So, let's start this out gradually, and talk about the prequel to the Amazon: Caxambú. Caxambú is a city in the south of my state of Minas Gerais where we had a big district Rotary conference. It's a very pretty little city, with a beautiful park in the center filled with a lake, different sport courts, and even a cable car ride that leads up to a mini Christ the Redeemer statue on top of a hill. It wasn't really a cable car, but more of a single person ski lift, that brought you all the way up and down the hill. It was a really pretty ride, and I made sure to take a few selifies on the way up hahaha. The rest of the weekend was filled with different meetings, and bonding with my fellow inbounds and the outbounds. I really did have a great time! After the 7 hour bus ride back to Belo Horizonte, I stayed the night there only to get up at 4am to head out to the Confins airport. My plane to São Paulo, and later to Manaus, would leave at 7:30...... and the adventure starts NOW.
So, about 25 sleep-deprived exchange students from the Belo Horizonte area all met up early May 5th to head out to the Amazons, but we didn't let the earliness get to us. Probably annoying the entire terminal, we chatted it up in many different languages and made sure to get to know one another. I even met up with the Canadian girl I met in Miami coming to Brasil! We had an hour and a half flight to São Paulo, where tragedy struck with me and a group of my friends: The Starbucks was on the other side of a glass wall. We could
SEE the Starbucks. 9 months without a decent latte made us feel crazy for Starbucks, and it was just tempting us behind that glass barrier. After 30 minutes of trying to figure out a way around the wall, we realized that the wall had bested us, and we were defeated. We had to settle for outrageously over-priced coxhinhas and a can of Guaraná.
And finally, we landed in Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, at 1:30pm. The first thing I felt: humidity. Not only did it feel like 6 million degrees, but it was a STICKY 6 million. We then took a 2 hour bus ride to the city of Presidente Figueiredo. There we spent 3 days in the midst of beautiful waterfalls, the heat, and a very unrefreshing pool with warm water. We took walks through the rainforest to absolutely gorgeous waterfalls. It seemed like a paradise, and it was! We also went to some river rapids and swam there for a bit, each one of us trying to walk further upstream than the next. I didn't get very far. Another day, we went to a Manatee reserve/zoo, and visited a great lake filled with beautiful freshwater pink dolphins playing around us while we swam. Fun fact: not a day goes by in the state of Amazonas where it doesn't rain.
After Presidente Figueiredo, we drove back to Manaus, where we would spend the next two days. There, we visited the Black River beach, which is actually very sad because you can only swim in a little section because of all the pollution. That beach is considered the Copacabana of Manaus, and is preparing for the upcoming world cup, too. In Manaus, we also took a city tour, where we visited the Manaus Opera House, the Central Market and a Zoo operated by the Military of Manaus. Although our hotel was 5-star, and had refreshing pools, the best was yet to come: our riverboat tour.
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| The fish that swims up inside genital organs when people pee in the Amazon/Black river. It then realizes its trapped and sends out spikes. Apparently, its painful and hard to remove. We were all very careful not to pee in the river. |
After Manaus began the real adventure: the river tour! There, the 65 of us would spend 5 days cramped on 3 little boats. We slept on hammocks, traveled the river, visited indignous villages, and adventured in the rainforest! It started by taking a trip to where the Rio Negro meets Rio Solimões (The Black River meets The Amazon). These two waters do not mix, because of the different densities and temperatures, so it makes it easy to take beautiful pictures. The Amazon River is the brownish one, and the Black River is.... black. Then, we continued on the Black River to see some lillipads. Not just any lillipads, these can hold a small child, and grow to be 4 meters in diameter! They are specific to the Amazon Rainforest region. We also saw a bunch of wild monkeys, that I got to feed! They were so cute :D We also went to 3 different indian villages, and went to an indian ritual! I had the "honor" and was chosen to dance with one really old topless woman, which was super awkward and uncomfortable hahaha. On the trip, we also had a day where we walked through the rainforest and learned how to make houses, find natural clean water, trap and cook food! It was really interesting and fun! We also: went piranha fishing, held aligators, snakes, SLOTHS, and swam with pink dolphins! Everything was just so beautiful, and I felt so lucky to have had the opportunity to visit the Amazon Rainforest!!
The goodbyes were emotional. We were all in our last 2 months, and there were no more trips that we would be able to see each other again. And just like that, we said goodbye to some people that we became really close with forever. That is really the only bad part of exchange. All in all, the trip was unbelievable, and I had the time of my life! It truly was an experience I will never forget!
And that's it! Now, I am 2 days short of being in Brasil for 10 months! In less than a month, I will be taking a week-long trip to visit Florencia in Argentina!!!! I'm SO excited to see her again, and I miss her so much! And just a week after I return to Brasil from Argentina, I will be back in the USA! Everything is happening so fast. This whole year never slowed down. Thanks to the world cup starting next Thursday, next Wednesday is my last day of school! I'm excited for the world cup to start, but sad that I will be leaving many people from my school here in Brasil. Tomorrow, we have the Quadrilha, which is a traditional Brazilian dance/party. I am dancing!!! I'm excited, but its really different. My next post will feature it :)
See you all soon, and I hope everyone enjoys their summers' :D
