Amazonas Theatre

teatro amazonas

 Amazonas Theatre is simply breathtaken! Built in 1936 it hosts 700 guests. Officially, the site plan says there are 701 seats divided between first floor and balconies, but after counting and recounting  the seats, no one could find seat 701. The local joke says seat 701 belongs to a ghost.

Built with the money from the rubber barons, the theatre  was made with European standards and all its material imported from Europe. Manaus, which was at its economic peak needed a place where international shows could be performed. All the money running around came from the rubber trees that produced all the latex used in Brazil and exported to other countries.

Rubber baron's box ( can you see the stage curtain just next to it?)

The "rubber barons" sat in a box right beside the stage, the worst place in the theater, but their idea was to see, but to be seen! Whoever entered the theater immediately saw them,  with their flashy clothes and expensive jewelry.

The seats at the ground floor were the cheapest, and the prices would increase as the seats went up in height. The higher, the more expensive they were. Then someone realized  the ground floor seats were the best places for those who wanted to watch the shows, and the price scheme changed. The ground floor becaming more expensive than the higher boxes . (I had the opportunity to attend a dance performance at the famous theater, but all the prices were the same - 1.5 dollars per person. I am not kidding, the show cost little more than a coca cola).

Governor's box

Nowadays, there is the Governor's  cabin, right in front of the stage. The Governor and his important guests sit there when they come to a play or a presentation. I'm not sure what happens when the important guys are not there, but I guess anyone can buy them.

The floors are made of  "pinho de riga", a hardwood which guarantees a wonderful acoustic in the building. It is said that Beethoven came to visit the theater and was delighted with the sound quality - he was so pleased he asked to play a little to test the acoustic. Can you imagine, you are there, visiting a touristic place, then Beethoven decides to give a little free show to you and your colleagues?

wood mosaic

On the floor, there is also a magnificent mosaic work - are sooooo many pieces of wood that were initially assembled without glue and without nails - it is impressive. Today, due to the work of "restoration" there are nails and glue. Please someone arrest the restorers! ...

ceiling paintings

The ceiling paintings are all made in separate panels and then attached to the ceiling. One of the most impressive paintings is of Gloria, who's eyes "follow" the viewer. The painter used the same technique used in the Mona Lisa, where her eyes just follow the viewer wherever he goes. Yes, of course I tested it - and I must say it does work!

There is also an angel who loses weight and fattens again, depending on where you are when you look at it. Of course I paid  enough attention to him, and from now on so I will only let people look at me from my slimming angle. I swear!

Orchestra pit AND stage panel

The orchestra pit, which is right in front of the stage, goes down 3 meters. The girls and I were lucky enough to see the pit be downloaded, with it's piano and all. I guess that should be pretty cool to see a music performance at the Theatre.
The stage panel can not be folded or rolled up because it's painting would not resist, and would "break". Before the performances start, It rises 14 meters,  and then it is lowered when the presentation ends. The fabric and paint are original.

I was impressed with the beauty and glamor of the Theater and delighted to have had the opportunity to visit it.

ground floor chairs

Tupana Hotel

This photo of Amazon Tupana Jungle Lodge is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The hotel is delightful, right in the middle of the forest, it is a haven of peace and nature for those who want to hide from the madness of everyday life.

The staff  are very friendly and go to great lengths to please the guests. The food is good, the rooms are very clean and some  (almost) friendly/kind animals are the joy of the lodge.

The tours are plenty. You can walk through the jungle, go kayaking, swimming in the river Tupana, or  fish for piranha. Sleeping in the woods, hiking into the forest, explore the local flora and learn about the trees, plants and their medicinal effects can also be a good option.

For those who like to meet the locals, you can visit a "jungle" family,  go to the school in the nearest village (which has no flushing toilets, and the kids have to throw buckets of water in the toilet bowl after using it ).

I can recommend this trip ( to the school)  to everyone who goes to Amazon with their children. Children who play video games all day, who ride bikes, children who go to the mall and spend holidays enjoying themselves. A little bit of "reality check" can only do good.

