I woke up at 6:00 am and went to breakfast after a cold shower. It seems that going to bed early and getting up up early becomes a habit. They offered made to order omelets for breakfast .... yummy. We met at 8:00 am to take the boat upriver for a hike in the jungle. We hiked, or better walked around for about 2 hours while Christopher (our guide) explained various plants and the problems caused by logging and burning of the forest. We saw many different plants, too many to remember everything. There were plants used as poison for fishing. Actually when you pour their sap into the river, it takes the oxygen out of the surrounding water by means of a chemical reaction. The fish can not breath anymore and die, they are not poisoned. To restore the oxygen level in the water the fisher has to pee into the water at the same location. There was a plant which contains lots of Chinin and which is used against Malaria, a rosewood tree, a tree which sap is used as burning fuel and as glue, another tree which sap was used for natural chewing gum, different forms of termites, and ... and ... and .... was really interesting, but without a notebook it was hard to remember everything.
After lunch I simply walked around the complex for almost 2 hours. There is a huge heliport (I guess the idea was that reach folks would come by their own means of transportation), many now abandoned buildings and pathways, but also nice huts with hammocks to relax.
I also passed the construction site of a new hotel tower made of concrete which was stopped. Later Christopher told me that hotel management wanted to build a five star section of their resort, but later had to stop the construction due to lack of funds .... and probably potential clients. The trail continued for another 1/2 mile and led to a pool and a small house at a beautiful beach. From there you could continue further to a fishing house, but the pathway narrowed and was kind of shaky so that I passed on this one. I worked my way back to take the next excursion, a visit to a local family.On the boat I met a German couple Michael (who works in Sao Paolo) and Daniela, very nice folks. We reached the house after a 45 minutes ride. The family primarily lives from fishing and manioc production. We were shown how they peel the Manioc, grind it or squeeze the juice out of it to make flour (the juice is put in vessels and the flour basically sediments at the bottom, the poisonous remaining liquid stays on top. They made a kind of Pizza for us to taste, not too bad. Other than that the visit was not very eventful .... oh except that the family had 15 kids (ages 3 to 30) and it seemed that the mother was expecting number 16. The ride back was even more bumpy, the waves were quite high and several times the boat almost capsized. Well, our "driver" Alex was very good and we made it back wet but safely. On this trip I also met Monika (from Germany) and her partner Rhonda (from Florida).
After dinner I checked my email quickly and had a beer with Michael and Daniela and an Italian couple before heading to bed early.
After lunch I simply walked around the complex for almost 2 hours. There is a huge heliport (I guess the idea was that reach folks would come by their own means of transportation), many now abandoned buildings and pathways, but also nice huts with hammocks to relax.
I also passed the construction site of a new hotel tower made of concrete which was stopped. Later Christopher told me that hotel management wanted to build a five star section of their resort, but later had to stop the construction due to lack of funds .... and probably potential clients. The trail continued for another 1/2 mile and led to a pool and a small house at a beautiful beach. From there you could continue further to a fishing house, but the pathway narrowed and was kind of shaky so that I passed on this one. I worked my way back to take the next excursion, a visit to a local family.On the boat I met a German couple Michael (who works in Sao Paolo) and Daniela, very nice folks. We reached the house after a 45 minutes ride. The family primarily lives from fishing and manioc production. We were shown how they peel the Manioc, grind it or squeeze the juice out of it to make flour (the juice is put in vessels and the flour basically sediments at the bottom, the poisonous remaining liquid stays on top. They made a kind of Pizza for us to taste, not too bad. Other than that the visit was not very eventful .... oh except that the family had 15 kids (ages 3 to 30) and it seemed that the mother was expecting number 16. The ride back was even more bumpy, the waves were quite high and several times the boat almost capsized. Well, our "driver" Alex was very good and we made it back wet but safely. On this trip I also met Monika (from Germany) and her partner Rhonda (from Florida).
After dinner I checked my email quickly and had a beer with Michael and Daniela and an Italian couple before heading to bed early.
The machine used to grind the Manioc before further processing can occur.
The matriach of the family is preparing a kind of pizza made from the flour of the manioc plant. It actually tasted quite nice. What a nice Paella you could could in this giant pan.
On our way back we passed this swimming store and bar. This way the local women can easily persuade their husbands to go shopping. The women shop and the guys have a drink.
The school bus .... no kiddin´.... the kids take this boat to the village that we will visit the next day.
A beautiful Parrot. Could not resist.
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