Return home + final observations

Day 19/20 – Thursday, July 9, Friday July 10.   Salvador to home. Our return flights home were mostly on schedule, with a ~2 hour flight from Salvador to Rio, a 10 hour flight from Rio to Houston, and a 4 hour flight from Houston to Portland.  We unfortunately had long lay overs in Rio and Houston, >4 hours each.  While in Houston I started to not feel well, and spent ~ 1 hour of the flight from Houston to Portland in the bathroom of the plane throwing up.  I can't imagine a worse place to be sick.  Not sure if I got some 24 hour flu bug or if it was something I ate, but I had a fever and was sick for ~24 hours.  We got back to Portland at about noon on Friday, and by Saturday morning I was feeling mostly better, but still very tired.  Elizabeth was the only one of us to go through the whole trip with out being sick.  

We had a wonderful time overall in Brazil.  The people were wonderful and we enjoyed our itinerary.  We absolutely need to come back and see more another time (we still have 9 years and 10 months left on our visas), and I would highly recommend Brazil for people who are thinking of traveling there.   Here are a few other observations.

Airport security in Brazil is very lax compared to United States. They x-ray bags and you need to pass through a metal detector, but otherwise don't have a bunch of restrictions. For example, you can bring through whatever liquids you want. In addition to trays for any loose items that you have like cell phones they even have cup holders so your drinks don't spill when you put them on the convener belt for the x-ray machine. On one flight we had just bought milkshakes prior to security and I was hoping they wouldn't spill when the security agent put down a tray with four cup holders for us to out our drinks on to go through the x-ray machine. Also, no need to take out laptop, empty pockets except for metal, no need to take off shoes, etc.   Going through security never took more than 5 minutes at any of the airports.

One other things that was different was checking ID. You needed to show a boarding pass to go through security, but no ID. However, they checked ID as passengers were boarding every flight.  Other than that the Brazilian flights were not much different than US flights, although they do restrict carry-on luggage to 5 kg (about 11 pounds) so people don't carry on much luggage and the overhead compartments are only half full.

We flew 7 domestic flights on GOL airlines and 1 on TAM.  GOL is 2nd largest Brazilian carrier and TAM is number 1.  GOL only provides water for free and if you want any other type of drink you need to pay. TAM has a selection of juice,  soft drinks and  coffee for free similar to US airlines, and also provided a snack bag with cheese, crackers, and a piece of cake on the one short flight we took with them. However, GOL is our favorite airline - they have Daniel! 

We were surprised with the very low percentage of Brazilians that spoke English. Even among airline, hotel, and restaurant workers in tourist areas that typically would encounter foreigners only maybe 10% of workers spoke or understood basic English phrases. However, people were almost universally willing to try and help us.  Sometimes another customer would step in and help translate. At one airport cafe one of the employees disappeared and came back with someone who spoke English. He was not dressed like any of the other workers so I don't think he worked there, but the employee had left and found someone who could help translate. When all else fails, pointing, holding up fingers, smiling, and being patient helps. If you don't get exactly what you wanted normally it was close enough.  In a couple examples we found using Spanish helped as many words are similar to Portuguese, or at least much closer than English. For example, if you want water without carbonation, it is "sem gas" (without gas) in Portuguese, while in Spanish it would be "sin gas".   Of course, saying thank you (obrigado is you are male, obrigada if you are female) a lot never hurts.

When I get more time I will add highlights from everyone in the family., but for now our 2015 adventure is over, and it is back to the real world.  At least we have the next trip to look forward to.

Part 8 - Salvador

Day 17 – Tuesday, July 7.   Salvador. 

In a previous post I mentioned that I try and get as much done on the blog as possible while on the trip since when we return home there are a 1001 other things competing for my time.  Fortuneteller this time I got everything written on the trip except for the last two days, and for those days I got the photos picked out and uploaded while in the airport.  However, I didn't get anything written for the sections, so I am writing this from home.  At least initially without the detail I would like so I at least get something posted, and hopefully will add more detail later.  

