Day Three, part one – the morning of a big day in the Jungle

Today started out at 4:45am when we were roused to grab a cup of coffee before heading out into the jungle to hear the sounds of the animals at dawn. Of course, the pre-dawn sky was dark and we could see the southern cross constellation, which figures prominently on the Brazilian flag. I’ve seen it many, many times but it’s still exciting for me to see.

The dawning of the jungle
The sounds we heard bore testament to the large variety of animals found in the jungle, including hundreds and hundreds of birds. We came upon a tree full of birds that are related to the North American Anhinga (photo to the left) They have black feathers and dive for fish, and are often found on branches or the riverbank with their wings spread out as if they were solar panels maximizing the absorption of the sun’s rays. We also saw a caiman (South American alligator) that was easily 15 feet long, but fortunately the motor of our boat scared him off.

The Jungle Walk
We went back to the hotel for breakfast and then headed out on our jungle walk. Like everything, we had to travel through the flooded forests via boat to get to ground that was high enough to walk on. We learned how the jungle is a place where Darwinian selection is vividly on display in the many ways that the wildlife compete for resources. Being on the equator, it is potentially the most productive ecosystem in the world since the local flora can photosynthesize all year long without a "winter," but the soil is relatively poor and the trees get appx. 15% of their nutrients from the soil (and the other 85% from the sun). As a result, the trees that have the edge are the ones that can spread their leaf canopy the fastest and highest, and then produce the fruit with seeds that the fauna will eat and propagate. The poorness of the soil also calls attention to the devastation that slash-and-burn farming or logging can have on the jungle and the risk of turning it irreversibly into a desert with those approaches.

As we walked along, I wanted to capture the fascinating descriptions from our guide, and all I had was a package of “Orbit” gum to write on (which thankfully is all white on the inside), so below is the recap of my gum-wrapper notes. The main reason for writing them down was to get the indigenous names of these trees and vines since they are mostly unfamiliar to me. I laughed at the absurdity of my little gum-wrapper notes because it reminded me of one of my favorite Portuguese expressions, "Quem não tem cão caça com gato." In English, that means, "If you don't have a hunting dog, hunt with your cat." LOL

Inajá / Babaçú:
The large, tall palm trees with menacing thorns are called Inajá or Babaçú Palms. Of course, the throrns are one of the defense mechanisms of the trees. There was a documented case of a man who found himself under attack by an Anaconda while in the jungle. Somehow he pinned himself against one of these Babaçú Palms and let the snake wind itself around both him and the tree. The natural result was that both the man and the snake ended up with hundreds of these long, sharp spines impaled in their bodies. The man was later hospitalized for weeks because it took that long to remove the spines from his flesh. The main point being that he was hospitalized because he lived to tell about it. The snake was later found dead from the hundreds of wounds and spines in its flesh.

Ariá / Ariaú:
“Ariá” is the indigenous name for “big potato,” a reference to the mandioca root, which is one of the main staples of the Amazonian diet since it is rich in carbohydrates. Mandioca has since expanded to become a very important part of the diet throughout Brazil, and is served and prepared a number of ways. North Americans are most familiar with its rendering as tapioca. Mandioca is also known by Brazilians as “aipim,” and in English as “cassava” or “manioc.” Cultivation of the root has spread throughout the tropics and subtropics around the world to become an important staple wherever it’s found. The suffix “ú” in the Tupí language means “big,” so the name of the hotel means “big potato.” There are two types of mandioca in cultivation – sweet and bitter. The sweet variety is very straightforward because no part of the root is toxic and can be more easily consumed as a result.

This is a picture of mandioca being sold in a supermarket.
The bitter variety yields about 5 times more starch than the sweet variety, but it must be processed to remove its toxins. It’s extra work, but apparently worth the effort because the bitter variety is more widely cultivated. This crop needs to be rotated because it depletes the soil, so it is usually cultivated for 3 years, followed by 2 years leaving the plot of land fallow.

Curarí Root:
The root of the curarí plant is what is used by the indigenous people for hunting and fishing, since it is a hallucinogenic poison that induces pulmonary arrest. Typically, it’s the poison used on the tips of arrows and darts. One traditional way it was used was to swish around in isolated pools, left behind after the annual floods. When the waters retreated, often fish would be trapped in these pools of water and shishing the arrows would kill any fish left in the pools, which would most often be piranha. When trapped, the piranha would eat the other fish trapped in the pool and eventually turn themselves on each other as available food disappeared. For this reason, it’s critical to avoid pools of water in the jungle because it can often contain one or more hungry piranhas. The practice of swishing the arrows in the pools has been discouraged since it also affects any terrestrial animals that might happen along and drink the water, which would also kill them.

Mulateiro Bark:
This tree is a curiousity because it sheds its bark, giving its trunk (not the leaves, branches or flowers) an appearance like the Crape Myrtle tree, which is common across southern regions of the USA. As the bark flakes off the tree, it can be collected and soaked in water, which is good for maintaining a healthy, youthful skin tone.

Carnaparnaúba Tree:
From it’s name, this tree is known as the mosquito tree since it’s hollows provide habitat for mosquitoes in the jungle. It’s also known as the "Lady Tree" because it's medicinal use is to help ease menstrual cramps and is actually a strong natural abortive. As a consequence, prior to using extracts from this tree, care is given to confirm that the woman is not pregnant or possibly pregnant.

Lauro Rosa:
The wood and roots of this tree contain a scent that has been used by indigenous peoples as a perfume. This essence was the original “secret ingredient” for what is commonly known as Chanel No. 5. The wood is also very durable and it's good for making furniture.

