Our three young wheelchair program trainers (all in their mid-30’s) that were with us were excited for an outdoor activity so I made a call on Friday to a guide service and we were on our way Saturday morning (9/1/18).
What was supposed to be a four hour “ecotour” turned into a 10-hour Amazon adventure! We headed out at 10 am Saturday and made it home late evening (8 pm) after being temporarily marooned on the river. (It’s really good your mom wasn’t with us!)
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| Our adventure team: Brian (Utah PT), Ana (Recife FT), Juliana (Manaus FT) and me (AP - “Aches & Pains” Senior Missionary). |
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| Typical river town |
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| Onto the boat |
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| Town beach |
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| Off for a hike. |
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| So this is where Açaí comes from! A type of palm tree! |
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| Yep! Little hard purple berries that are later squished up and made into all sorts of purple foods (looks like purple mashed potatoes), drinks and desserts. |
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| Tarzan is alive and well! The local indigenous kids love to climb trees to get açai and swing on vines. Our grandchildren would love the Amazon! |
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| Samaúma trees (also known as Kapok trees) are enormous. They are the tallest trees in the Amazon. The Amerindians use the trees to send messages. They are filled with lots of water so they made a distinctive “thump” that can be heard for over a mile. |
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| After our rainforest hike, we enjoyed a late afternoon lunch of Dourado fish, mandioca and other interesting local delicacies. |
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| Big river! |
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| The river fluctuates by 45 feet during the year due to the rainy season and snow run-off in the Andes. |
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| Outboard motor problems! Thank goodness we were’t “up the creek without a paddle.” The boat owner called his son on the radio to have him come out with another boat to pick us. |
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| Sunset over the Amazon |
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| Water levels are still falling (June - November) so many trees are still in the water. |
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| Our little aluminum river boat with motor problems. |
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