Our time in Salvador was partly rainy, but warm, above 70 deg F, so it was comfortable, or even a bit steamy, but nothing like the humidity in the Amazon. We were picked up at the hotel at 9, and spent the day on a combination walking/driving tour of Salvador.  Salvador was capital of colonial Brazil for the first 200 years, and has a lot of interesting architecture and churches.  The city layout is interesting as the old part of the city is on a bluff above the bay that provided natural protection.  Today there is an elevator that takes people from the waterfront up to the old historic city.  Ten to 20 years ago much of the old city was run down, but many areas have been cleaned up and today are vibrant with lots of shops, restaurants, and clubs.  We explored the core part of the upper city on foot, and then were driven to some of the outlying sites and to the lower city later in the day, including going to the local market.

Day 18 – Wednesday, July 8.   Salvador.  Originally we had been scheduled to go on a an all day schooner trip into the day to some islands, but due to the weather there was a high likelihood of that being canceled.  So, we elected to do an alternate tour and go to Praia do Forte which was a bout a two hour drive north of Salvador.  Praia do Forte is a resort town, but is most famous for the TAMAR project, which is dedicated to preserving endangered sea turtles.  We stopped at a beautiful beach on the way to Praia do Forte and were blessed with sun while we were there, and then continued on the visit the TAMAR project.  We all enjoyed it, but Elizabeth especially loves turtles, so it was sort of a later birthday event for her.  We were originally going to have one extra day in Salvador and were considering going to Praia do Forte, so the fact that we needed to change from the schooner trip was not a problem, and I think it ultimately turned out to be a better option for us.

We returned to Salvador around 5 PM.   Matthew was still not feeling 100% well, so I stayed with him at the hotel and Karen and Elizabeth went back into the old part of town for dinner and some evening entertainment.

Part 7 - Manaus to Salvador

Day 16 – Monday, July 6.   Manaus to Salvador.  July 6 was Elizabeth's 18th birthday. Wow! A major milestone. The last night at Juma Lodge the staff had brought out a cake with a candle at the end of dinner and everyone had sung Elizabeth happy birthday a couple of days early.  We were supposed to spend her birthday in Salvador but with the delay in leaving Manaus we would spend much of her actual birthday in airports and on planes, flying from Manaus to Brasilia and then from Brasilia to Salvador.  Elizabeth hates flying. She is not scared, but the recycled air on planes makes her nauseous. 

The clock stuck midnight and July 6th started while we were waiting for the taxi outside the hospital.  Once we got to the hotel Matthew took a shower and went to bed. I joined Elizabeth and Karen in their room and we ordered pizza from room service and had a birthday dinner celebration at 130 AM. We had missed lunch and dinner the previous day as there was nothing to eat prior to security in Manaus so we were going to eat after we had made it out to the gate, and the whole time at the hospital waiting we did not know if the doctor was going to show up with new information in one minute or one hour, so we couldn't leave to try and find something to eat.

Elizabeth is 18!

While in the first aid station at the airport I had sent Eureka Travel an email telling them that we would be arriving a day late in Salvador.  I also called their emergency number, and just got voicemail, so I wasn’t optimistic that they would be monitoring email since it was Sunday. However, they were, and they quickly confirmed that they would notify the hotel and also work to rearrange our excursions.  In the morning I had another email from Eureka and they asked for our hotel in Manaus.  They called to confirm our flight times and told us they would arrange ground transportation to the airport in Manaus.

We had a 330 flight out of Manaus so we left for the airport after lunch. Too bad we didn't have more time at the hotel in Manaus as GOL put us in a very nice resort hotel in a gated community, with a private beach in addition to pools and other amenities. The rest of our day was fortunately uneventful and we were able to leave Manaus without further incident.  We flew to Brasilia and then to Salvador.  Our local guide Alfredo met us at the airport in Salvador and took us to the hotel.  It was a little after midnight when we arrived at the hotel.

