World in My Eyes

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Alright. I've bought the one-way plane ticket. The backpack is out, and clothes are strewn all over the room. Camera and accessories are being cleaned and checked. Checklists full of crucial action items are being made. ... Action items are being subjected to severe procrastination. But the lists look nice and professional! Theme music from The A-Team is being played on an around-the-clock basis.

On 22 August, I depart for Argentina.

In the meantime, I thought I would write a bit about this part of Brazil. I should be off getting a Yellow Fever vaccine or photocopying my passport, but I feel I should introduce this less-visited part of the country.

WARNING: This entry reads more like a dull travel guide than a personal narrative. Future entries will be more exciting....even if I have to make stuff up.

Belém: The City of Mango Trees

This is where I have been living for the past eight months. Portuguese for "Bethlehem", Belém was founded in the early 17th century as a means to defend the region from other European colonial powers. It is strategically located at the mouth of the Amazon river system about 100 kilometers in from the Atlantic Ocean.

The city still functions as one of Brazil's busiest ports and is the capital and economic center of the state of Pará.

Although not much of a tourist magnet, Belém is dotted with plenty of well preserved (and not so well preserved) colonial architecture along the banks of the river. Some of the older docks and their warehouses have been renovated and converted into shopping kiosks and restaurants with plenty of tables outside with a view of the river. It's very nicely done. They've left the warehouses looking like warehouses, large open structures of tall steel girders. In front of each warehouse and just on the water's edge, they have left the huge dock cranes used to load and unload ships with cargo. And beyond that, the Amazon, the other side of which you can't even begin to hope to see. Sitting with friends in this place on a cool March evening as the sun sets on the water is an immense pleasure.

Having the Amazon rain forest at its doorstep, Belém is the perfect place to experience the ridiculous number of tropical fruits that grow in this part of the world. In eight months I have eaten no less than a dozen fruits I had never heard of -- not withstanding the other half dozen I had heard of but had never tried. Now I haven't the time, energy, or spelling skills to list them all here, but I did want to give a nod to my favorite: the pupunha! Pupunha (poo-POON-yah) is a thick-skinned palm fruit that grows around these parts. It's difficult to describe as I've had nothing like it before. More like a nut, I suppose, as it is quite dry off the tree. They are prepared by boiling them in water for about 20 minutes to soften them. You then peel them with a knife and eat the pulpy inside. They are normally made for breakfast, and a proud citizen of Pará will not allow you to eat them without a good cup of Brazilian coffee -- claiming that the flavor of the two go hand in hand. Personally, I don't care if I eat them with coffee, water, juice, or Diet Shasta...they're delicious.

Salinas

Officially "Salinópolis", Salinas is Pará's definitive beach town. It's about a 3 hour drive from the city to the northeast.

Given the nature of Brazilian culture and the ridiculous price of the few hotels scattered along the coast, most people end up crashing at a friend's house somewhere in town. Or, as is often the case, a friend of a friend of a friend's house. July finds small houses with hammock-packed porches and happy vacationers relaxing with sand on their feet and sea salt in their hair enjoying a plate of Vatapá and a frosty Cerpa beer.

The beach in Salinas is like no other I have ever seen. From what I can tell, it can be divided into three sections: west, center, and east.

The west section seems a bit more residential, and doesn't cater as well to opening cabanas for selling food and drink. So it's a bit quieter. However, it's very nice and one can enjoy a great sunset.

The center is where all the action is. First of all, you have to understand that the beach in Salinas is enormous. Not only is it very long, it is extremely deep. Therefore, there are no parking lots within reasonable distance. So, much to my initial dismay, they drive their cars right on to the beach. The sooner you get there, the closer you get to the water. The center beach is one gigantic grid of cars, beach tables, and sunbathers. To add to the mayhem, the tide begins to come in late in the afternoon, forcing everyone to sporadically leap behind the wheel and readjust the entire mess on a scale that rivals many civil engineering projects. It is chaos. It is loud. It is unique. It is, once you get used to it, fun. It is Brazil. Relax.