There are also night tours, bird watching and whatever else you can think about. If you want to relax, you may choose to stay at the hotel, on the hammock, enjoying the magical atmosphere of the Amazon, being "attacked" by a monkey, a parrot or even a dog that does not like to see you resting in peace.

Anyway, there's a little bit of everything, for those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life ...

When I visited Tupana, unfortunately it was undergoing renovations  (to prevent Conchita from breaking in)  - great news for the next visitors, who will be able to take advantage of a renovated hotel, but I had to keep up with some noise that was a bit annoying.

You may have some specific questions and I tried to guess them so here go the answers:

Electricity? Yes - they leave the generator on all night and at some times of day (before breakfast, after lunch, the times between tours). Electric shower are not available, but they are not needed. In the Amazon the weather is very hot, all year around - you may even enjoy the cold shower.

If you get bored, there are some books available in different languages ​​(probably left by other guests), some card games and some table games (UNO).

The bar serves freshly made juices, soft drinks, wine, beer and caipirinha. The breakfast, lunch and dinner are included in the room price, but whatever you get from the bar ( all drinks) are not included. the prices are reasonable, specially if you consider how far you will have to go to buy water somewhere else...

Kayak

Today we have a free day. Lili woke up and came asking me "do something" with her. After thinking a lot, she decided that "something" would be kayaking.

Her idea seemed pretty cool to me, I love kayaking, I love rivers and I love this girl!

Ww went all the way down the river ramp, and only then we realized that neither of us had brought sunscreen. I'm an "old lady" so I asked Lia to go back up to our room to fetch it.

I regreted this request so badly! When she was near our room, she put her hand on a wasp that stung her When I saw that she was taking forever to come down, I went after her, but it was too late, she was bitten, medicated and was not even crying anymore.

Her hand swelled up and my heart was as tight as it can get.

 We agreed  she would be relaxed in the kayak, while I would do all the heavy work. You need to know Lia to know this plan did not last at all.

The girl took the paddle , got into the kayak and paddled like a big girl. Not only she worked hard, but she took the leadership and took me sightseeing in beautiful flooded forests, places she already knew from previous solo  kayaking expeditions.

Lia kept yelling: left, turn here, go faster, slower, more of this, more of that ... and she knew exactly what she was doing!

At one point we decided we were going to paddle upstream, and then just relax and let the current take us back to the hotel. So we did. We worked hard and almost everything went right. When we paid some attention, we realized that we had paddled DOWN THE RIVER  ... We rolled with laughter, and we had to make another big effort to go back to our hotel.

It was a magical ride - for the landscape and especially for the company!

Ouvir

Ler foneticamente

Avaliar tradução Novo! Clique nas palavras acima para ver traduções alternativas. Dispensar

Dicionário

dormindo na selva/ sleeping in the jungle

Finalmente chegou o dia da nossa tao esperada expedicao noturna pela floresta. A anitinha tem tido colicas e muita indisposicao, mas foi corajosa a ponto de se meter no mato, para passer a noite dormindo em redes, protegida apenas por um mosquiteiro e uma mae munida de uma lanterna a pilha.

Finally the day of our night expedition through the forest arrived. Anitinha was having cramps and feeling crap, but she was extra brave and decided to get into the forest, spend the night sleeping in hammocks, protected only by a mosquito net and a mother armed with a flashlight.

Saimos do hotel por volta de 4 da tarde e nos embrenhamos na mata. Revimos algumas arvores, conversamos sobre a vegetacao, os animais e o estilo de vida dos nativos. E andamos uns 40 minutos floresta adentro.

We left the hotel around 4 pm and got into the jungle. We saw some trees, talked about the local vegetation, wild animals and the lifestyle of the natives. We walked 40 min or so.

Dessa vez eramos 7 pessoas. Kennedy, nosso guia, trouxe consigo um ajudante. Cada um de nos levou a sua propria mochila com agua, uma rede e qualquer outra coisa que nos quisessemos ter em maos. Eu levei duas maquinas fotograficas, um vidro de repelente de insetos, agasalho e mais nada. Esse negocio de carregar peso nao e comigo nao!

