Day One - São Paulo and in transit

We arrived in São Paulo in the morning and our flight to Manaus was not until 8:30pm, so we had a good chunk of time to do something interesting. The first order of business was breakfast – which we had at a coffee shop right outside the baggage claim area. We were surprised at how expensive the food was: 60 reals ($31) for 4 coffees, two breakfast sandwiches and 4 pães de queijo - ouch! We always seem to plan our trips when the dollar is weakest!

Prior to our trip, we tried to prepare our children for some of the things they would see in Brazil by explaining that Brazil had a lot of people who were desperately poor. Even so, we were still startled by the little kids that came begging for our scraps when we finished breakfast at the airport and the deaf people who left trinkets or a small amount of peanuts on our table, with instructions asking for a donation for the offering.

São Paulo is one of the largest cities in the world and the possibilities are almost endless for fun and entertainment, but we wanted to do something uniquely Brazilian. Since SP is the city with the largest community of Japanese people outside of Japan, we set our sights on the Liberdade neighborhood ("Japan-town"), which also has a metrô stop and is therefore easy to get to.

Liberdade
As we waited for our first bus, we watched in amazement as one after another bicycle rider hitched their bicycles to the trees in full view of multiple large signs stating that doing so was prohibited. This was Exhibit B in my explanation to the kids about the complex relationship Brazilians have with rules.

Along the way, we passed some of the many Favelas that house the poorest of the poor in Brazil's cities, providing a glimpse into poverty that seems almost insurmountable.

It turned out that Sunday is also a day for the Liberdade street fair in the square and surrounding streets above the metro stop. Score! First stop was a street vendor for hot chocolate and pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread), which was welcome fare on a chilly, overcast day. Many of the vendors are Japanese artists and artisans, and we spent hours in the stands looking at the hand crafts and chatting with the vendors. Lilly found a wire artist that made animal shapes and opted for a small dragon, and then we found a young lady and her mother that made miniature origami figures and she bought a pair of origami earrings.

São Paulo’s Guarulhos Airport
We decided to head back to the airport to be sure we were able to retrieve our bags, check in for our flight and find dinner before needing to board the 3.5 hour flight to Manaus. Along the way, Lauren spotted a group of Capybara next to a pond along the highway, which are large rodents the size of dogs only found in South America.

Things are rarely easy in Brazil, so it was a good decision to head back to the airport when we did because it was crowded and many people were gathered around TV monitors, watching a soccer game between the U.S. and Brazil that the Brazilians won (nobody was surprised). Not having slept on the overnight flight, we were tired and succumbed to convenience and had dinner at Pizza Hut. We all ate happily. Speaking of happy, we found a kiosk that offered massages at the airport and Lauren became a happy client. When mom’s happy, everyone’s happy.

Changes in Brazil (part I)
Thankfully the flight to Manaus was uneventful. One thing we noticed had changed in Brazil is how common it is to see adults wearing braces on their teeth – all flight attendants on our flight sported them and it was noticeable among the people we saw in Liberdade. We were left to wonder why, and then we noticed other changes later in our trip that are hopefully good signs for the country.

Hot, Humid Jungle Air
After we arrived in Manaus, and got our bags, the hot and humid jungle air hit us in the face as we exited to the chaotic taxi stand. I don’t know why, but my command of Portuguese and ease with Brazilian culture did not prevent me from having a sense of unease as we sped away from the airport. The cover of night could not mask the fact that Manaus was a sleepy provincial capital that’s very far from the economic power of Rio and São Paulo. While I had never been to the Amazon before, I was not surprised to find it so vastly different from SP. Brazil is a continent-size country and we’d just traversed the equivalent distance (in terms of mileage and ambience) between New York City (São Paulo) and Boise, Idaho (Manaus) – very different places indeed.

Day Two – Manaus and the jungle

• Our day started early in Manaus with a very quick breakfast grabbed on the run since we had to catch the bus by 7:30am. In the daylight, Manaus presented the many facets and contrasts seen throughout Brazil – sleek modern architecture next to run-down storefronts and/or favelas, and modern automobiles passing push-carts and innumerable street vendors. As we crossed one small bridge, I saw a favela with half of the shacks under water and I remembered that we arrived at the end of a wet season marked by record flooding.
  
  Over some rooftops, I glanced the dome of the famous Teatro Amazonas, the improbable opera house that could easily fit into the elegance of Paris or Vienna. We then passed through an area with gated communities and then miles and miles of military facilities with groups of soldiers jogging and doing calisthenics in the already-blazing 8:00am sun, renewing my appreciation of our air-conditioned bus.
  
  Our boat to the Ariaú Hotel boarded at a dock at the Tropical Hotel in the Rio Negro, which is not coincidental since both hotels are owned by the same man. During the 1.5 hour ride, we passed miles and miles of trees, occasional bluffs and ever less-frequent houses. I was struck at the enormity of the river, which is the largest tributary of the Amazon.
  
