Mark Twain

I have never really spent any time on the Mississippi or any other great river, so this is a new experience. However, as a child I adored Mark Twain's writing about the Great Mississippi, Huck, and Tom. I believe I have read most if not all of Mark Twain or Samuel Clemens work so I have a very defined mind's eye of Huck Finn's town. Santarem is what I always imagined Huck Finn's town to be like. Like Tom Sawyer, I made the Great Mississippi into a wild, lazy, gigantic river full of possibilities when I was a child. Now that I am older and have seen the Mississippi, it doesn't exactly live up to all of my expectations. The Amazon does.

Santarem is half-way between Manaus and Belem (roughly). Thus is is sort of an outpost with scruffy river men and the pungent smell of fresh (and old) catch from the Amazon. There are boats lined up and down the wharf which are the type that I always pictured in Antebellum Mississippi (minus the sternwheel). These are the major vehicles of transportation since no man-made structure crosses the Amazon at any point (fun fact). I really wish I had a little more time here because I think I would love taking a 3 day and 3 night boat ride to Manaus or down to Belem. The only requirement is that you bring a hammock to sleep at night.





Fishermen and the Tapajos River

Cruise boat with hammocks in the gallery to sleep at night
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Saw a guy walking
Nicole and I took mototaxis home.. really cheap but slightly scary

Caipoeira is a form of martial arts/dance. It was a workout.

One of the main roads, goes all the way to Sao Paulo and then to Porto Alegre which is a most southern large city in Brazil.
I saw this in Zanzibar too, used to make make-up
Looks scary but its actually a vegetarian
Dolphin head and dolphin penis bone. Needless to say, we had a lot of fun making some jokes
Dont mess with this tree
The real guarana tree (what's found in our energy drinks)
The timbo tree. I like to call it the lazy fisherman's tree because natives chop it down and throw it in the water to cause fish paralysis.

Brazil nuts in Brazil. And no, they are not just called nuts.
Deer skulls


Too similar for me not to take a picture with it.
Not sure, a big tree.Our guide and another amazing fruit


Scary spider

Scarier spider

Termites

The crew
Fish Market
Every imaginable part of a cow
Medicinal plants and juices from the Amazon
The real acai.
Fruit market


Some type of fruit that we ate like pez

I thought this was hilarious, look what the dog has on his mind. If you can see, its dog food