I couldn’t quit taking pictures of the beautiful sunrises.
CLICK. We went to one of four villages on the Negro River. There used to be 18 villages, but the children have cell phones and they can see that the rest of the world offers a better life and they simply don’t stick around.
The children and some of the teachers gave us this cute little song and dance.
Kay has decided we need these sticks as part of our line dance program.
This is my artsy picture while I was out on the deck early one morning. Yes, its astro-turf.
There is so much rain and humidity that the astro-turf out on the balcony often stays soaking wet. It’s so wet that this little tree was growing right through it.
CLICK. Interesting.
CLICK. Also interesting.
They have electricity and a school but it’s too primitive for my tastes.
This is the elementary school for many of the children of the villages around. They have little yellow boats that they take from their village to the shore.
All this is for the one cashew that grows out the top. No wonder why they are expensive.
This is a high school that Samsung funded. They arrive on Monday and stay all week.
My framed artsy picture of Lee.
Pat got her face painted and is posing next to a caiman skin. The girl who sold me my dress was also painted. Her outfit was a local symbol and very cute.
NEWS FLASH. THE CORRECT SPELLING OF CAIMAN IS NOT CAYMAN. I’M TOO LAZY TO GO FIX ALL THE SPELLINGS!
We visited the bridge. I had been to other Bridges and so was no longer surprised that they don’t have a steering wheel and it’s all done with the joystick like a computer game.
When they asked if there was questions I asked if the driver sitting high on that stool could see a deck below to the balcony, as I said I had been naked sunbathing out there all week long. That got a laugh.
These just scared the shit out of me because who knows if they were carrying malaria.
I love a reflection picture. I think it’s hilarious that the angled tree takes the bend when it hits the water.
CLICK. This is like a mirrored River. Can’t see where the tree stop and the reflection starts.
Tariri Camp was a resort you can stay in if you want to spend a week in the jungle. They shipped in three woolly monkeys which are not indigenous to the area. It was mind-blowing that it looked just like our family monkey, Willy.
We went to a local farmers place and had toasted hand-grated and squeezed manioc that tasted like bread.
Amand smashed open a Brazil nut pod. They are so large and heavy that you can’t stand under the tree because when they are ripe and drop it could kill you. He sliced it open with his machete and there was 15 to 20 hard Brazil nuts inside. He needed a machete to cut off the shell.
He said the reason we can break open the Brazil nuts with a nutcracker is because they are aged for a long time and the shells get more brittle and easier to crack..
More sunsets.
This is Pat with some cows. They were part of a lecture on the big party they have in Manaus in June where 20,000 attend.. They start lining up for an 11:00 p.m. opening at midnight the day before.
Christie and I on the boat and I always took the front seat since it was easier to get in and out. Ahmad was very helpful safely getting Christie on and off the boat.
We ate a lot of things off trees and from the ground and luckily nobody acquired any stomach issues.
There’s my new backpack I made right before the trip. I made an orange lining because it’s always easier to see things in the bottom of your pack if it’s a lighter material. Little did I know I would be color coordinated with our orange life jackets on every trip.
These are pictures of the things Amand has seen on his other trips.