Out of Town Trip

The final must-do for people visiting Manaus is take a trip about 2 hours away to a city called Presidente Figueiredo, home to many cachoeiras (waterfalls). Our friends Debora and Mark are always game to get out of the city, so they went with my brother and me. Unfortunately, Jay had to pass cause he had to work.
We left on a Friday morning by taxi- very reasonable and easy compared to a bus- and arrived in time for check-in and lunch. We stayed at a rather charming place called Pousada das Pedras that was filled with lots of flowers, plants, jungle animal carvings, and hammocks.
After a typical self-service lunch, we headed out to explore a nearby cachoeira. The trail through the forest to reach the waterfall was about a 20 minute walk, and along the way, we stopped to pose with this thick, hanging vine.

Once we reached the water, we had to cross part of the stream and try not to lose our shoes in the process! Here is Aaron up to his knees in the water. 

We hung out in the water for the afternoon and cooled off before heading back before the sun set. That night, we had dinner near our pousada at a very cozy Italian restaurant.  We all split a pizza, decided it was so good we wanted more, and ended up having 3 pizzas in all! It was all homemade and fresh, right down to the basil on top that the chef picked from a plant inside the kitchen. If only this place was closer!!

After getting through the night on an incredibly stiff "bed"- looked like a bed, felt like a plank of wood with a sheet- we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast and headed out for another cachoeira. This place was actually a nature reserve and was well cared for with labels on every tree along the trail. 

At the entrance to the park

After a 30 minute hike through forest, we reached our destination to find that we were the only people there. Considering we went on a holiday weekend, it was very fortunate and unexpected. The waterfall was especially beautiful, too. 

Cool effect from a foggy lens :)

Can you spot Waldo? 

We stayed in the water until we were hungry for lunch and caught a taxi to take us to our usual lunch place for grilled meat and all the fixins before heading back to Manaus. All of us slept part of the way back except for Aaron. Having permanent shot-gun ensured that he had the best view for all of the crazy drivers out here who pass on a solid line or on an uphill, pass on the right shoulder, etc. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss! 

It was so nice to spend a couple days away from the city in the middle of waterfalls and rainforests with some of my favorite people.  I'm already looking forward to going back for some of that yummy pizza!  

Typical Week With My Brother

There were a few things that we just had to do with my brother while he was here in Manaus. After checking off the must-do boat trip on the Amazon over the weekend, we still needed to take him to a churrascaria, a typical Brazilian all-you-can-eat-meat-fest. No trip to Brazil is complete without stuffing your face with every variation on beef known to man, especially when it is brought right to your table and sliced fresh.
Jay and I had actually never been to a churrascaria here, only in New York City, but we live only a 10 minute walk from one so we gave it a shot. I sort of figured that on a Tuesday afternoon we might be the only ones there, but I was wrong. Apparently, these restaurants are not just for tourists after all.
Shortly after we sat down with our first course of salad and veggies (trying to not be sooo gluttonous), we were bombarded with waiters and their meat. I started off by thinking I would take it easy and not eat too much, but my good intentions lasted til the first bite. We all enjoyed our leisurely lunch and ate to our hearts' content, or perhaps discontent.

My bro 

Can't get enough 

We also spent some time doing things we would normally do during the week, like go grocery shopping. 

I think he ended up going to three different supermarkets while here, all at varying levels of cleanliness and ranging in size from small to huge. In fact, one of the stores is so big that some of their employees wear roller skates to get around faster! Now that is an idea that makes sense. 

He also got the chance to see some of the crazy high prices for food. Because Manaus is rather isolated from the rest of the country, literally in the middle of the Amazon, lots of things travel many miles by plane or ship to get to us. Produce is unfortunately one of the most expensive things at the store. One medium sized melon, for example, can cost more than about $40US! We have yet to eat grapes here because they are $15US a pound. Here is a pic of a small head of broccoli at our local Carrefour, about $7US. Underneath it, a box of taco shells is more than $10US. I remember when I used to hate paying the high prices in NYC, but they've got nothing on Manaus!