We were 7 people. Kennedy, our guide, brought an assistant. Each of us took our own backpack with water, a hammock and any other thing we wanted to have on hand. I took two cameras, one bottle of insect repellent, few clothing and nothing more. I hate to carry heavy stuff.

Chegamos a um lugar onde havia um acampamento bem rustico. Uns suportes de rede feitos com madeira, uma mesinha de paus e folhas de bananeira e uma “churrasqueira”improvisada.

Esse lugar e oficialmente nosso “hotel no mato”.

We reached a place where there was a rustic campsite where we could hang our hammocks, a small table made with tree sticks and banana leaves and a improvised barbecue.

This was officially our jungle hotel!

 

  Kennedy levou com ele os ingredients para o nosso jantar: arroz, galinha, abacaxi, laranjas. Na fogueira , o auxiliary do kennedy grelhou a galinha que ficou deliciosa.Jantamos muito bem!

Kennedy carried all the ingredients for an amazing dinner: rice, chicken, pineaple and oranges. On the improvised bbq, Kennedy's helper cooked the chicken - the best I have ever eaten.

Eu e a lanterna tivemos uma noite agitadissima. Primeiro tive muita dificuldade em me acomodar na rede, depois de me deitar de um lado e revirar varias vezes, finalmente decidi que a batalha era em vao. Melhor nao ia ficar – o negocio seria eu me acostumar com o desconforto.

Fiz uns calculos pra me posicionar. Como eu estava dormindo na rede entre as minhas filhas e os Poloneses, era importante estabelecer quantas reviravoltas eu tinha dado, e quem estava de que lado. Concluida a minha sofisticadissima aritmetica, me posicionei o melhor que pude para proteger as meninas e descancar.

Me and my flashlight had an extremely busy night. First I found it very difficult to make myself comfortable in the hammock, after I changed positions a hundred times, I  finally realised the battle was not worth it. It would not get any better - my only option would be to get used to the discomfort.

That sorted, I made some calculations to position myself accordingly. As I was sleeping on the hammock between my daughters and the guys from Poland, it was important to establish what was my position, after turning so many times. I wanted to know who was on which side. Completed my very sophisticated arithmetic, I finally got the answer I was seeking and  positioned myself as best I could to protect my girls during their rest

Cada vez que alguem se mexia nas redes, todas as outras balancavam. Eu, que nao estou nada acostumada a dormir no meio do mato, achei tudo muito barulhento. Resumindo: a rede se mexia, o barulho apertava, eu nao tinha duvidas: metia um faixo de luz nas meninas, pra ver se estava tudo bem, se elas estavam  sas e salvas, se nao havia nenhum intruso tentando ataca-las.

E assim foi a noite. Passei o tempo todo em vigilia, atacando as criancas com a minha lanterna, certa de que eu as estava mantendo a salvo.

Every time someone moved in their hammocks, all other hammocks moved too. I'm not at all used to sleeping in the woods, and I found it very noisy. So, when the hammock moved, or the sounds got scarier, I had no doubts: I immediately sent a streak of light at my girls, to see if everything was OK, if they were safe and well, if there was no intruder trying to attack them.

And that was how I spent the night. The whole time alert, protecting the children with my flashlight, sure I was keeping them safe.

No dia seguinte a Anita veio me perguntar toda curiosa:

- Mae, por que voce passou a noite jogando faroletes de luz no rosto da Polonesa? O que ela te fez?

Pelo visto calculei as reviradas muito mal e passei a noite protegendo o acampamento errado. Pelo menos as meninas puderam dormir em paz, enquanto a pobre polonesa foi acordada de hora em hora para a revista de seguranca...


The next day Anita asked me all curious:



- Mum, why did you spend all night playing with your flashlight on the Polish's girl face? What did she do to you?


Apparently I miscalculated my moves and spent the night guarding the wrong camp. At least the girls could sleep in peace, while poor Polish girl was awakened every hour for a security check ...

 

O nosso guia disse que a noite, na selva a temperatura cai para 23 graus. Nao sei qual e a tabela de conversao que ele usa, mas posso afirmar que no meio da madrugada, um pouco antes do sol nascer, quando a escuridao fica pesada, a floresta fica fria pra caramba. Se voce resolver se aventurar a esse programa, leve agasalhos quentinhos.Nao escute o que o guia diz!

