10232901 bug bites. We hiked back to the boat and had a nice
breakfast. Then, we all got dressed to go swimming with the Amazonian
pink dolphins. Pink dolphins are really funny, they aren't like normal
dolphins…to be perfectly honest they are a lot less "pretty" than
normal dolphins. We got into the water and a few of the locals swam
around with little fish (treats for the dolphins). These dolphins were
not trained and were completely wild, they just come up to get fed! I
got to touch a few…if you've ever felt a dolphin before then you can
relate, they are the smoothest things in the world (PICTURES 1 and 2).
Also, if you know me well you know that I'm terrified of fish and sea-
life…I know it's weird. So, in the beginning I was pretty nervous and
stayed away from the dolphins that surfaced and just observed. Then,
one of the locals grabbed my hand and didn't take no for an answer, he
yanked me towards the dolphin and put my hand all over that dolphin…I
probably should have bought it dinner first or something. It was a
pretty exciting feat for the girl that's afraid of marine life. After
the dolphins we went to go see some of the most vicious fish in the
Amazon. These fish had a name I couldn't pronounce and couldn't
remember when it came time to write it down…these things were huge,
scaly, and looked like they were out of some mid-evil fictitious land.
We dangled fish from a sting and they came up and viciously ripped the
fish apart (PICTURE 3).
After a while we went back to the boat to have lunch and
a little bit of siesta (rest time). I used this time to really hang
out with our guide, Ananji and annoy him with questions. I asked him
about the school in Brazil. He told me that primary and secondary
school are free, but also optional. He told me that the problem comes
with university. In Brazil, they do not have loans like we have in the
US, so if you don't have the money to pay for University at the time,
you cannot go. Ananji explained to me that while he did very well in
high school (and I can vouch…this guy was veryyyy smart), he could not
go to University because he didn't have the money. I also asked him
about the health care where he told me that there are many people who
get sick but because they don't have the money to pay for treatment
and operations up-front, they end up slowly dying while waiting for
the money. He told me that his mother is desperately in need of an
operation and they are all working now to try and save up the money. I
also asked him about the Malaria threat in the Amazon. Everyone on our
ship is currently taking Malaria medications a we are in a threat-
zone. He told me that Brazilians do not take preventative measures
like this, and most of the time it's really not needed. He also
informed me that the threat of Malaria is higher during the dryer
season (from July to December/January). This is because during this
time, the water level is going now and the same water is sitting for
longer amounts of time, so there end up being pools where mosquitos
can "make-camp". Whereas, in the rainy season the water is constantly
rising and being replaced, so it is harder for the "pools" to form.
Ananji told me how not only has he never left Brazil before, but he
has never even been out of the Amazon, to the bigger cities of Brazil.
He told me that he is happy and proud of his home and has little to no
reason to leave. This really intrigued me since he works with
foreigners constantly you'd think he'd get curious. Basically, he is
very well informed about other cultures, knows a lot, always continues
learning, but is very content in his home. I asked him if he enjoyed
showing us foreigners around, and he said that it is the best thing he
could ever do and that he loves sharing his unique land and culture.
The sense of pride in the people in all of these countries is so
special and admirable…living in such a large country with such a mix
of people, we don't get that as much in the US.
After lunch and siesta we went piranha fishing. We got
into smaller power boats and grabbed our sticks with fishing string
and a hook attached (PICTURE 4). One person asked Ananji,
"hypothetically what happens if a person falls in". He responded by
saying something that I'm very happy I hadn't known earlier…he said
"you know where you swam with dolphins earlier? That area was infested
with piranha, piranha are EVERYWHERE in the Amazon!" He then told us
that they do not typically approach or attack humans and that is why
there's no reason to be afraid. I threw my hook with the bait attached
into the water, feeling so excited to catch a piranha…well, I've never
been fishing before and quickly learned that it's not as exciting as
you may thing. We did a lot of waiting. Then, after a scorching hot
day with clear skies and therefore no rain-jackets, we saw the storm
clouds moving in. We took the boat under some trees into a more
surrounded area…then the rains came. This was definitely one of those
moments where I at first thought to myself "Wow, this will be a cool
story one day, but right now, I want it to be over." The rain came
down harder and harder and we were all completely drenched and the
little boat was filling up with water. Again, this turned out to be
one of those times where I was wrong and actually ended up enjoying
myself. We all looked to the skies and just embraced the nature and
laughed. Afterwards our boat caught two piranhas and a catfish! I
didn't catch anything myself, which I was kind of bummed about, but
realized that it's probably better that way because had I caught
something, the second I pulled it out of the water I probably would
have gotten scared and freaked out.