For the next two days Alfredo would be our guide. He is Italian, having immigrated to Brazil about 25 years ago. He was very knowledgeable about Salvador, and very passionate about his adopted  country.  

Part 6 - More unexpected excitement in Manaus

On the first boat ride from Juma Lodge back to Manaus, Matthew started not feeling well.   After we reached the transfer point and were waiting for the van to arrive he got sick to his stomach.  After that he said he felt better although he was tired. However, after arriving at the airport he progressively started to feel worse, with fever like symptoms, and severe abdominal pain. We had arrived early, and found that we could only check in two hours before the flight.  By the time we could check in he was feeling awful, but we decided to see if he would feel better by the time the flight was ready to board.  As we started to go through security he threw up again.  The security people didn't seem to know what to do and seemed to be telling us to just go around him, although they may have thought we were not altogether. Finally a GOL airlines employee who spoke English came to help. He suggested we go to first aid and said he would go with us to help. He was extremely nice and quite possibly the most helpful customer service type person I have ever met working for any company.   When it became apparent that we would not be able to make our flight he took our boarding passes and retrieved our luggage, and got us booked on flights to Salvador the next day. I expected his help to stop there, but after a while when the first aid people were done he said their recommendation was for Matthew to go to the hospital for some additional tests. He said he would go with us, and had a voucher for the cab ride to the hospital and gave me a taxi voucher for us to get back to the airport the next day. When we couldn't get a cab to take 5 people he sent us in a cab and told us to wait at the hospital entrance and he would follow which he did.  We ended up being at the hospital until midnight, having left the airport around 4 PM. The GOL airline guy stayed the entire time, translating and trying to get things moving faster at the hospital.

Matthew leaving the ER with copies of his x-rays

Matthew sleeping once we got to hotel - he didn't even get his hat off

 After leaving the hospital we went to a hotel that GOL Airlines had arranged, spent the night there, and then left the following day to go back to the airport.  Total cost for medical care at the airport and hospital, changing our flights, transport to hospital and hotel, room and meals at the hotel, zero.  That's correct, ZERO.  GOL provided vouchers for taxi rides and the hotel, including meals. Medical care in Brazil at public hospitals is free, even to visiting foreigners. 

We want to nominate Daniel Ramos for GOL Airlines employee of the year.  He helped us from a few minutes after Matthew got sick when they summoned someone who spoke English until we left the hospital at midnight. Over 10 hours. He insured Matthew got care at the first aid station in the hospital, that we got our bags that we had checked, he re-booked our flights, got us taxi vouchers and a taxi, made reservations at a hotel for us, and spent the seven and half hours at the hospital translating for us, and helping to insure Matthew got proper treatment and that all our questions were answered. Even when we left the hospital he gave us his cell phone number in case there was any issue with when we arrived at the hotel. He truly was our guardian angel. It is heartwarming to known there are people like Daniel out there who are willing to go the extra mile and help out total strangers in need. Part of what he did I am sure is part of his job, and reflects GOL corporate value of customer service, but he clearly went the extra mile. The airline was going to send someone else to the hospital when it was taking so long and his shift was supposed to be over, but Daniel insisted on staying - he was personally invested in making sure everything was resolved. Even at midnight he had a smile on his face and wanted to know if there was anything else we needed. We can't thank him enough, and need to find an opportunity to pay it forward. 

Matthew with his guardian angel, Daniel

We would see Daniel three more times before we left Manaus. He met us at 2 PM the next day before we were checking in to give us some of Matthew's medical papers from the hospital.  After we checked in I discovered they had printed two copies of Elizabeth's boarding pass for the second flight segment and none for me.  I tried to get an agent to help but they did not understand English, so they summoned Daniel and he quickly resolved the issue.  Two hours later when we were boarding the flight, the first face we saw as we boarded was Daniel's. We laughed and said thank you again.  He was just helping overall with the boarding process, but it was as if our guardian angel was there to make sure there were no issues. I half expected to look out the window during the flight and see Daniel sitting out on the wing, making sure nothing bad happened during the flight.