Our guide said that nights in the jungle can have temperatures of 23 degrees Celsius. I have no idea what is his conversion table, but I can assure you,  that in the middle of the night, just before sunrise, when the darkness is at it's peak, the forest is cold as hell. If you decide to venture into this program, take coats and blankets.Do not listen to what the guide says!

Dormir eu nao dormi mesmo. Alem dos barulhos dos animais ( insetos, passaros, sapos...), havia o ronco insessante do Robert ( o Polones) e do ajudante do nosso guia, que urrava feito um urso machucado.

I had several reasons to stay awake all night. Besides the sounds of animals (insects, birds, frogs ...), there was  Robert's (Polish) snoring  and our guide's assistant, howling like a wounded bear.

No meio da noite, olho de esgueio e o vejo tentando se levantar para ir ao banheiro improvisado na mata. Acho que ele se esqueceu que estava dormindo num acampamento, se levantou de repente e se enrolou no mosquiteiro, que fica preso no topo da rede.

Foi bem engracado ve-lo tentar se desenrolar do tule do mosqueteiro... era braco pra ca, perna pra la, como se ele tivesse lutando com um inimigo invisivel. Um show a parte.


In the middle of the night,  I notice Kennedy's assistant trying to get up to go to the improvised bathroom in the woods. I think he forgot  he was sleeping in a hammock, so he got up suddenly and got entangled in the mosquito net, the one all hammocks have.
It was pretty funny to see him try to get rid of it ... It was a show of arms, legs as if he were fighting an invisible enemy.

Assim que acordamos, fizemos a rotineira inspecao anti animais peconhentos – olha se nao tem cobra embaixo da rede, ve se nao tem escorpioes ou aranhas dentro das suas botas... nao tem? Pode se levantar entao!

Dali, fomos correndo tomar cafe no hotel!

As soon as we woke up, we performed the routine inspection anti poisonous animals - One has to look under the hammock , see if there are no spiders or scorpions inside your boots ... only then you can get up

After that, we were on our way to the hotel's amazing breakfast ( and shower).

 

Mais Conchita/ Conchita, here she comes again...

Hoje todo mundo foi passear de caiaque no rio e eu fiquei dormindo na rede. De repente eu sinto alguem me balancando outra vez. O Rex nao poderia ser...ou poderia?

Quando olho, a Conchita esta na rede comigo, usando o rabo pra nos impulsionar. Quandoe la me viu acordada, veio correndo deitar no meu peito, feito um bebezinho. Fiquei ali, abracada com aquela macaquinha, como ficava com as minhas filhinhas quando elas eram pequenas!

Uma delicia!

Today everyone was kayaking and I took the chance to rest on the hammock in front of our room.. Suddenly I feel someone pushing and pulling the hammock me again.It could not be  Rex again ... or could it?



When I looked, Conchita was in the hammock with me, using its tail to push and pull us. When she saw I was awake, she came to lie on my chest, like a baby. I stood there, clinging to that little monkey, as I did with my daughters when they were babies!


Amazing!

Estavamos tomando cafe quando vimos o Robert caminhando pelo hotel, com a Conchita na cabeca, comos e fosse um lindo chapeu de macaco. A unica diferenca e que o macaco era de verdade!!

Foi com a Conchita na cabeca que o Robert se deparou com Romeu ( a anta) que correu atras dele, numa trentativa furiosa de ataca-lo. Conchita, muito fiel ( aos seus proprios principios, desapareceu mato afora, deixando Robert sozinho com a anta enfurecida.

Foi engracado!

We were having breakfast when we saw Robert walking around the hotel, with Conchita on his head, like a beautiful monkey hat. The only difference was  the monkey was real and alive!



This was when Romeo ( the tapir) run after Robert, trying to attack him. Conchita, loyal as one can be, run into the jungle and left Robert to deal with the tapir on his own...


It was funny!

Conchita e mesmo da pa virada. Ela rouba comida da cozinha, entra na sala de cafe da manha, invade os quartos dos hospedes, faz um aue, e assim mesmo nao tem quem naos e apaixone por ela.