Tapiba Ants:
These ants can be crushed to release a perfume. Their nests can be found appended to the sides of trees above the forest floor. (see picture to the right)

Caferana:
The name of this bush means “fake coffee,” so called because the leaves resemble those of the coffee tree (the suffix “rana” means “fake” in the Tupí language). This bush is the source of quinine, which is a strong anti-malarial agent. (see picture to the left)

Amapá:
This tree has roots that are red-colored, which can be put into water to produce a laxative, similar to milk of magnesia. The specimen we looked at was a very large tree that also had an “Escada de Jabutí” vine climbing on it.

Escada de Jabutí:
This is a vine that has roots and bark that can be put into water to produce a very good cure for a urinary tract infection and also as a general anti-biotic. The “Jabutí” is the name for a terrestrial turtle found in the jungle and “escada” means ladder, leading one to speculate on whether or not the name comes from the durability of the vine, or the fact that it might somehow be easy to scale (easy enough for a turtle). The specimen we viewed twisted on itself (similar to the wisteria, found in North America), which made it seem strong and durable. They hang down from high up in the trees, and since they're not toxic nor covered in thorns, I imagine these are the vines that Tarzan might have swung on...

Bréu:
This is referred to as “Amazonian Myrrh,” since its sap excretes into a white, waxy substance that has a strong smell reminiscent of myrrh, or possibly eucalyptus. It’s medicinal application is to combat sinus infections by inhaling the white smoke emitted as it burns. It is also used to seal the insides of boats and canoes since it also hardens and becomes a good sealant when it burns.

Igapó:
This is the indigenous term for “flooded forest,” which of course is everywhere in the wet season. Many of our excursions (and I suspect the shortcuts) were through the igapó. Each time we ventured in, there was a new set of challenges from branches and vines because we were in this long boat going through a rain forest at appx 40 – 60 feet above where the ground would be during dry season, like those bromeliads in the picture above – pretty wild! Due to the variety of stinging ants / other insects in the tree branches and varying degrees of plant toxicity, we were frequently reminded to not touch the trees and duck our heads as we snaked through the igapó in our boat. The picture below shows the mirror effect of the dark flood waters (hence the river's name: Rio Negro), which magnified the beauty and majesty of the forest.

Samauma:
These are very large trees that frequently grow taller than the rest of the jungle canopy and its trunk possesses a reverberating quality so that if someone beats on it with a fallen branch or other piece of wood the beating can be heard for miles around. The indigenous people would traditionally seek out one of these Samauma trees and settle nearby because they beat the trunk of this tree to call out for help if they are in distress. By custom, the people from as far away as audible to this signal would stop what they are doing and travel as long as it took to find their neighbor in distress.

Ribeirinhas / Caboclos:
This is the name to refer to the usually mixed-race people that are very commonly found in this region of Brazil. “Ribeirinha” is derived from “ribeiro,” which in Portuguese means stream (of water). It is is a reference to the fact that the rivers are the thoroughfares of the jungle, which can be easily confirmed by looking at a map of the Amazon and noting the many villages shown on the banks of rivers and no apprent roads connecting them.

The very simplified reason behind the mixing of the races came as a result of how the Portuguese approached the establishment of its Brazilian colony – sending almost exclusively male sailors and farmers, and then trying to enslave the native Tupí and Guaraní people. The natives proved uninterested in this arrangement, either escaping into the wilderness or simply not complying with orders to perform the work. The Portuguese started bringing in African slaves and apprently continued leaving the ladies back in Lisbon, perhaps like that unhappy-looking one to the right posing as "Lady with Fan" by Goya (the Spanish painter).

Over time, the Africans would also escape into the wilderness when possible and find refuge in “quilombos,” or hide-outs and often received aid from the natives. During this time, the Portuguese were intensely interested in laying claim to as much of the continent as possible. Their interest was fueled by Portugal’s rivalry with Spain, and the fact that the Papal-decreed Treaty of Tordesillas conceded only the eastern tip of Brazil, along with Africa and Asia to the Portuguese and all other lands to the west of the line to Spain. As a result, the Portuguese colonists deployed explorers into the interior of Brazil to plant the Portuguese flag wherever they could. These explorers were called “bandeirantes,” which is derived from “bandeira,” the Portuguese word for “flag.”

The key detail, of course, is that the colonists continued to leave many of the Portuguese ladies behind in Lisbon. If and when they were taken to the Brazilian colony, they usually stayed in the coastal cities, which of course further drove the mixing of races, especially in the interior. Check out the first few chapters of Peter Robb’s book, "A Death in Brazil" for an interesting description of Brazil’s history of the mixing of races.

There may be other details we got from our exceptional guide, but my gum package ran out of room for key words to jog my memory, so that’s about what I was able to get down from our jungle walk. Fortunately, Lauren also recorded some video of our guide’s descriptions.

About our Guides:
The enormous presence of the jungle at the hotel for us meant that the best part about the hotel were the excursions (closely followed by our airconditioned bug-free room). The foreign guests are assigned to an English-speaking guide (or other languages) and we had the good fortune to be part of Marigita's group.
Marigita herself has had an interesting life on several continents, and it was fascinating to hear how she came to learn English, German, Italian, Spanish and of course her native Portuguese. She worked with our navigator, Roberto, who is from the area and clearly knows his way around the jungle. So in that picture to the left, it was night time and he just came out of the river with a baby caiman he dove after, and you can see that the high-powered flash light Marigita is holding (the only light out there) is hooked up to a car battery with a plastic cover over it. Pretty wild!

It was also nice that Roberto always remembered to stock a cooler with cold drinks that we were able to gratefully buy during our excursions. In thinking back on our experience at the Ariaú Hotel, at no point did we ever feel our lives were in danger or that our guides were anything other than completely knowledgeable and very much aware of the importance of preserving the delicate ecology of the jungle.