We returned to the river-boat to change into warmer and
dryer clothes and then got back on the little canoe-boats. We were
sitting on our smaller canoe boat looking up at Ananji's wife and sons
and started cheering for his sons, asking them to come along. At first
they completely dismissed us, but after some good old American peer
pressure they were stepping down into the canoe-boat. I got to sit
next to Ananji's seven year old son, named Karish. I tried my hardest
to communicate with Karish, smile and make him feel comfortable by
moving him from the outside of the canoe to the middle seat between
myself and my friend Shelley. It was evening time by now so we rode
around in the dark with just Ananji's flashlight and the moon as our
light sources. Ananji looked around and eventually took us into a bit
of marsh. He leaned out of the front and we all sat quietly, nervously
waiting. Then, he stood up with a live Cayman in hand. I guess Emanuel
was not the only Bas-A#*, here Ananji had just caught one with his
bare hands also. He told us all about the Cayman, how people in the
Amazon eat them sometimes. He also told us that the Cayman's skin is
used a lot, but only a small part of their body contains the type of
desirable skin. He also showed us something that I have deemed
insanely "Darwin-like"- the Cayman have two eyelids that open
horizontally, one for seeing under water, and one for seeing above
water. How COOL is that!? Ananji said that we could hold the Cayman if
we wished, at first I was of-course nervous but like a true Brazilian
he grabbed my hand and forced me to hold the thing. It was really cool
feeling and I suddenly felt a LOT of pressure to not drop it. My
friend took a picture of me holding it on her camera and as soon as
she sends it to me I will post it.
On the way back to the river-boat I looked down at
Karish (Anan's 7 year old) and pointed at his necklace and smiled and
told him I liked it…just trying to be nice and interact. Then, after a
few more minutes I felt a small tap on my shoulder, I looked down and
there was Karish holding his necklace in his hand and extending his
hand towards me smiling. I just laughed and smiled, and couldn't
believe that a cute little 7 year old who in theory is supposed to be
selfish was trying to give me his precious necklace…just to be nice. I
told Ananji that his son was clearly his son, so giving and generous.
I put on the necklace and took off my bracelet to give to Karish in
return. He looked at me with a disgusted face and told me he didn't
like the bracelet…woops! I laughed more and say okay. I wore the
necklace for the rest of the night and then made him take it back,
telling him that it was his but I was touched.
We returned to our river-boat and had a great dinner with
chicken, rice, and lots of good flavor. Then, Ananji and the crew made
us some authentic Brazilian drinks called Kapirinahs. These are made
by placing a lot of chopped pieces of lime in a glass, then squashing
the limes, placing a spoon full or so of sugar and then filling the
rest of the cup with rum. Ananji said that after one Kapirinah you
feel good, 2- great, 3- excellent, and 4 suddenly you speak fluent
portugeuse. I only had two so I guess I'll never know how good my
portugeuse really is. We all hung out and talked and then went to
sleep on our trusty hammocks. We needed to travel a good amount by the
morning so that we could do our last activities and get back to our
ship in time, so at about 4 am the engine started and we began moving
again. A storm hit around that time and we played what I call "bumper-
hammocks". From 4 am on I didn't get to sleep much because of all the
swinging and bumping, but hey, I got to see the sunrise!
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