Day 1 (1/2/17)
After 9 and a half hours on the plane to Sao Paolo, the group managed to be allowed to skip customs due to security seeing Tyler's Brasil Jersey and asking if he was in a group. After getting waived through customs, the group got on our 4 hour flight to Manaus. After we got settled in at the Taj Mahal the group went to lunch at a buffet. We met our tour guides Rafael, Marcus and Tayke. We began our day by visiting the Opera House and then the Justice House. Rafael discussed the neighbor state Para and how the governor Eduardo Ribeiro changed the infrastructure. In 1881 the governor built the Opera House Plan. In 1896 the Opera House was finished. The dome or the top of the Opera House is the Brazilian flag color. The architecture is different for each of the buildings. Cement and rubber were mixed to get the material made for the ground. The Opera House is more popular than the Justice House. The case is still open on how the governor died. After visiting the Opera House we went on a bus to MUSA- Museu da Amazônia. Nature Conservancy helps preserve the land. At MUSA we visited a lily pond lake, an aquarium that held Arapaima's, and an amphibian tank. After our walk we climbed a tower over the Amazon's canopy to watch the sunset. During that time on the tower we were able to see a macaw. Due to the fact that it was getting dark, we had to walk back down. We had dinner at the same place we had lunch. Heather and I ordered a four cheese pizza which was not tasty. Day 2 (1/3/17) We went to the fish and fruit market which was a few blocks from our hotel. After seeing the abundance amount of fish and fruit, we went to the nearby shopping market. Heather and I decided to go with Dave to learn more Portuguese and to learn more about his life. We took a bus to the Tropicana Hotel where our boat was docked. We walked down to the boats to realize we were able to take the bigger boat to tour the Amazon River and Rio Negro. Rafael, Marcus, Tayke, and Colleen were on the boat to discuss the Amazon. Colleen was a scientist who has lived in Brazil for 6 years after living in Canada. Colleen gave a presentation on the Amazon Basin. The Amazon River is 3,000 miles wide. 130 million years ago the plates separated east to west to west to east. The Rio Negro is less turbulent and slower than the Amazon. Mount Roraima is on the other side of the Andes. White water or groundwater rivers are filled with heavy sediment and 6.2-7.2 ph. Black water rivers are lowlands and 3.8-4.9 pH. Clearwater rivers are mostly in the highlands. IBAMA is a organization similar to the US fish and wildlife however they need more funding. Colleen's presentation was similar to Heather and I's Amazon Water presentation. After her presentation we were on our way to the native tribe. The native tribe performed dances and at the end we all joined in with a partner in the tribe. After we got back onto the boat, our next trip was to swim with the Amazon River dolphin. The Amazon River dolphin was not in captivity and was fed fish. After leaving we went to eat lunch on the River. That buffet lunch was one of our favorites due to the fresh fruit and meat. We then went up a walkway with Rafael to feed bananas capuchin monkeys and squirrel monkeys. Our next trip was to the Meeting of the Waters where we all jumped in the water. The current was very strong. During our boat ride back we learned how to salsa and samba on the front of the boat. Day 3 (1/4/17) The group woke up at 5:15 to get on the bus by 6:40 am. The bus was 2 hours long to Presidente Figueiredo. Rafael, 2 geologists from the Geological Survey of Brasil and 2 bio tour guides. We hiked looking at many different plants such as palms, acai, water root, and malaria plant (quinine). We went in the cave to study the geology and see the different species. We saw the Brazilian wandering spider, the most venomous spider. Another species in the cave was scorpio crickets and bats. We talked about the formation of the cave and the iron depositions. At the end of the cave there was a bat nursery. After the cave we followed the river to more trails in the Amazon. After the hike we had lunch. The second place we went to was the waterfalls where we jumped in the water. The other water spots were prohibited because of anacondas. The place we went to after that was the Geopark to look at old sandstone rocks. We sadly had to say goodbye to our tour guides to get on the plane that night. |