PART 4 - A PAUSE IN CIVILIZATION

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Having been there now for several days, I realized I had to get the rest of my stuff that was still back at Cida’s place in Manaus. The poor girl had thought I was coming back after my “4-day” tour at the posada. She obviously didn’t know me…. I felt bad cause I spent just one night there and never came back, and that was not my intention.

So it was time to take a trip there and get the rest of my stuff. Also, my Brasilian visa was up in a couple of days, and therefore I had to pay a visit to the federal police in order to renew it. Luckily Regi’s parents were planning to go to the city the next day in their tiny boat and so I could hitch a ride. The trip which they made regularly for provisions such as rice, crackers, meat, beans, ice, sugar, and pop, was quite a procession in itself.

We woke at 3 am to leave by 4 am, and of course we had to take a bath and eat breakfast before leaving. We arrived around 6:30 in Manaus and walked until the first bus starting running and picked us up. We then split up and Regi came with me to Cida’s place to pick up the rest of my things. She was so nice, she made us breakfast, with eggs, toast, jam, and fresh caju juice and then gave us a ride to the marina to drop off my bag even though she was late for work. Afterwards we went to the federal police station but were disappointed to find out they were on strike that day, and that I would have to return the next day, so I called up Carlos to see if I could stay at his place, and Regi’s went back to Tupe and promised to come get me the next day.

The night was an awesome break back into civilization. Carlos and I did our favorite pass time, ate delicious ACAI and went to see a movie. We saw the orphan, a horror movie, and it was the first time a movie made me jump and scream. I really enjoyed it, which was a change because usually I didn’t like horror movies, but I guess nowadays I just enjoy everything more. Afterwards we went home and had a nice midnight swim and talked, catching up on all that had happened since I left.

That night I slept on the balcony in a hammock by choice. I had grown accustomed to sleeping outside in a hammock and it was way better than sleeping indoor on a bed.

The following day we had our traditional ham, cheese, and coffee breakfast, before the start of what would be a very annoying day. Long story short, the federal police made it really complicated to extend my visa but luckily I found help, and within a couple of hours it was all settled. However, I was running so late that poor Regi had already been waiting for me for 2 hours at the harbor. We got back after the 2-3 hour boat ride and it was nice to be home again, back to my hammock and peaceful nights.

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