Manaus, Brazil

Hello!

    I have made it out of the Amazon jungle alive!! Man was it quite the experience! Manaus is a city built in the jungle... there was not much to do independently but it was still fun to walk around the town and see how the locals live.

The first day (Nov. 22) we got there was Thanksgiving. It was kind of sad knowing that I was not spending this day with my family like I have done every year in the past. But  I made it through it knowing next year and every year from here on out I will be looking back and remembering exactly everything I did this Thanksgiving. In the morning me and some friends attempted to walk around the city to get breakfast and some WIFI. We did not succeed so we turned around and headed back to the ship after about 3 hours of searching. Once we made it back I got the opportunity to join a SAS trip that was going around the city to all the important building and monuments. We went to the opera house, presidents palace, an Indian museum and a banana and fish market! For one,  I have never been in an opera house and oh my gosh it was soo beautiful! And second, at the banana market there were sooo many bananas! I have never seen so many in my life!!!! After the trip to the markets we headed back to the ship where we had dinner and got ready to go to the symphony.  It was a pretty memorable Thanksgiving! The first picture was the opera house and the second picture was the bananas!






The second day (Nov. 23) I had the chance to do a service project where I hung out with neurologically disabled children at the zoo. I have to say that this was probably the most challenging service visit yet. It was really hard to connect with the children for many reasons ranging from their disability to the language barrier. But it was wonderful to see how their faces lite up when the realized we were at the zoo. The zoo was a completely different challenge. I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MANY WEIRD ANIMALS IN ONE PLACE BEFORE! This zoo was definitely one that housed Amazonian animals. This trip took all day but once we got back me and my friends had a 'girls' night which was fun. We went out to dinner than out to dance... and have fun :) The picture below is one of the largest/weirdest/nastiest rodents I have ever seen in my life!



The third day (Nov. 24) was eventful. In the morning I took a riverboat to see where two rivers meet. It was cool to see because  it is the confluence between the Rio Negro, a river with dark (almost black coloured) water, and the sandy-coloured Rio Solimoes. It is a main tourist attraction in Manaus. After we saw the meeting of waters we went into a little village where we saw how they make rubber. After talking and shopping there we went to see some the the largest water lilies ever and took a small hike through the jungle where I came across some of the largest bugs that have ever roamed this earth! It was scary! The first picture if the meeting of water, the second picture is of a butterfly/moth thing!