Os funcionarios do hotel me contaram que ela entrou no quarto de uma hospede que estava a passeio na selva, comeu os chocolates que encontrou e tomou uma caretla inteira de remedios ( ate hoje nao sabemos pra que eram os dito cujos)...

Outra vez, ela entrou num dos quartos, deitou na cama do casal e passou a noite com o marido da hospede, que achou melhor passar a noite na rede, para nao entrar em conflito com a macaca da pa virada...

Do nosso quarto ela so pegou o protetor solar, tomou uns goles e devolveu. Acho que ela continua preferindo geleia...

Conchita is very cheecky. She steals food from the kitchen, she goes into the breakfast room when there is no one there ( and steals sugar, jam,and whatever else she can put bher hands on), she breaks into the guests rooms, she makes a mess, but everyone loves her.
The hotel staff told me she  recently entered a guest's room and ate the chocolates she found and took an entire bottle of medicine while the guest was jungle exploring.


Another time, she broke into a bedroom, the couple was laying in bed, so she decided to join them. Conchita spent the night with the husband's guest, while the wife thought it was best to spend the night on the hammock.


From our room she only took  the sunscreen, took a few sips and gave it back. I think she still prefers jelly ...




Conchita e muito meiga e carinhosa. Ela abraca, esconde a cabecinha no seu colo, faz cafunes e pede carinho. Quando voce para de fazer carinho nela, ela puxa a sua mao de volta. nao tem mole nao...o carinho so acaba quando ela decreta que foi suficiente.

Mas nao sao so rosas nao. As vezes da um xilique nela e ela sai mordendo queme stiver pela frente ( sim, ela e vacinada) - mas sabida que so ela, as mordidas sao de leve, so pra encher o saco e aborrecer o mordido. Nao machuca de verdade e nao sai sangue.  Sorte da Lia, que foi a grande atacada pela macacolina...

Conchita is very sweet and loving. She hugs, hides her little head in one's lap, she looks for company and affection. But make no mistake, when she is tired of cuddling, she can easily bite you. It does not matter how nice you have been to her, or how much jelly she manages to take from you.
She does not draw blood, just leaves her teeth marks on your skin, to remind you who is in charge here.
I felt sorry for Lia, as she was Conchita's fav victim...

Tenho certeza que muitas das nossas melhores memorias na Amazonia incluem a Conchita. Ela foi, sem sombra de duvidas a estrela do show. Aqui vao algumas das historias das quais ela foi a protagonista.

I am sure Conchita is part of our best memories of the Amazon Holidays. She run the show from beginning to end and we already miss her.

It will be a pleasure to share some of her stories with you.

 As pessoas ainda estavam pescando piranhas, e eu lendo meu livrinho, na rede em frente ao nosso quarto.

De repente anoiteceu e eu resolvi dar um cochilo. Entrei no quarto e fiquei ali, tentando dormir um pouquinho. Os barulhos eram estranos, como se algum animal – a arara provavelmente estivesse andando no telhado do quarto – do lado de fora, logico.

Everyone was still fishing piranhas, I was reading my book, in the hammock in front of our room.

Suddenly got dark and I decided to go for a nap. I went inside and stayed there, trying to get some sleep. The noises were a bit strange, as if an animal - the parrot, maybe, was walking on the roof of the room - outside, of course. I am not used to the jungle's noises, everything is new to me.

De repente eu olho para a janela e vejo um macaco pendurado nela, balancando pra ca e pra la, pra ca e pra la...

When I look at our window, i see a monkey, hanging in there, swinging from one side to another, from one side...

 

Fiquei fascinada olhando praquilo ate que eu me lembrei que a janela abria pra denro,. O tal macaco estava DENTRO do nosso quarto. Ate entao, eu so conhecia a fama da Conchita - nunca tinha tido o prazer de encontra-la.

Fiquei assustada  e morrendo de medo e comecei a falar alto:

A Conchita ta aqui no meu quarto, alguem venha por favor me socorrer...