The diagnosis at the hospital was that Matthew might have appendicitis. They said that the tests they could run were not conclusive, and we would need to get some other tests done at another facility.  However, his symptoms had mostly subsided by the time we left the hospital and they said that if his symptoms did not return or get worse we could continue our trip and he could get the tests done after we returned home.   We learned a number of things about the Brazilian medical system from our experience and from Daniel, and I will add more later on that subject.

Part 5 - Juma Lodge

Day 12 – Thursday, July 2.   Manaus to Juma lodge.  We were picked up at our hotel in Manaus at 7 AM, and based on my middle of the night experience I was happy to get away from there.  The driver took us down to the waterfront where we were met by some of the people from Juma lodge.  The waterfront was very busy for early in the morning.  We were able to get some food to eat from one of the food vendors there, and then boarded the speed boat for the first segment of our journey to Juma lodge.  Juma lodge is approximately 100 km south east of Manuas.  It is located just south of the equator, at a latitude of ~ 4° S.  It takes about 3 hours to get to the lodge, and involves taking a boat, then a van, and then another boat to get to the lodge from Manaus.

Giant water lilies alongside road

House alongside river 

Our first view of Jama lodge

We arrived at the lodge late morning, and after a welcome and meeting our guide Leon were shown to our cabins. The lodge has ~20 cabins, and most are spread out and accessed via a series of elevated walk ways. There were a few centrally located cabins that were close together, but most, including ours were secluded. We were ~75 feet from the nearest cabin, and with the dense foliage you could not see any other cabins and had the sense from your balcony that you were alone on the bank of the river. It was about a 500 foot walk to the dining hall, and another 300 feet to the reception and dock. Our cabins both had a full bath with large 3 foot by 6 foot shower, solar water heater on a platform ousted the cabin, a large ~12x15 foot main with a full size and a twin bed, and a covered deck off the back with a hammock and table and chairs. They also had a ceiling fans, a must for a reasonably good night’s sleep in the hot and humid rain forest. The lodge is on a narrow peninsula and each cabin backed up to the water providing lots of privacy. 

Matthew outside cabin he and I shared

Dining Hall

Parrot that showed up every morning by dining hall

Normal high water which occurs in June is about 17m.  In 2015 the high water level was 20m, almost 10 feet higher than normal.  When we visited there were a few areas at the lodge that were still underwater, although Leon said that the water level had already dropped about 1 foot, having crested in the second week of June. Some of the cabins had been under water and in the reception area which was above water now you could see the high water mark on the counter as they had not had time yet to refinish the wood.   It would be interesting to come back during the dry season as it would be a significantly different experience. They had photos in the dining hall that were really interesting to look at to see the difference between high and low water, with water being up to the floors during high water, and the buildings way up on stilts during low water. However, it was still had to envision how much more bare land there would be in dry season. Leon did say that in dry season they do more activities on land whereas every excursion we did included a boat ride for at least the first and last parts of the excursion.  

Section of walkway.  Note they have temporarily raised a section that was below water

We had daily afternoon excursions departing at ~330.  Our first excursion was a boat ride through the waterways around the lodge.  It was surprising how still the waters were, with amazing reflections.  Due to the very high water level, many of the tops of the trees that we were going by were only slightly above water level.  There were some taller trees, but there was so much water that there were only a few places where we could see dry land - most was just open water or flooded forest as far as you could see. Most of the area was seemingly undisturbed forest, but there were a few houses that we went by. Some were on dry land, but others were on stilts and completely surrounded by water.  The one common denominator was that they all had one or more boats tied up outside the house or on the riverbank next to the house.  We stayed out on the water to watch the beautiful sunset before returning to the lodge for dinner. 

