Wednesday, November 9th, we enjoyed our second day on the Rio Negro. We again signed up for two excursions. These would each be a tender (boat) taking us to land. We would hike up a hill to the village. Then road around the village. After, we returned down the hill to the tender to go back to the Iberostar. All this hiking up and down hills, often full of sand, was because the water level of the Rio Negro is at its lowest. We were always informed to watch for the water marks on the buildings and trees to see how high the river will get during the rainy season. If I had not watched documentaries about this flooding, I don't think I could have comprehended how much water would come, 36 feet of it. Fortunately, I could envision it because of watching the documentaries.
The first village was a local indigenous community in Rio Cuieiras. We would learn their way of life, customs & crops. We also had the opportunity to buy local crafts. This was our favorite of the two villages.
We were told when we boarded the Iberostar that, if we wanted to use our balcony, to turn the A/C off first for at least 5-minutes. Then go outside. The problem is the humidity. This morning I learned about that. The first picture looks like we were in a fog. Not so. It is simply the humidity causing my camera lens to fog over. As the morning wore on, this would go away. I would also start this afternoon to get warnings from my Kindle that it had water in it and not to charge it. The Kindle had not been near any water. Not even the water bottle. It was all the humidity. I have even had that warning come on after arriving home. Ugh.
The school children sang their National Anthem for us. Look at their little hands over their hearts.
We took a picture of this home for our Katelyn. She loves this neon green color. We figured this would be the home she would choose if she were to live here.
The next three pictures are of our guide showing us how they get the red color for their face and body painting. They do not tattoo themselves. They paint, it washes off, they paint again.
They put their graveyards in the center of the village so they can remain close to their ancestors.
The grass I found way cool. In Louisiana we often had Bermuda grass which was a lot like this.
This is their school. Several communities would send their children to this school. They might even ride in a yellow school bus/boat. This is a really upscale school with a view of the Rio Negro.
The sign says "Good Vacation". The school children were on a break.
Note the spikes coming out of the fallen palm tree.
They recycled the plastic bottles in clever ways. I as impressed the didn't just cut the top off the bottle. They cut the top of the bottle into petal shapes.
A community cooking vessel.
A cayman skin.
Solar panels.
I liked that the shoes were by their front door. Sand in the buildings is a real issue.
The next three pictures are of a tree full of birds and their nests.
This is a cashew plant.
They participate in canoe racing.
These buildings are the start of a local university.
Another clever way to recycle plastic bottles.
If you look closely, you can see the Iberostar in the distance.
Target practice with a picture of a leopard.
A sugar cane press.
The kids were playing soccer in an open area. The young man in the white t-shirt is a tourist pretending to do a play-by-play of their game with his fist as a microphone. Soccer is a big deal here. The person in the orange hoodie in the third picture playing with the kids is our tour guide, Nataniel. He is Brazilian and loves soccer.
This little nugget captivated my heart. She had such a personality. Very confident and not afraid of anything. She was right out there with the big kids playing soccer. I'm guessing she may have been about 4 years old.
I love this picture of old people trekking back to the tender. All that white sand will be covered in water in a few months and the tenders will come right up to the village.
Whew, back at the boat we attended the next lecture. It was about “Amazon fish”. This is timely as an expedition option for the afternoon was fishing for piranha. We did not go on that one. This a catch and release fishing trip. Piranha are full of lots of bones. Not very good eating for that reason.
After lunch, we rested a bit before our afternoon excursion to what was to be a local farm at Ariaú region. It turned out to be another village with no farm.
This is actually a hotel. They do have guests that come and stay. A few rooms and one bathroom for all to share.
The plants leaves close up when you touch it. I used to play with these in Louisiana when I was a child. It is as addictive as bubble wrap.
This is a turtle farm. I do love turtles.
Makeshift power poles.
A lady owns this craft area. There are multiple rooms. Each room is filled with things taken from the rainforest from which to make crafts. She has a store attached to sell these wares. Ladies in the community come and help make things.
Her backyard garden spot.
A purple house for me!
A Brazil nut tree.
Back to the Iberostar for a nice dinner of...beans and rice! There was a motorboat ride that night at 9:30pm. We believed, since we were on the water our second excursion at night, that we didn't really need to go out again. Shower and a good nights rest for us.
I need to comment about the desserts in the restaurant. They were phenomenal. There was always a selection of four kinds of cakes. These were about 1-inch square and often were made with local fruits. Often tapioca was used. They also offered six kinds of ice cream. Everything thing from mango, coconut, tapioca, passion fruit, chocolate, to acai. Claude's favorite was milk ice cream. It was light and fluffy. He learned to put toppings on it. The food was excellent, but those desserts were something to look forward to each evening. Small servings with lots of interesting flavors.
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