  End of the Wet Season
  Although we’d been warned that the river was in the midst of the worst flooding since records were kept, we really did not have a sense of just how high the water was. We were told that the river was 29.3 meters above flood stage and the math told me that was about 60 feet, but we did not quite get it until after the trip and we saw a photo of the hotel during dry season and remembered that it was called the “tree top hotel” and the entire complex was built on stilts. Even so, the first floor was under a foot of water, so the staff responded by building a network of walkways just high enough to remain above the water.
  
  Nature is Everywhere
  This hotel came into being as a result of Jacques Cousteau, who urged the owner of the Tropical Hotel to create the means for people from all over the world to experience the wonder of the jungle. It was constructed in the 1980s using ironwood lumber, which is no longer possible since ironwood is a protected species and it’s illegal to harvest and use ironwood.
  
  The stark reality of being in the middle of the jungle and the omnipresence of nature was the best aspect of this hotel. Offering comfort and accessibility in the jungle is a difficult balance to strike, and the hotel seems to manage it well while maintaining an evident respect for nature and the surrounding communities. We soon learned that the heavy screens and chain-link fences covering all windows and terraces were due to the little monkeys, which scampered everywhere and became aggressive if they believed you had food with you.
  
  We found it amusing that the only people who seemed to ignore the numerous signs in both Portuguese and English advising us not to feed the animals, were of course, the Brazilian tourists. As if on cue, one mother was outside the dining room, giving her toddler bananas to hand to the little monkeys while she tried to snap a picture. When I pointed to the warning sign right next to her and asked her whether or not it was allowed, she quickly responded that it was okay to feed that monkey (pointing with a banana) and it could only be bananas. Pity that she moved even more quickly away from the sign when I turned on my own camera to capture the moment (Exhibit C in the considering the complexity of Brazilians' relationship with rules).
  
  Jeitinho
  The hotel’s response to the flood was a good demonstration of Brazilian “jeitinho,” which is a unique hallmark of Brazilian culture and roughly translates to creative resourcefulness. Nobody does “jeitinho” like Brazilians. Jeitinho helps keep things going in the face of challenges, whether presented by Mother Nature or pesky man-made ones like rules, ordinances or government decrees. Ask any Brazilian about jeitinho and you’ll either get a knowing laugh, a shrug, rolled eyes or most likely all three. It is sometimes referred to as "o jeitinho brasileiro" (as if there were any other kind of jeitinho and you need to clarify what kind it is). I think maybe Cubans come close to having a type of "jeitinho" as part of their culture (when they refer to a "Cubanazo"), but it really doesn't hold a candle to Brazilian jeitinho.
  Nonetheless, we were pleased the hotel's management believes in jeitinho and could operate in spite of the flood because our experience was unforgettable.
  
  Here is an aerial photo of the hotel during the dry season, and then compare it to this shot below from the boat on approach. Notice how it's built on stilts and how high off the ground it is to get a sense of the extent of the flooding.
  
  Nice Surprises
  Nice surprises included air conditioning in our rooms, and the fact that the Rio Negro’s water has a pH that ranges between 3.8 and 4.3, which means that it is too acidic for mosquito breeding. Score!!! There were plenty of other bugs, but the lack of mosquitoes was a huge relief. Thinking back on it, I realize that we didn't have creepy-crawlies in our rooms, so that was nice, too. The hotel itself is built entirely of wood and all doors are beautifully carved and each floor has a lobby area with beautiful murals on the wall (see above).
  
  Our lunch at the hotel included a very nice buffet with a wide variety of food served in a treehouse-themed dining room ( see below).
  
  

We met other foreign hotel guests, who we joined on our excursions, which included a contingent of scientists on a side trip from an Animal Behavior Society conference in Brasília. One of the scientists was a spider behavior specialist who kept marveling at the variety of spiders that would fall into our boat as we traversed the flooded forest. That made for some interesting moments. After lunch, we went on our first expedition – piranha fishing!

Piranha Fishing
The keys to piranha fishing are the technique and the bait. Contrary to most other kinds of fishing, noise is not a problem. In fact, it’s best to slap the water with the pole to simulate the sounds of a floundering animal (or a floundering tourist – eek!), which is like a dinner bell to these critters. The bait needs to be something succulent and juicy, and we were provided cut-up cow’s heart. Since the key is to look for signs of nibbling and then abruptly try to hook the fish, I think the density of the organ meat helps the process since more tender meat might be devoured without discernible signs.

Nonetheless, many of my pieces of bait were devoured without my being able to hook a fish. Fortunately, others on the boat caught piranhas so we were able to see them up-close. We gathered them up and took them back to the hotel to be made into a soup, which became part of dinner. Piranha soup has a strong fishy flavor, which some might like. I had a few spoonfuls, but it was not to my liking.

About Piranhas
Fast facts about piranhas include:
- There are about 15 species of piranha in the waters of the Rio Negro,
- They bite up to 60 times per minute and each bite is to take a chunk of flesh.
- They can grow up to 7 kg (that’s 15lb), so imagine a fish the size of a house cat with razor-sharp teeth biting up to 60 times per minute.
- Cattle ranchers that have to run cattle through piranha-infested rivers will often sacrifice one head of cattle to satiate the piranhas in the river and save the rest of the herd, and a 1,500-lb steer can be stripped to the bone in about 5 minutes.