Headed out on excursion

Termite nest in tree

Awesome reflections

Sunset from the water

View from our balcony back at the lodge

Day 13 – Friday, July 3.   Juma lodge.  The second day at Juma we went on a jungle hike in the morning after breakfast. They took us via boat for 15 minutes or so and then we disembarked for a hike through the jungle.  We spent about 2 hours being led by Leon on a series of trails. Every few minutes he stopped to point out various trees and explain what they are used for. In many cases they are trees that are used for commercial purposes and in other cases the Indigenous people use them for medicinal purposes.  For example, he showed us the trees used to make Vicks Vapor Rub and Halls cough drops.  In both cases he shaved off a piece of bark and let us smell it, and they had the familiar smell you would expect for those products.   He also showed us several examples of uses of naturally occurring items by the Indigenous people. Some involved using parts of the plants, but one involved insects. Leon stopped by a large ant nest on a tree. The nest looked like a growth on the tree, with a sort of bark or scale like texture. He said that the ants made the nest with dried leaves and saliva. He hit the nest with the back of his machete and the ants swarmed out.   He placed his hands on the nest and when they were covered with ants he vigorously rubbed them together. He said that indigenous people did this and smeared the extract on their bodies as an insect repellent and also to mask human body scent to make it easier to sneak up on animals when hunting.  Several people.in our group tried it, including Karen, Elizabeth, and Matthew, but they stopped short of smearing it all over their body.  In addition to the ants, Leon caught two types of frogs, one so small that it was amazing he could spot it.

Leon stirring up ants in the ant nest

Elizabeth holding one of the small frogs 

Giant Amazonian people

One of the nasty spiders we saw

Leaf frog

Mike with leaf frog

Leaf frog almost blending in with real leaves

Intertwined tree and vine

Leon administering first aid for fire ants

When we were close to being done with the hike, Elizabeth stepped in a bunch of fire ants and they crawled up and started biting her ankles. While.it hurt a lot, she fortunately did not get a big reaction to the bites like she does with many insects. Perhaps this was due to the fact that Leon immediately gave her some type of medicine to put on the bites. Another person in our group was not as fortunate.  Later in the day he had large welts on the upper part of his arms and apparently across much of his upper back as well that he thinks was caused by any bites. The jungle can be a rough place. 

In the afternoon we went piranha fishing. The first spot we tried we struck out. Apparently it is much harder to catch them when the water is high as there are so many more places to go, but Leon said they travel in schools, so if we caught one we would likely catch a lot. The second place Leon selected turned out to be a great location. Everyone on the boat caught at least one, and Elizabeth caught the most, six. However, she was the most terrified of the fish that she caught. After posing for pictures with them we released them back into the water.   They did turn out to be hard to catch.  I caught two, but must have lost 30 pieces of bait (beef) to the piranhas.

Piranha fishing

Mike with piranha

Teeth on one of the piranha that I caught

Matthew and Karen displaying their catch

After fishing, we stopped at a floating bar to use the bathroom and get something to drink while we waited for it to get dark so we could go caiman spotting. These relatives of the crocodile and alligator can get huge, up to 7m (23 feet) long.  Leon used a powerful flashlight shining across the water and looked for reflections from their eyes. I didn’t see anything, but Leon directed the boat driver to navigate over to a spot along the shore, and he laid down on the front of the boat and moments later stood up holding a 2 foot long caiman.  We all got a chance to hold most with assistance from Leon, and he told.us all about the caiman.  We then returned to the lodge for a late dinner.