Nisso chegaram as meninas, que acharam a coisa mais linda do mundo ter um macaco dentro do nosso quarto. Ninguem deu muita bola pro meu susto/medo/pavor e a Anita e a Lia ficaram tentando "subornar" a macaca com vidros de protetor solar, repelente de mosquitos, maquina fotografica... A coisa so funcionou quando alguem teve a brilhante ideia de dar geleia pra ela. Foi como um passe de magicas! Ela desceu do forro, pegou a sua geleia amiga e foi comer la fora...

I was fascinated looking at it, until I remembered that our window swung INSIDE the room,. The monkey was just inside our room. That was my first meeting with Conchita - the monkey.

I was scared, terrified to be honest, and cried for help:

Conchita is here, in my room, someone please come help me ...

My girls arrived and found it amazing to have a monkey in our room. Nobody gave a shit to my surprise / fear / terror and Lia and Anita were trying to "bribe" the monkey with bottles of sunscreenrepellent, MY camera ... It only worked out when someone had the bright idea of ​​giving her some jam. It worked like  magic! She came down from the ceiling, grabbed the jam and went out to savour it.

Os animais do hotel - Hotel Animals

Romeu – os locais mataram a mae do Romeu quando ele era apenas um bebezinho (sim, se come Anta na Amazonia), e resolveram leva-lo para casa para come-lo quando ele fosse grande o suficiente.Por sorte ( nossa e do Romeu), esses Ribeirinhos decidiram se mudar e doaram o bichinho ao pessoal do hotel, que cuida dele com carinho. Romeu e mansinho (pelo menos parece mansinho), as meninas passaram muito tempo fazendo carinho nele.

Romeu parte II – Lia deve ter enchido tanto o saco da pobre anta que ele perdeu a paciencia e deu uma atacadinha basica nela! Claro que a minha filha nao se fez de rogada e continuou sua missao – a pobre anta nao vai ter sossego pelos proximos 5 dias.

Romeu parte III - Hoje o romeu teve um xilique e correu atras do Robert  (o Polones que e nosso amigo). Robert resolveu se defender com as suas havaianas - jogou o chinelo na anta, que nao teve  a menor duvida : babou, roeu e depois descartou o chinelo todo melado.

Romeo - the locals killed Romeo's mum when he was just a baby (yes, people eat tapir in the Amazon), and decided to take him home to eat it when he was big enough. Lucky (for us and Romeo ), they decided to move somewhere else and donated Romeo to the hotel's staff .They now look after him with affection. Romeo is quiet and kind (at least he seems quiet and kind), the girls spent lots of time petting him.

Romeo Part II - Lia must have annoyed him so much,  the poor tapir lost patience and run after her! Of course my daughter is not easily scared and continued her petting mission - the poor tapir will not have peace for the next 5 days.

Romeo Part III - Today Romeu had enough and run after Robert ( our Polish friend). Robert decided to defend himself with his slippers and threw it at the tapir. End of the tale: Robert got chewed slippers back...

Logo na chegada Rex roubou todos os tapetinhos dos outros chales e se instalou na nossa porta. Roubou a meia da Lia, rosnou pra mim quando tentei entrar no quarto e deu uma mordida na Anita quando ela nao deu bola pro rosnado dele.

Com 7 meses, ele ja deixa claro quem e o chefe aqui!

Sim, to falando do mesmo caozinho que ficou me balancando na rede ( post passado). Ele azucrinou tanto, que o pessoal do Hotel acabou colocando o pobrezinho na coleira - e ele latia feito doido quando nos via. Nao tivemos opcao, se nao mandar solta-lo.

Right after our arrival, Rex stole all the other room's mats and settled at our doorstep. He stole Lia's socks, growled at me when I tried to enter the room and bit Anita when she

ignored his growling.

At  7 months, he already makes it clear who is the boss around here!

Yes,  I am  talking about the same dog that  was swinging my hammock (last post). He made such a mess, the staff decided to keep him on a leash. when we found out he was made prisioner, we asked them to set the poor dog free and kept up with his nonsense.

Menina – e uma arara linda que fica zanzando pelas janelas dos quartos. Ela bica quem se atreve a meter a mao nela, mas no mais ela e bem tranquila.

