My final week in Curitiba was great I played some more soccer and also attended a Brazilian soccer league game in Curitiba. Our seats were great they were at the midfield three rows up. The local team Coritiba won 2-1 and the fans were going crazy because that was only their third win of the season. On Thursday I did one more soccer session and then I was off to the airport. It was sad to leave Curitiba and the Lionsraw project, everyone was simply awesome and the local children that I worked with were great as well. When they found out Thursday was my last day they repeatedly wished me safe travels and to enjoy Manaus.
Thursday night I arrived in Manaus, driving past the World Cup arena in Manaus I couldn't believe how large it was for a city that doesn't even have a team playing in the first league of Brazil. Seating around 50,000, my taxi driver said the stadium has essentially been vacant since the World Cup ended. This appears to be yet another effect some nations have when hosting large events such as the Olympics or World Cup... Brazil is doing both within a 2 year span.
Upon arriving at my hostel I went to bed as at 7:00AM on Friday I headed four hours deep into the Amazon Rainforest. Taking a bus three hours west and a boat another hour I arrived at a lodge in the heart of the Amazon. After unpacking I went on a canoe ride around the canal's of the Amazon River. This was thrilling yet terrifying as it was me, the tour guide, and one other guest on a three seat canoe in water that I had no idea what animals could be in it. Traveling throughout the flooded Amazon forest we got to see monkey's and all sorts of fish and birds. After canoeing for about three hours we stopped and fished for Piranha's these things were vicious with small, but extremely sharp teeth. I caught two within about ten minutes and after fishing for about a half an hour we started heading back to the lodge. While heading back we got to see pink dolphins swimming around the river jumping in and out of the water. I didn't no such things it existed, but they were amazing. After getting back to the lodge we ate dinner which consisted of some of the Piranha's we caught, they had too many bones for me to enjoy eating it, but it was nice to eat something I caught. After dinner we went back on a larger boat and went alligator spotting. Searching for about an hour we eventually found a baby one along with it's mother. We didn't get too close to them, but it was interesting to see how their eye's light up during the night. Heading back to the lodge I immediately went to sleep as we were getting up at 5:30 to see the sunrise.
Getting on another canoe we went to a wider part of the river and watched as the sun entered the sky it was beautiful. While watching the sunrise we also were able to see more dolphins. It's hard describing everything without pictures, I hope to upload some when I get back to the states.. I forgot my camera charger so now it's completely dead after the Amazon trip. Once we return from the sunrise view we had breakfast then went out into the jungle again to go hiking. The hike was great as we walked around the less flooded forest and seen plenty of insects, birds, and spiders. The first two I was fine with, but the spiders freaked me out. We seen two Brown Tarantula's that were the size of dinner plates. Their size was shocking and their nests in the ground looked huge, I didn't get to close to look in, but i assume there were quiet a few babies within the nest as well. Upon exploring the jungle for a while we made our way back to the lodge and had lunch. After lunch I made my way back to Manaus. The rest of Saturday I hung out with some people that were staying at the same hostel as me and went to the city center and walked around.
Sunday my flight was scheduled to leave for Rio at 5:00PM; however, it was delayed till 6. Arriving back in Rio I took a Taxi to the Airbnb place I'm staying in the historical Santa Teresa part of Rio. I have my own house with a great view of the city. I'll be staying here until I head back to the U.S. Wednesday night. It's hard to believe my trip is nearing the end, it's been one amazing experience and I've loved every moment of it. From the people I've met to the food and Brazilian culture it has been unforgettable. I'll report back Thursday when I am back in Cincinnati.
Tchau
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