Matthew with caiman

Mike holding caiman

Day 14 – Saturday, July 4.   Juma lodge.  Our morning excursion today was canoeing.  The canoes were shallower and tippier than what we are used to in the US, but everyone survived the 2+ hour excursion without falling into the water.  We navigated through some wide waterways, but also many narrow passages.  We only crashed into a few trees, and I think we gradually improved on our ability to cleanly make it through the narrow passages. It was amazing how out guide knew where to go. With no tall landmarks and a multitude of interconnecting waterways and passages through the trees it we had no clue where we were. 

Karen and Mike paddling

Matthew paddling 

Leon and Elizabeth

Returning to the Juma dock

Triumphant paddlers!

We were very lucky with the weather during our stay. On Friday we had very heavy thunderstorms from ~ 1 to 2 PM during our siesta time. It woke me up from my nap, but we were nice and dry in our cabins. The heavy rain also cooled down the temperature significantly, making our afternoon excursion and sleeping that night more comfortable.  On Saturday we had a brief shower at about the same time, but it was brief and just raised the humidity (if that is possible) and did not lower the temperature. We also had a little bit of rain overnight but were dry for all of our excursions. Leon said there was no real pattern to the rain and that they often had to cancel or change start times for excursions. 

In the afternoon we visited the house of an indigenous family. Leon gave a lecture on how the indigenous people live, explained how they used many of the plants they grew, and gave us some demonstrations. This included sampling some of the herbs they grow, one of which made our tongues numb after chewing on the leaves.  Matthew tried the flowers which Leon said were much more potent and it made his whole mouth numb.  We also got a demonstration of how they prepare Brazil nuts. Brazil nuts are inside a softball sized shell that resembles a small coconut. Each one had 12-20 nuts inside. After they prepared them we each got a couple to eat.   It was interesting to hear about the Indigenous people, especially how they are treated by the government. They are exempt from many of the laws that other Brazilians are subject to. For example, the house that we visited was that of a 26 year old man.  His wife was 15 and they already had one child. For non-indigenous people this would be illegal and the man would be arrested, but it is very common among indigenous people for women (girls) as young as 12 years old to marry and have kids.  The indigenous families do not own their land, but when they marry the tribal leaders assign them land that they can live on. Many of these people have never been to the city or rarely go. Mobile stores on boats come through periodically for them to purchase or trade for goods that they need. 

Raised bed herb garden

Leon giving his "lecture"

Native house

Karen eating Brazil nut

Work structure

The owner returning from top of a tree

Preparing Brazil nut

After leaving this home we went to a good place to view the sunset before returning to the lodge for dinner

Another amazing reflection

On boat ride back

End of another hard day

Day 15 – Sunday, July 5.   Juma lodge to Salvador.   For our final morning we went out for a sunrise boat ride, leaving at 530 in the morning and returning for breakfast at 7.  It was very peaceful to sit in the boat and watch the sky gradually get lighter, with the clouds transitioning through various shades of pink and white. We packed up and left the lodge at about 830 for the trip back to Manaus. From Manaus we would be flying to Brasilia and then Salvador where we planned to spend the last four nights on our trip. 

Dawn in the Amazon

Sunrise in the Amazon

Juma Lodge was wonderful. Leon was a great guide, all the other staff were wonderful, and the food was very good. Guest stayed for various amounts of time, so every day there were new people coming or going, but I would say on average there were ~25 guests there when we were there, broken up into groups of 10 or less. There were probably 2 staff members for each guest - we kept seeing new faces all the time. I HIGHLY recommend Juma Lodge. You can find additional information at www.jumalodge.com.

End of first boat ride back from Juma Lodge

People sometimes ask how I have time to write all this stuff while traveling - up to about 13,000 words so far. It helps to not sleep as much as the rest of my family, so I get a lot done late at night.  I also use time in airports and  on planes when there is not much else to do and I am not missing out on seeing anything.  I figure if I don't write it on the trip I won't find time when we return to our normal hectic life, plus it is easier to write when things are fresh on your mind.  Sometimes I have to write from really awful settings like the one below.  

Hard at work on the deck at our cabin