If you get sick of all the noise and bikini-watching, you can head about a kilometer to the east. This is where the coastline gently curves off to the south, creating a huge, flat semi-peninsula of sand. There is no infrastructure here, so no food or drink stands, and virtually no people. It is a surreal experience to stand here in isolation -- particularly after the sensory onslaught of the center beach. Here you can swim or lay on the beach in peace. It's also good for some impromptu beach soccer. Or you can just let your inner 15 year old take over and do some high-speed donuts in the car. I did all of the above.

Back toward the center beach, and maybe a quarter kilometer inland, you can see a large stretch of sand dunes as high as 10 meters or so. A climb to the top is a full cardiovascular workout as the sand is deep, soft, and very loose. Once there, the top levels out a bit and you trudge through the sand toward the descent where you see lots of trees behind which a myriad of voices can be heard. Going down is almost as difficult as coming up, as you slip and slide down the unstable slope, grabbing tree branches and trunks for support. You finally come through the last of the trees and see before you a huge fresh water lagoon full of people. This is Coca-Cola lagoon.

On the far side of the lagoon, the sand dunes continue on, and look rather like the Sahara Desert. Kids are sandboarding down the side of the dune into the water. A zip-line has been set up, and for a few Reals, you can go hurdling down the hill and into the middle of the water where no swimming is allowed. Very fun.

Once you've surfed, zipped, or otherwise immersed yourself in the water, you can see why it's called Coca-Cola. The water appears to have a strange caramel color to it. From what I understand, this partly due to minerals in the sand and the fact that it's fresh rain water, allowing for certain....botanical development. The effect is cumulative, and a quick examination of a handful of the water confirms that it isn't dirty by any means.

Back at center beach where a 18-hour truce has been called between tide and vehicle, the sun is beginning to set, and many people are packing up and leaving for the day. However, many will stick around for another few hours. This is where the party begins -- Brazilian style. As the sun fades away, groups of friends will back their cars in together in a semi-circle. The trunks fly open revealing coolers full of beer, soda, and various ingredients ready for mixing with Cachaça. Cachaça is a fiery distilled liquor made from fermented sugar cane. A bit like rum. One of the open trunks, sans cooler, is loaded with speakers. With the music pumping, and the bottles opening, we're missing just one thing. The owners of the cars flip on their blinking hazard lights. The semi-circle of rear bumpers is now a fully functional, mobile, low-cost night club. Dance!

More

God, there's so much more. The rain forest is just next door. The barely inhabited island of Marajó whose beach makes Salinas look like a kid's sandbox. The river beach of Alter do Chão where you can go kayaking on a lagoon under a full moon.

...I could go on and on. But I've got stuff to do. I should have been writing about it all these months, but it didn't occur to me. Oh well.

Better late than never.

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Photos

Kahtan and Luis - New Year
I didn't take this photo. Credit goes to Kahtan's wife, Mounira. But it was so good I had to include it

Terra Nova Ranch
Terra Nova is my friend's ranch. There is a small man-made lake from the ground water used for producing electricity. The excess flows off into this mini-river. Fun to play in.

Fishing for lunch on Terra Nova Ranch
This is the lake on Terra Nova. It's full of fish that make a fantastic Pechada soup (Fish soup with cilantro, onion, egg, and more).

Angelica riding a buffalo on Marajó
Buffalo are one of the main sources of income and food for the people on Marajó Island. Buffalo burgers can be found all over the island and are delicious. The milk also makes a very popular cheese which is said to be an aphrodisiac. But they say that about everything.

Ranching land outside Paragominas, Pará
Spend enough time in the Amazon and you'll see what a huge topic sustainble forestation is. Some are more inclined to find the right balance than others. As with most problems, it's far more complicated than the rest of the world realizes.

Comments

[Andrea]

I don't know why you're thinking of spending time packing clothes. You'll never remember to take them with you. :D Just get the electronics--priorities you know. Oh, and you should create a twitter account for when you have cell phone access and just want to jot down something really quickly. (and plus it's my new addiction)

[Benbrook78]

I'm never going to live that down, am I? My POS Motorola phone is about to die, so no cell access likely for the next x months....