Amazônia

It is difficult to put the Amazon into words. You could call it a tropical rainforest, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth. You could call it an agricultural opportunity for palm or soy or sugarcane, or you could call it a logger's dream (or worst legal nightmare). You could call it an international climate policy issue or an environmental activist's call to arms. You could call it a witness of cultural history. The Amazon is all of these things, and yet, none of these descriptions fully capture its essence. The Amazon is bigger than us and it becomes no less mythical once you're surrounded by it.

When I told Brazilian friends that I was going to tour the Amazon, they looked at me in surprise: "Even Brazilians don't go to the Amazon," they said. It's like the frontier of the Wild West: it's impossible to imagine what lies beyond. 

It certainly felt like the Wild West as I investigated my options for tours. There are so many options, so many scams, and so many Internet wars between competing companies. I wanted to find a tour group that truly practiced the three tenets of sustainability, which means it needed to be environmentally responsible, economically viable, and socially just. (Amazon tours make excellent case studies on greenwashing!) 

It took a week of research, but I finally found the right group. I chose Amazon Gero Tours, run by Gero Mesquita himself. In the Lonely Planet guidebook to Brazil, Gero is described as an all-around nice guy who will go out of his way to accomodate his guests. This is absolutely true. To begin with, he gave me his phone numbers for both his office and his home, told me I could call at anytime of day or night, and even picked me up at the airport in Manaus when my flight arrived at 1:30 in the morning. I stayed in a hotel next to his office in Manaus, slept for a few hours, and started the tour at 8:00 the same morning.

The tour group started with eight people. Since people stayed for different lengths of time--I stayed four days and three nights; other people for three or two days--there was a constant ebb and flow as some people left while others arrived. The logistics were very well organized, though, so it wasn't at all chaotic. Throughout the four days, I met one guy from South Africa, one girl from the U.S., and seven people from Germany, five of whom were travelling together. (Germans travel a lot.) I also met at least ten Brazilians, all of whom either worked for the tour company or lived in the area. The Brazilians told some of the best stories about life in Manaus and in the Amazon. We had nightly storytelling sessions; the only thing missing was the campfire!

One of the common misconceptions that the Brazilians cleared up right away was the distinction between "native" and "indigenous" people. I had thought that "indigenous" was the more politically aware term to call the "native" people. Not so! The native people are essentially the locals, the people who grew up in the area, and usually, the family of whom has lived lived in the area for generations. The "indigenous" people are the people who have essentially been "uncontacted". These are the people who live in tribes deep in the forest and have no concept of today's "modern" life. The tours were always led by two people: one native person and one person from Manaus.

Throughout the four days, we stayed in a "jungle lodge," which was essentially a very simple bed & breakfast, but adapted to the jungle -- i.e. electricity and running water only for a few hours per day, accomodations in bed or hammocks (I chose bed), and all meals included. There were many different activities: hiking in the jungle, learning about medicinal plants and trees, fishing for piranhas, catching (and holding) caiman, watching the stars at night, and LOTS of canoeing. All of these activities are shown here in my Picasa album. I'm not going to try to describe each activity--that would take several more entries--but if you have any questions, leave a comment on this blog and I'll be happy to reply.

I'll leave you with some of my favorite photos from the trip:

 On the way from the city of Manaus to the Amazon. Transportation itinerary: van, speedboat, van, canoe, land!

Meeting of the Rio Negro and the Rio Amazonas. The two rivers have different temperatures and move at different velocities, so they don't mix. 

 Our amazing guide, Reuben, showing off the grasshopper he made from palm leaves.

The Caboclo family home we visited.

 Caiman! 

In the canoe, wind at my back.

Climbing Corcovado

One of my housemates, Gerhard, and I decided to hike Corcovado yesterday. Corcovado is probably better known for its monument: "Cristo Redentor," the 40-meter statue of Jesus Christ that can be seen from just about anywhere in Rio. 

We started at the Parque Lage, the park that surrounds city's School of Visual Arts (both pictures below.) I had discovered the park and school accidentally one day while walking back from a Carnaval street party, but I hadn't known then about the nearby trail to Corcovado. 
 

After admiring the park, the school building, and watching the adorable monkeys that refused to stay still long enough for me to take their pictures, Gerhard and I embarked on the trail to Corcovado. The trail starts at the edge of the park and winds through the Atlantic Forest. The beginning of the trail is easy, but it soon becomes more interesting. Not only did we contend with steep slopes, but we also had to climb a few rocks and watch out for mud (and snakes) along the way. 

Every so often, we caught glimpses of Cristo Redentor, so we could judge how far along the trail we were and how much further we had to go. When we were at the halfway point, we came upon a "road," which turned out to be the tracks for the train that takes tourists up the mountain to Cristo Redentor. (Not everyone is crazy enough to hike it.)

We crossed over the tracks, after stopping to take each other's photos, and continued along the trail.   

We soon learned that we should have just followed the tracks. We did arrive at [behind] Cristo Redentor by following the trail, but when we tried to buy tickets to enter the monument grounds, we were told we couldn't buy tickets at the monument. Okay ... where were the tickets sold? Back down the mountain, of course. What?! Grumbling over the money-making scheme of not selling tickets at the monument (and thus forcing visitors to pay for transportation, which is "included" in the price of the ticket), we took a minivan a third of the way down the mountain, passing parts of the hiking trail along the way. We then waited in line for about 20 minutes for tickets. Once we had our tickets, we took one look at the line of 300+ people waiting for minivans that would take them back up the mountain, and decided it would be a better use of our time to follow the train tracks by foot.   

About ten minutes into our hike along the tracks, we came upon a group of Brazilian teenagers. They apparently had hiked the track once before, and so they knew they could get to the monument by following the tracks on foot. It was a steep climb, but certain.  We stopped once for a break and eventually arrived at Cristo Redentor 30 minutes later. We were all elated to finally see the famous statue, and this time, we were allowed to enter.

Conseguimos! Success!

At Cristo Redentor, we spent about half an hour being typical tourists: taking photos, reading informational plaques, and enjoying the view of the city. I'm still in awe of the size of the statue. What exactly inspires someone to build a statue 40 meters tall that overlooks an entire city? On the one hand, it's a symbolic monument, so there's plenty of inspiration involved, but on the other hand, just think of the construction logistics! I'm sure they didn't haul all that concrete and soapstone up the hiking trail!

Eventually we left Cristo Redentor and began hiking down the mountain. We passed several groups on our way down and were glad we left when we did. We had started our day at 8:00am and by this time, it was 1:30pm. Even though the sky was cloudy and the sun was not as intense as it could have been, it was certainly humid. Technically, we were hiking through the Atlantic Forest, but it felt more like an equatorial rainforest at times.

About 2/3 of the way down, a colorful creature caught my eye. It was a caterpillar, but not one I had ever seen before. This one had a thick, black body with neon yellow rings and bright red at either end. According to this site, the caterpillar would probably later turn into the Frangipani Hawkmoth. 

The bright colors warned me to stay away--it might be poisonous--but later I learned that it "just" bites. 
After the caterpillar, we only had about 20 minutes of trail left. All along the way, we had seen trees like the one below, which have flexible, almost rope-like, branches. I had been using the branches along the way for balance, but by the end, I was ready for a break ... a tree-swing break, that is.

All in all, I had a great time hiking Corcovado and visiting Cristo Redentor. The hike was a little steeper than I had expected, but I enjoyed the challenge. I can now cross another place off of my "must-do-in-Rio" sightseeing list!