudy brown due to its heavy sediment load from the Andes Mountains. As the two rivers meet, they stay separated due to temperature, flow, and density differences. When we finally approached this phenomena, most of us jumped in, swimming at the line. Those who were still swimming when we drifted into the whitewater noticed an immediate temperature change and were quickly sucked away by its current. That painted a clear picture of how different these adjacent waters actually are.
When the day wound down, we turned around and relaxed during the cruise back to our docking site. Everyone aboard the boat crowded at the front where we played unfamiliar music and learned new dancing steps. All the while our view of the sunset was vast and unforgettable. Earlier Colleen had informed us about how the Amazon River basin creates its own rain through its fragile hydrologic system. As deforestation occurs, the rainforest has a decreased water retention, knocking the hydrologic balance. The atmosphere takes up more water, creating more rain and more intense flood seasons. The removal of trees also means the full removal of nutrients, since the soil here holds little to nothing. Everything essential to life is held within the abundant plant life, meaning the soils would wash to sand, ultimately creating a desert. With this understanding as I watched the sunset, I gained a deeper understanding of climate change. The Earth will fix itself; the sad part is that humans are the things that need to be fixed. Willingly damaging such a beautiful thing to such extents harms all life forms, including us.
4 January, 2017 After a day on the waters of the Amazon, it was nice to spend time within it's rainforests. We hiked an outstanding trail with the tour guides and some geologists. Every step taken we saw a new plant or tree species. Rafael stopped once in a while to introduce the group to a species of interest along the trail. One plants' leaves are commonly used for the treatment of malaria. The massive trunk of a tree, connecting to the roots, are often used to find each other among the forest. When they whack the root with a stick, it makes a bold echoing sound. He also showed us a small trunk that colonies of famously poisonous ants reside within. As he scratched up and down the trunk, the giant ants quickly emerged. He also demonstrated how some plants are for tool and toy making. It is awesome to see how much people actually utilize the forest and its offerings. Led by a few geologists, we continued on until we reached a cave. Immediately upon entering we saw the most venomous spider in the world, known as the Brazilian wandering spider. It sat right next to a scorpion on the wall, which was a pretty eerie sight. Immediately I was terrified of the cave walls, since I had no light on hand to guide me. The sandstone walls,
which must have carved out after years of consistent water pressure, were falling apart to the touch. As continued on, we talked about the flow of the shallow water in the cave: it would be helpful for someone who is lost in the darkness. Getting lost would be too easy, even with the lights and geologists we had accompany us. We took a moment to turn every single light off, leaving us in darkness I will probably never experience again. Further in we encountered the ness of what seemed like thousands of bats. They were everywhere, flying right by our faces. Their squeaks were endless. It is amazing that life learns to sustain itself in such interesting environments. Upon exiting the cave, we walked through knee deep water before starting to incline. It was raining on and off all day, but was barely noticeable, considering the abundance of overstory. We had an amusing rest of the day, starting with lunch. Again, the lunch was fantastic and spicy, outside in the beauty of the rainforest. We took a walk to a stream that has a few small waterfalls. It was a beautiful sight, plus we were able to jump and swim for a while. The force of those waterfalls are much stronger than you would think! Continuing on, we got to view a geological mystery area. The surface was slanted and layered, creating a very unusual sight. Although there is endless information to learn, during this hike we got a little more personal with the rainforest as we understood what it meant for the people who lived within it. Their uses for it are endless, including tools, medicine, recreation, food, and water. It was also nice to be guided by a group of people who truly cared about the health of the rainforest, and who’s mission it was to educate on the topic.