Heart-breaker :(

Another typical weekday experience for him was going to see a concert at the Teatro Amazonas. Our orchestra normally performs on Thursday night, and I was so happy Aaron could be there to see/hear. It's been a long time since he has seen me perform, so it was very special for both of us.

On stage at the Teatro

I'm pretty sure he liked it cause when he came backstage afterwards, he thought it was only intermission (Jay's lil joke on him). It's always a compliment when someone wants to hear more after almost 2 hours of music!

Our First Visitor!!

Jay and I recently had the very great fortune to have my brother in town for about a week. We were with him this summer when he bought his ticket for Brasil, and we've been looking forward to his trip ever since.
After a 3 day trip to get here, he left very late on a Thursday and arrived very early on a Saturday, he arrived in one piece with all of his luggage. Not a bad start for Brasil ;)
Jay and I picked him up at the airport, and I was all butterflies every time the sliding door opened to reveal the next passenger. And then finally it was him!!!!

After giving him a day to get settled in and rest a little, our friend Debora, Jay, and I took him out on the river. We decided to wing it at the port this time instead of pre-planning a trip with a guide/boat. We settled on a guy with his small, covered motor boat and went on our way to see the Meeting of the Waters (where our 2 local rivers come together to form the Amazon). 

Debora, Jay, and Aaron headin out

After about 45 minutes of bumping through the river on rough, metal seats, we slowed down and watched the two rivers run side by side without mixing. Jay and I have been to this point many times now, but it is still really cool to see. The best part of all is that if you're lucky, you can see some dolphins jumping around. We typically have one person see one, then we all look too late, and we have to live vicariously through their description. Aaron must have been our lucky charm though cause we saw schools of dolphins all around us. It was so incredible! A few would jump out of the water, swim a bit, then jump some more. I couldn't get any pics, but I do have some good video to prove it. You can take my word!

We headed back to the port once we got our fill of the dolphins, and we were doing pretty good until the boat stopped. It had been doing this off and on since we left that morning, but the guide always got it going again. Probably should have tipped us off sooner, but what can you do once you're in the middle of the river? Anyway, the boat didn't just start again this time because we ran out of gas! What the??? 

The driver got some other guys in a boat to come over and sell him some gas, and then he managed to get it all over my seat while pouring it into the tank- which is why you should never wear nice clothes on a boat trip. 

We bounced our way back to the port in silence and all rejoiced when we were once again able to stand up and stretch out our legs. All in all, I think it made for a super memorable experience for my brother! 

Still smilin :)

Better Late than Never

Wow, I can't believe it's already been more than a month since I last posted a blog. My bad! Having very sketchy internet is gonna be my excuse for now, but we recently switched to a more reliable internet service so that should help from here on out. Also, I now can use my own computer which means photos of mine can be added to the blog again (if it doesn't take f o r e v e r).

We've basically been up to the same things as usual since the last post. I've been having rehearsals and concerts, and Jay's been working hard preparing and teaching his English lessons. He also started playing in the jazz band here recently after a year of waiting for things to work out with his visa. Things haven't officially "worked out" completely, but at least we are on the right road now.

One unforeseen benefit of the trouble with visas in general is that Jay got to spend a week in NYC in October, courtesy of a Brasilian who needed something from the states but couldn't get a tourist visa. I have to admit it was a bit strange to be the one left behind while he got to travel somewhere fun, but I guess there is a first time for everything! And I certainly ended up benefitting from his stateside trip since he brought back a suitcase full of edible goodies for us.

Just a sample of the foods we miss and don't have here in Manaus.... peanut butter, pretzels, mac&cheese, maple syrup, pancake mix, tortilla chips, taco seasoning, refried beans, and bagels. We can live without most of the food we're used to, but it's hard to get over the loss of Mexican food. We're trying our best to make the nachos, burritos, and tacos last as long as possible!

That would be my toasted everything bagel 

with peanut butter and butter. It was heaven!!!

I know that the experience of living here will leave us with a very deep appreciation for all of the choices and conveniences of food in the States. In the meanwhile, we will continue to savor every jar of peanut butter to the finger-lickin end!