Conversa entre Robert ( o Polones) e Kennedy ( nosso guia):

- Por que a arara fica aqui?

- Por que a gente da comida, cuida dela, ela gosta

- Mas por que ela nao vai embora, morar com as outras araras na selva?

- Nao sei. Ela esta qui desde pequena, ela gosta

Ai Anita pergunta:

- E nao cortaram a asa dela?

- Cortaram sim...

Ahhh!!! Entao ta explicado!

PS - Nao foi a turma do hotel que cortou a asa da menina, quando ela chegou aqui, feiosa e maltratada, ja veio com a asinha arrancada.  :-(

Menina - is a beautiful macaw that lives around here. She attacks who dares to try to pick her up, or whoever gets too close, but most of the time she is quiet and calm.

Conversation between Robert (Polish guy) and Kennedy (our guide):

- Why does she live here?

- People gives her food, cares for her, she likes it.

- But why doesn't it go away,why isn't she living with other parrots in the wild?

- I do not know. She got here when she was little. She likes it here.

Then Anita asks:

- And no one clipped her wings?

- Yes, they did ...

Ahhh! It all makes sense now!

PS - Her wings were not clipped at the hotel. when she arrived here, battered and ugly, she already had it clipped. :-(

Conchita e a macaquinha do hotel, mas pra essa danada ai, vou ter que dedicar um post inteiro. prometo que amanha escrevo sobre ela...

 

Conchita is the Belle of the hotel, but this post is already too long and she deserves her own post. I promise to write about her tomorrow ...

REX

Tava todo mundo ocupado com uma coisa ou outra, e eu fiquei descansando, lendo e dormindo na rede.

De repente alguem veio balancar a minha rede - e eu, que nao gosto de ninguem me empurrando, queria pedir para que parassem, mas eu estava naquele limbo entre consciencia e os bracos do Morfeu e nao conseguia dizer nada.

A rede ia, voltava, ia, voltava... E eu entre incomodada com o balanco e em estado de semi consciencia!

Tava doida pra saber quem estava tentando ser tao legal mas so me irritava...ate que o fulano mudou de posicao e comecou a me dar rabadas. Isso mesmo, o balancador da rede era o Rex, que com a boca puxava a barra da rede e soltava, puxava e soltava...

Enrolei a tal barra e ele teve que ir cantar em outra freguesia!

****************************************

 

Everybody was busy with one thing or another, and I was resting, reading and sleeping on the hammock. It was so relaxing, i could stay there forever!

Suddenly someone came to swing my hammock - and I do not like anyone pushing or pulling  me, I would love to ask them to stop, but I was in that limbo between consciousness and sleepness and could not say anything.

The swing continued ... And I got more and more annoyed with my inability to stop it!

I was crazy to know who was trying to be so cool but only managed to irritated me ... until the secret figure changed it's position and began to hit me with his tale. That's right, the balance of the hammock was "provided" by Rex, who used his mouth pulled the fabric of the hammock and let go, let go and pulled ...

When I finally realised it, I just pulled the fabric inside the hammock and ended his fun!

Pescando Piranhas / Fishing Piranhas

This photo of Amazon Tupana Jungle Lodge is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Chegou um barco com 4 novas pessoas. Um casal de argentinos, e um pai e um filho brasileiros, que adoram pescaria e vieram para ca explorar os peixes do lugar. Os brasileiros eram bem simpaticos, os argentinos, eram argentinos...

Depois do almoco fomos pescar piranhas. Fui feliz da vida por que na primeira pescaria eu faltei por pura preguica. A Anitinha foi uma heroina - com colicas e mal estar, nao deixou passar o passeio nao. Respirou fundo, se meteu no barquinho e la fomos nos, rio afora...

A Argentina logo de cara fisgou a primeira piranha. O que ja causou um mal estar do caramba. Ela simplesmente jogou a piranha dentro do barquinho. Todos nos ficamos indignados e comecamos a gritar:

Joga de volta pra agua!

Poe na agua!!

Devolve pro riiio!!!

E ela nada. O maximo que ela fazia era olhar, encantada, para o peixe que estava morrendo no chao do barco.

