Amazon River Adventure – Pt. 2
The Brazilian Amazon 2024 – Indigenous Villages & Tribes
Visiting the Indigenous villages & tribes
As the world has closed in on the local tribes over the years, they have also moved closer to the city for easy access to medical care, trade, even work in the modern world
Resting, just like all dogs do, but ready at a moment’s notice, if necessary
Black Caiman jawbone, look close at the tribes’ Shaman necklace, and you will see the Caiman teeth around his neck
The jawbone of this Black Camien is impressive indeed
Those are very formidable teeth to tangle with
On the right you can clearly see the band aide on my eye, this is just a few short hours later on that day, prior to any stitches, I showed him my Boto kiss & he blew some magic Ju Ju into it to help it heal, you will understand what I am speaking of in a minute
Home sweet Home!
The deep guttural bass that came out of these horns would make Tower of Power jealous, the vibrations went right into your heart, thru you soul and into your whole body, very meditative and uplifting at the same time I am booking them for a worldwide tour, move over Taylor Swift
Native tribe members did 4 different significant dances for us. One for the spirit, One for fertility, One for safety, and One for good fortune hunting & gathering
This boy followed me around the village & played the woods bells for me all the way, I have no words to express when I looked into his eyes, very moving!
The Shaman is keeping the beat with the drum, he is the one with the brightly colored headdress on in the back
The woman did not participate in all of the dances but when they did, they did so with enthusiasm and spirit and more rhythm than I have
They are very good-natured people who are genuinely happy and at ease in life
They were cooking lunch when we arrived, we ate ants, grubs, local nuts, fruits, and berries, plus some fresh baby Camien and Catfish
My favorite type of “people,” this guy is a beautifully camouflaged Brindle colored dog
Baby Sloth & Squirrel Monkey the kids had in the village.
As future reference, it would be a clever idea to add a half day each at the zoo & aquarium; even a full day in just one of these points of interest would be smart
As you have seen earlier, I got to feel the formidable power of the mighty Pirarucu aka: Arapaima, even with my 2 torn rotator cuff muscles, which happened prior to the trip, I just had to do it because “I was born to fish”!
It was a terrific experience, even if you do not fish, as they are being preserved for re-introduction back into the river systems and are one of the major food sources for many people here
A City & Nature Tour is a must see to gain a full understanding and perspective of these beautiful people.
One place which is a little off the beaten path is………..
“The Meeting of the Waters”
As mentioned previously here is the world famous “Meeting of the Waters,” where the Amazon River & the Rio Negro rivers meet. You would not believe it but at the confluence of the river junctures, the temperatures vary by 10 degrees or more.
It is like stepping from a hot tub into a pool. When you let your hand dangle in the water as you go from the hot black water of the Rio Negro to the cold yellow water of the Amazon, it is really an interesting feeling because it changes in 1 second with no transition from hot to cold
Here is The Meeting of the Waters – The mighty Amazon & Rio Negro Rivers, they are Cold & Hot, Yellow & Black, Fast & Slow-moving waters respectfully, the Amazon has bugs, while the dark tannic acidic waters of the Rio Negro cannot support the mosquito larvae
A “Kiss” from Boto
However, the highlight of MY nature part of the tour was kissing Boto!
Wait? What? Boto? What the heck is a Boto you ask??? Well let me show and tell you……….
They are the Amazon River Dolphins which happen to be colored pink & gray. They have an incredible knob on their head, shoulders like a linebacker swim fast as a Ferrari and are extraordinarily strong beautiful creatures
My personal guide hand feeding Boto’s in the wild
I should have taken this as a sign of things to come…
Here is the short story, I had not even been in Manaus for 24 hours, when I went for a swim with these intelligent marine mammals
The huge bump on its head is the size of a small pumpkin
Look at the size, power, and strength of this creature, as you can see here they turn away fast and strong
Here I am rubbing her, she is caressing my legs and feet with her fins, it was like silk…. until…
As the guide was luring in these giant river dolphins with fresh fish, I was treading water in a life jacket, of course, when they began to appear around us, swimming and playing with your feet and rubbing your legs with their skin, kind of an eerie feeling but you know me, even bumping `
into my butt, it was all fun and I was really getting comfortable with them
After several pictures at water level of the guide feeding them, I moved closer to rub them and feel their power, at one point the guide was holding up a fish and as Boto leaped up to get it and as she was twisting to dive back into the water she ran directly into my upper right eyebrow with its beak and split open like a punch from Mike Tyson
Then with all her weight and momentum landed right on top of me. I was under her with her flippers on each side of my body, and she was swimming me away. Luckily, I was able to roll out from under her and
pop up like a cork!
OMG, where’s George? Hit in the eye, knocked underwater and being swam away with her, just a few hundred-pound creature lying on top of me while in her environment
It all lasted but a few seconds yet felt longer to me. It was such an adrenaline rush that I did not even know that my eyebrow was gushing like an oil field. Not until I went to wipe the water from my face did I even know I was bleeding
At that point, I exited the water and we tried to stop the bleeding….
Long story short, that night back in the hotel I had a local doctor stitch me up in my room so I could continue on my journey, remember this is only day one!
I ended up with 4 Stitches, but needed 6, since he did not have any lidocaine to numb me up, we settled for the 4, sure why not! Close up, as if you wanted to see it
