Marajo 12 - 14 November 2009

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The island of Marajo is located in the heart of the Amazon river delta. The north-eastern part is facing the ocean, but most of it is surrounded by the Amazon or other rivers that join in the delta. It is huge, in fact 1.8 times bigger that Belgium!

It is a three hour journey by boat from Belém. Our guidebook didn't say a lot about it, so we found a place to stay on the internet. We later discovered that the French 'Guide du Routard' has more information, so we could have booked directly and save some 'reals', next time...
What we booked was a 4 day/3 nights stay at a farm (or fazenda) on the island. I didn't know what to expect, I just followed Robson whose expectations were very high.
The boat trip as such was interesting, we were surrounded by locals and felt that yes, we were in Brazil. Here and there we saw some foreign tourist, very few, mainly back packers.

A taxi was waiting for us on arrival on the island. About 30 minutes later we arrived at a river where a small boat, a kind of aluminium pirogue took us for a 40 minutes journey to the fazenda.
This journey will be remembered as the landscape was magnificent. We were in a forest and here and there the 'driver' showed birds or other wild animals. After a last bend the fazenda appeared on the riverside, lunch was waiting for us and quickly served.
The lunch was excellent, the place was pleasant and we were going to like every minute for the next 4 days.
In addition to the succulent food, we enjoyed excellent company, good service, fantastic boat trips including a night one, buffalo and horse riding and relaxing in the natural pond serving as swimming pool.

Although there wasn't a lot of forest, we saw a lot of wild life, more than in Silves. Both sides of the river were surrounded by a strip of forest where with the help our guides we discovered birds, snakes, monkeys, crocodiles and much more.
The farm as such was interesting to visit as well. We don't know the surface it covers but certainly much more than the bigger farms in Europe.

We left with regrets as this place definitely has some kind of magic attraction, we can only hope that the pictures will somehow reflect this.

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Photos

Birds
Colhereiros and urubus (=vultures)

Cigana
An endangered species

Asai palm tree fruits
The pulb made with the flesh of the fruits is used in various preparations, like juices or ice cream.

Comments

[martin omalley]

Nordeste do Brasil
I enjoyed your blog and photos very much. Born and raised in New York i was lucky enough to work in the northeast of Brasil for two years. Your photos took me back to a time of my life i cherish. I expeirenced the sites sounds and smells once again. Keep writing and taking photos, you can never know whose life you will touch. Enjoy your journey.

[Ben and Robson]

Nordeste do brasil
Martin, many thanks for this encouraging comment. It helps us to keep going. Ben & robson