Into the Jungle - Belem #2

Dear Ones,

Our adventures in the Amazon were lavish. This story and the next we are still in Belem in the Amazon Delta.

I have a few more stories to write and send. So please don't be confused. We are on Maui, I just need to catch the stories up to us before the next set of adventures gets underway.

much love,
Prema

After a lavish hotel breakfast a small group of us were picked up at the hotel and driven to the docks. We were going to take an excursion into the jungle on the "Amazon Queen". The small boat headed directly across the broad river and we disappeared into several of the little waterways. The gentle motor did not overwhelm penetrating bird calls coming from the jungle. I sat on a plastic garden chair on the bow delighting in the river life. Little shanties were nestled amongst the lavish vegetation and we drifted from one exotic smell to the next. We had a charming guide from Indonesia sharing all kinds of local lore. After an hour of exploring some twisting waterways we stopped at a little dock and walked up a trail to a hut of one of the local families. The owner opened a pod of brazil nuts for us. The fresh nut was fantastic. He introduced us to the tree, a towering marvel said to be over 250 years old. He introduced us to his son and his pet parrot. And then we went on walk about through the jungle.

I tripped over an unimpressive clump of grass that turned out to be patchouli. It is the root that gives the fabulous fragrance and we bought piles of it at the market.

Anahata was cuddling some seed pods ~cacao~..a chocolate lover finds the source of all pleasure. Our guide cut open a cupuaçu fruit, handing out chunks of the fruit's white flesh. Araceli uses a lot of plants in her healing work and we were led from one medicinal herb to the next, smelling, tasting, touching. The jungle has many layers of growth ~~ from the mushrooms and mosses beneath our feet to the towering tree giants several hundred feet above our head. We hung on swinging vines, saw some outrageous insect displays, peered into honey ant holes, scrapped some rubber from a bleeding rubber tree and met the pet tarantula.

"Brazil does not need the world," our friend Estaban had told us. And indeed, the people here have everything they need. Food, water, medicine are plentiful. "But the world needs Brazil," he reminded us. And as we inhaled the heavy aroma of our planet's lungs, we prayed that the jungle and its gifts would long be with us in all its majesty and wonder.

Our little tug headed back across the river, our guide told us that there was to be a free jazz program at the opera house. We had heard that this famed opera house was one of the architectural marvels of the city so we put that on our evening entertainment card. Back on dry land we took advantage of a tastefully decorated open air restaurant, feasting on local marvels and enjoying a velvet voiced singer and his pet guitar.

It was hot and we needed a nap, but first, we needed to stop off at the market and get some fruit. I had spotted mangosteins at one of our events, one of my favorite fruits in all the world. It was great to be with Araceli who did some lively bargaining especially for pupunha, a date like fruit she wanted to prepare for us. We also bought some fresh Castanha do Pará (Brazil Nuts) and caqui (persimmons). Just in back of the fruit market was a row of stalls with all kinds of home made medicinal and "beauty" preparations. The sellers were as exotic and fun as their products. We spotted the basket area but were too tired to explore. Tomorrow, we promised. We must rest for the opera.

You can see pictures accompanying this story at:
http://homepage.mac.com/prematara/Brazil*2004/PhotoAlbum28.html