BRASILIA!!!

Salvador, Brazil

We pulled into port early in the morning so we got up to see the city from afar. It was a lot more developed than I expected. It is located where two tectonic plates meet so there is an upper and lower city connected by an elevator.

The first day we no plans so we just explored the city of Salvador. It was a Sunday when we arrived so a lot of places were closed. But it was also Brazil’s Independence Day so more people were out to celebrate that.

After shopping a bit we had the most delicious meal ever! We had a dish called Moqueca that was basically a rustic stew with fish…it was really tasty! Later that night we went out to experience some nightlife but since it was Sunday, it was pretty quiet so we just enjoyed being in Salvador at some outdoor restaurants.

The next morning we left for the Amazon!!! It was hard to get really excited about leaving because packing was really stressful and everyone was worried about bringing bug spray in our carry-ons. But security is much more relaxed in foreign countries and we were all fine. The flight was not as long as we thought but we did have to stop in Brasilia before we got to Manaus. I made a friend next to me from Manaus on our flight and we even exchanged emails so we can keep in touch! (She's in the middle)

We met our awesome tour guides at the airport, Thiego and Wetson. After a short bus ride through Manaus (where a lot of companies are opening plants because they don’t have to pay taxes there) we got to our boat.

It’s two stories: the first story is where we had our meals and used the bathroom (no flushing allowed!) and the second story is where our hammocks were hung.

We saw the “Meeting of the Waters,” where the Rio Negra meets the Amazon and there is a clear line between the two different colors of the water. Later we went out on an excursion to see some wild life. We saw an anaconda, other snakes, sloths, and alligators. I got to hold a sloth but it bit me! It was clamped down on my finger and I ended up having to throw it off me! I’m totally fine, but it makes a great story.

An action shot of that Sara got of me getting bit by the sloth! HAHAHAHA!

The next day we got to explore the jungle where we saw some strange bugs and learned a lot about different medicines and remedies that originate from their jungle. These medicines help with anything from indigestion to malaria. We drank milk and water from different trees! We had a chance to swim in the Amazon, too but we had to be really careful about ingesting any water because it could make us sick.

One of the highlights of the trip was that we got to visit this small village right on the water. We spent a lot of time there touring around and meeting some of the locals. We played soccer with some of the locals and I ended up playing on the Brazilian team with one other girl from our trip. I was so intrigued by the fact that we didn’t have to verbally communicate to be playing soccer on the same team. Our team definitely won!! After visiting the village, we had a cookout on a beach and had so much fun playing games.

The last day we went piranha fishing but didn’t end up catching anything. We visited another little village where we got to see some of the processes of harvesting and preparing food. It was eye opening to see a completely different and isolated way of life and that the people were completely content. We got to go to a show at a resort on the river where we saw Brazilian dancing in very elaborate costumes. We also had a chance to learn some of their dancing. We took a red eye flight back that night. Traveling in a big group was such a pain…lots of people were sick, and you could tell that the Brazilians were not excited to see an overwhelming group of Americans.

Brazil went by sooooo fast!! And now we’re on our way to Africa! It was nice to get back to the ship and shower but it’s back to classes and boring food on the ship. I made a lot more girl friends on the Amazon trip so I’m excited to hang out with them more. As we’ve crossed the Atlantic, we’ve been losing hours and hours going through the time zones. So essentially we’ve had a bunch of 23 hour days…which surprisingly makes a big difference. I think we’re all just really anxious to get to port especially because we only have two class days in between Namibia and South Africa. But that makes it so hard to concentrate because it’s like having spring break every other week.

NEXT STOP…NAMIBIA, AFRICA!!! (Tomorrow!!)