Grita daqui, grita dali, o marido argentino se tocou, pegou a piranha pelo rabo ( pra nao levar uma dentada) e devolveu a piranha pro rio.

Logo depois a Anita pescou uma ( e devolveu imediatamente , pq a minha filha e civilizada) e depois o Robert pegou a dele. Acho que o rio so tinha esses tres peixes, por que dali pra diante ninguem pescou mais nada.

Curiosidade: Voce sabe pescar piranhas? ( eu aprendi hoje)

Primeiro voce coloca um pedacao de carne de vaca ou frango num anzol, ai voce pega a sua vara e bate na agua, fazendo um barulho infernal.( Diz a psicologia piranhal que os peixes acham que algum animal caiu na agua e vem correndo se alimentar).

Depois e so esperar ela fisgar e tchan... ta ai o seu peixinho dentuco!!

****************

A boat arrived with four new people onboard. A couple of Argentinians and a Brazilian father and  son, who love fishing and came here to experience some fishing in the Amazon. The Brazilians were very friendly, the Argentinians, well, they were Argentinians

After lunch we went piranha fishing. I was glad for the opportunity because I was too lazy to join them the first time around and decided to just stay at the hotel and relax. It was my chance to see how it is done.

Anita was pretty brave. She was not feeling well, but she decided to join the group anyway. I was very proud of her.

The Argentinian lady straight away caught the first piranha and cause a havoc. She simply threw the piranha inside the boat and threw her bite back into the river. We all got angry and started yelling,

Throw it back into the river!

Get it  into the water!

Return it now!!

And she just looked at us, and did nothing. She watched,  the fish dying on the floor of the boat.

We yelled, yelled and yelled, until her husband, grabbed the fish by the tail (to avoid a bite) and returned the piranha to the river.

Soon after that, Anita caught one (and returned immediately, 'cause my daughter is civilized) and then Robert caught his. I think the river had only these three fish, because no one caught anything else.

Do you know how to fish  piranha ? (I learned today)

First you put a chunk of beef or chicken on a hook, then you grab your stick and hit the water very hard, making an infernal noise. (Piranhal psychology says the fish "thinks"  an animal fell into the water and comes running to eat it ).

Sunrise and visit to an amazon native family

If you want to come to Amazon to rest, think twice - there are so many things to, it will be hard to find enough time to do nothing and just enjoy the sorounds.

You can always refuse to follow the program - if you have the ehart to do so. Everything is so amazing, it is hard to refuse to go.

It is 5 am  and we were all up and already on the boat heading to the lake, where we could appreciate the amazing sunrise

.Saimos beside the river to see the sunrise in the Amazon, to try to see pink dolphins, and even more to enjoy this magic place.

The sunrise was really beautiful! A breathtaking experience ... but the pink dolphins never showed up. We saw several gray dolphins, we even asked them to go look for the pink cousins, but they never did!

We went back to the hotel for breakfast and soon after, we went out again to see the house of a person who lives by the river - what we call "Ribeirinho"

My first impression was pretty bad. Many bottles of booze and beer cans thrown all over the floor. I was rather upset, I wondered if the house belongs to an alcoholic, or they were a bit nuts, had no ecological awareness and/or did not care to live in the middle of the garbage.

When we knocked on the door, we found the family was not home. We decided to go for a walk around. It was a shame not to have the chance to know them, I'd like to ask questions about the way of life and perhaps even about those bottles scattered all around.

We explored the place anyway. Around the house, the family planted pineapples (1000 plants). The guide told me each plant takes about a year to grow and produces a single pineapple. Each fruit is sold for 2 dollars - generating 2000 dollars per year. Additionally they plant cassava (and have equipment to make cassava flour) - I do not know how big is the production, but is not very great.I remember seeing some bananas all over the place and a chicken with a few chicks.

He ( our guide) also told us, the family has five children - who go to public school on a boat, provided by the city council of Manaus. I know where are not many places to spend money in the jungle, but I also know nobody lives on cassava, pineapple, bananas and eggs alone.

I was concerned about the survival of the family, the future of these children since the family seems to spend all their money  in booze.