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 :)