We only spent 3 days in the Amazon, but I shot so many photos and videos that it has taken me over two months to go through it all, pick out the best parts, and put them together in meaningful sequences. The result is 5 bite-size videos that can be watched independently. I hope that together they provide a good overview of our visit. I included the first video in my previous entry, so below are the other 4.
In the first one (Part II), we sail to the point where the Amazon River and the Rio Negro meet, visit an artisans’ cooperative, take a short walk in the jungle to see giant water lilies, and go on a small-boat ride to fish piranhas and spot alligators. My favorite part is not shown on the video because I was too slow to react: five wild macaws flying right above us while we failed to fish piranhas.
In the second of these videos (Part III overall), we take a tour of the rainforest guided by Antonio Domingos. This was an absolutely fascinating walk where we got to see just a tiny percentage of the beauty and the richness of the Amazon. My favorite part: talking to Mr. Domingos in Portuñol. He had lived in Perú and knew some Spanish; I have been hearing Portuguese most of my life. As a result, we could communicate perfectly well, each trying to pepper our native tongue with sounds or vocabulary from the other’s, knowing that it was neither accurate nor necessary to understand one another!
In the third video (Part IV, you guessed), a charming old man tells us stories about the times when his region was the largest producer of rubber in the world. During our voyage I thought that I would be writing this entry fairly soon and I trusted my memory to remember his name. Sad mistake – I would very much like to know who this wonderful storyteller is but no one I have asked seems to know! I was so enthralled by the way he spoke and gesticulated that I decided to keep a great deal of his words in the video, at the risk of boring those who don’t understand. I could not bear the thought of cutting him off!
In the final video you will not see the part where I freak out about the fact that there was lightning and the students were in the water and I felt responsible for their safety and there was nothing I could do about it. Our guide, Fábio, said to me, “If we are not going to get in the water in the Amazon because there is a storm, we are never going to get in the water!” Feeling more American than I ever thought I could be, I was compelled, as the trip liaison, to state the obvious: “In the USA, even indoor pools are closed at the first clap of thunder. I feel stupid saying this, but I guess I need to say that if you guys get in the water…” “Yeah, yeah, we understand. Semester at Sea is not responsible…” I don’t know if this eloquent speech was before or after I jumped out of my skin because the thunder was right above us. Not one of my finest moments, but it makes for a nice little, self-deprecating blog entry!
What you will see in this last video, though, are some strangely beautiful dolphins, one enormous, violent fish, and some fireworks that did not quite function the way they were supposed to. Although in the end nothing bad came of it, some of the flares went in unexpected directions, in particular towards our home-boat (not the little one we were in), which you can see on the left side of the frame. This last video ends with a cheer from everyone when the fireworks were over – I thought this was an appropriate way to end this 5-video series: The entire trip truly deserved a round of applause!