Piranha are scary-looking little fish whether on the end of a hook or in a pot with spices and vegetables. Evidence abounds that they are voracious predators and quite dangerous. My unease deepened about our up-coming plans to swim in the river with the dolphins and decided not to think about it.

Day Five – morning in the jungle, Manaus, then Rio

Environment Protectors
We woke up and had breakfast and then received certificates from the hotel naming us “Environment Protector” for having participated in their excursions. In each of the circumstances, at no point did we feel endangered and it was clear that the excursions were had the goal of engendering understanding and respect for the ecosystem.
Sadly, we headed back to Manaus by boat. The Rio Negro has several locations where it becomes very wide, referred to as “bays.” The trip between the Ariaú and Manaus goes through a narrow point that separates two of these bays. Adhjacent to the Ariaú is the world’s largest river archipelago – the Anavilhanas Archipelago, which is entirely under protection by the Brazilian government as an ecological preserve.

Manaus and the Teatro Amazonas
While back in Manaus, we decided to tour the Teatro Amazonas – which is a beautiful opera house that’s still in use today to stage productions. All elements of the TA were designed and sourced in Europe, so It’s an amazing testament to what people can do if they get too much money too quickly. Alex was pleased to see that there is a replica of the TA on display made entirely of over 36,000 Lego blocks (see below).

We got the benefit of having an earnest taxi driver that looked old enough to be around when the TA was built in 1896. He spent a lot of time bragging about how Manaus is so “safe and calm” that you just don’t see police on the street. He got creative with explanations beginning with the third policeman I pointed out as we passed . I decided to lay off on him because I did not want him to get into an accident (in case he forgot to take his Geritol that morning or something like that…).

We made it back to the airport in time to have a late lunch at Bob’s for R$57 ($30) for the equivalent of 4 value meals at Mickey D’s. Ouch! And we did not even get toys with our meals, and Bob’s doesn’t have Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar or even Mayor McCheese…

Hapless Tourists Connecting in Brasília
Of course getting from Manaus to Rio was not easy. Our layover in Brasília, however, put is in a position to experience the kindness of Brazilians. Every monitor in the airport showed our flight as departing from Gate 10, as did our e-tickets and boarding passes. Gate 10 was under construction and every time we asked an airline employee which gate it was and how could we depart a gate that’s under construction, we got a different and contradictory answer. What impressed me was how three different random people made it a point to stop and try to help us, explaining that it would either end up being gate 9 or gate E/F (downstairs) but we’d just have to listen carefully for the announcement when boarding. All 3 of the people had a good laugh with us at how bizarre the situation was, but told us to keep the faith and listen carefully to the announcements because apparently that gate had been like that for about 6 months and it was never consistent which gate the Rio flight departed from. Ahhhh – only in Brazil !!!!!!!!!

Arriving in Rio
The flights to Rio (connecting in Brasília) were uneventful, other than the Brasília-Rio flight was full of business people in business suits, briefcases and blackberries. Even though the pilot said the temperature in Brasília was 26°C (80°F), most everyone wore cold weather clothing and there I was in shorts and flip-flops. No - we did not stick out at all on that flight. Not a bit...

Transportation Tip for fellow tourists:
If you go to Rio for the first time, getting a taxi can be a bewildering experience. I strongly suggest stopping at one of the "Radio Taxi" kiosks before you exit customs and you can pay a set rate by credit card to your hotel. Then, you can change money and do whatever you want for future transportation when you get to your hotel. Radio Taxi companies include "Cootramo," Transcoopass" and one or two others.

We arrived at Santos Dumont airport (the one closer to town) and the sight of Corcovado made me feel good. Rio captivated me ever since I first stepped foot there in the mid-seventies as a kid, and all the time I’ve spent in Rio over the years has given me such a sense of familiarity about it that it’s almost like a second home town for me.

Rio - the Original “Sin City”
I thought I was so clever to get a flight into Santos Dumont airport because it’s a short 10-15 minute cab ride from Copacabana. Wrong! Things in Brazil are simply not that easy. We ran into a traffic jam along the way on the Aterro do Flamengo because the police put up a sobriety checkpoint. We were frustrated because we were so tired, but also amazed because the Aterro is akin to Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive – it’s an expressway along the water with four lanes in each direction and it is only one of two direct routes linking Rio’s Zona Sul with the rest of the city. I could not imagine any police department in the U.S. shutting down an 8-lane highway to run a sobriety checkpoint, but here we were in the city whose reputation as “Sin City” was centuries-old (See Carnaval picture above) before Las Vegas was even built and they’ve shut down a major highway for a sobriety checkpoint at 10 p.m. on a Thursday night.

Brazil never ceases to amaze me.

Changes in Brazil (part II)
The fact that there was a sobriety checkpoint at all is a recent phenomenon in Brazil because there are multiple public-service ads on buses and taxis urging people to not drink and drive. Sobriety checkpoints are not new, but the focus on drunk driving in such a comprehensive way is noteworthy, particularly in a town that's all about leisure and entertainment. In addition, we noticed many public service ads regarding domestic violence and other "serious" topics that we took to be a sign that Brazil as a society is undergoing some changes.