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Published: November 24th 2006
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26th October- 7th November
I loved Manaus. not a beautiful city by any means. It is the largest city on the amazon, and used to a centre for industrial trade for the Portugese. Evidence of its european heritage clear through historic buildings, most evident by its famous opera house. I have never seen a structure that is made out of material that has been brough from so many different plaecs around the world!!!
I stayed in Hostel Manaus, owned by an Australian, and far from actually being completed...so it was really cheap!!! the people had darker features. morenos. not black. admittedly felt more insecure walking around...but ive come to realise the north of Brazil is not the danger hotspot that the south is so well known for.
Having experienced the jungle in Bolivia, i was keen to explore new experiences. So directed to Marcello, we had the 5 day trip booked within 5 minutes of our meeting. very random. had no idea what to expect, and was excited at the prospects to come though abandoning any expectations that could dampen my experience.
Let me 1stly talk
main plaza
with opera house in background. the black and white reflect the coming of the two rivers that unite to become the amazon river about Marcello. white european of spanish/austrian parents, who was born and grew up in Brazil. He is the amazon´s answer to the australian crocodile hunter. Multilinguistic and intelligent he surpsingly lived a very bohemian life taking each day as it comes and not worrying about the future. Generous with all that he had, he would often fall short of money. He was a unique man. Full of stories that he shared along the trip which we embarked solo. He gave me a deep insight about his friends living along the river and people of Brazil in general.
Day1
Hired our boat, loaded our supplies and started our trip south. Playing with monkeys along the way. mMeting the local river people. Having fresh fish for lunch. We docked with a family where we were to stay the night. Hospitable and friendly, language barriers became iirelevant. The children were only too happy to help me with my portugese. We watched the local football game, where almost everyone was somehow related..an accepted fact of life around the river.
That night, with an oar powered boat, we skimmed the rivers waters in search of our tucker for the night-
Kayman aligators!!! powered with flashlight, we would use these to stun the river-lying aligator, allowing us to get close enough to spear him. when successful, a hook and rope would remain attached allowing you to reel the animal close enough to beat it behind the head, rendering it dead. its neck would be slayed.
We hunted for 2 aligators, roughly around 5 years old each..there was abundance of these animals along the river.
Thinkin 2 was alot, it made sense when i came to realise that only the tails are used to eat. The bodies left by the riversied for opportunistic predators. The meal was delicious, finger licking good!!!
we stayed up in the candlelight, as these families were yet to receive electricity. i learnt about the family and life on the river. and Marcello was propositioned marriage with the 17yo daughter, which he politely declined.
Day 2
Early start and fond farewells, we drove towards lake mamori, where abundance of bird life swooped in front of us in a picturesque pattern. We bypassed a corpse of a 65+ yo aligator that had recently been hunted due to its attack on local animal life...that tail
my portugese professoras
and they took their job seriously, taking turns to hold the light so that i can see what im reading would have been a feast!!! the body was left with head detached, withered by the scorching sun, and reduced by the persistently unsatisfied vultures.
We stayed in a jungle camp that day. we walked through the local jungle, looking for tarantullas! (dont know how to quite spell that), and understanding more about the plant life. abundance of natural remedies from TB to malaria. rather fascinating!
lit up by camp-fire, we cooked up the delicious Tucunare fish, eating it with our hands using banana leaves for plates. We were visited by 2 of the local men, and spent the night drinking the local alcohol called cachasa, made from sugar cane.
Day 3
like often, breakfast would constitute left overs (rice) from the previous night.
Back in the boat, we venture to the end of mamori lake, fidning it difficult to manouvre throught the drying river, we eventually reached camp, far from sight and sound of human life. it was getting more like a survival adventue...was loving it.
we headed out that night, spear in hand and unsuccessfully attempted to spear fish..definitely not a forte of mine!!! just as well we had some backup fish in that instance,
Marcello
the south american crocodile hunter otherwise there would have been a gurgling stomach that night!
We spotted and captured live kaymans with our hands. it was exhilirating to hold one in your hands, though small...there is only so much i would be willing to risk!!!
Day 4
woken up with pouring rain at 4:30am as we slept soundly in our hammocks under the cover of night. the rain was relentless in its attempt to dampen our day. as the rain remained throughout the day, our hope of stringing our hammocks high in the tree awaiting the unsuspecting animals that would eventually walk below us..all soon disolved, and we headed out of the campsite and made haste to a safe sheltered haven with one of the nearby families.
Day 5
headed back to Manaus, finally spotting the infamous sloth bear by the riverside...well spotted by Marcello- i couldnt even see it when he was pointing at it in front of me! This animal belongs to the bear group. though has long arms like an ape. it was hanging from a tree by the riverside. we docked and approached too late as it rolled back into a protective
ball, which one could not see standing right below the same tree.
Hoping to party back in Mannaus that night, we found everything closed due to their public holiday...where everyone commemorates the dead and visits cemetries!!! strange hey!
MY CULT EXPERIENCE
I attended a CULT ceremony. i wont mention names here as it may not be appropriate. i had always been told about a tree root that when made into a tea and drunken is meant to give the person an amazing trip within oneself. Suprisingly legal in Brazil, USA, Spain and france!!! i was allowed to wintess the ceremony of this cult. women wore long yellow skirts and green shirts; men white pants and geen shirts, with the cults logo labelled on them. kids and children also partook in the ceremony. the room was made of wooden poles enclosing the room, with a thatched roof protecting.
they would all consume the drink and eventually go into a state of semi unconsciousness in their own chairs that would last about 3-4 hours. The root is meant to cause a huge serotonin surge within the brain. in its finest form,
people experience trips of wonder and contemplation, often finding solutions and clarity in the problems plaguing their lives.
a natural side effect of the serotonin release is vomiting and diarrhoea, as serotonergic receptors are activated. So it would not be suprising to find someone vomiting or running to the bathroom.
a truly fascinating and unique experience, and was suprised and honoured to be allowed to witness.
having being burnt by the thought of further boat travel, i decided to fly to sao luis instead, saving me well over a week.
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Ashley
non-member comment
They're not a cult....
MD- Why didn't you try it? Ayahuasca has been used throughout the Amazon for thousands of years. It is a sacred plant which both indigenous and westerns use for healing. The tribe that you met is not part of a cult, probably the Santo Daime Church which is popular throughout Brazil (even the jungle). Chau, Ash