An Amusing Cast of Characters

Through our trip we've met plenty of interesting, warm and friendly people. Some local residents, some international travellers like ourselves and some domestic travellers who have been charming and helpful. But we have had our share of oddballs too. Two of them stick out.

When we were staying in Amazonia, our very helpful Pousada-owner introduced us to a Catholic, priest, yoga teacher and spiritual-guide of Indian (i.e. from our homeland!) origin so that he could help communicate with us in English since she spoke none at all. Well we did get that, but oh so much more! We had gone there after a trip to the airport chasing our delayed bags and were encountered with a wall of Portuguese so we were not sure the bags were really there. He assured us that our bags had arrived and were with the airline and then invited us to have some coffee before we left on our way to Alter do Chao. From the discussion, we gleaned that he had arrived here quite a few years ago, sent by the church to study and work in Brasil and now functioned as a spiritual advisor, free psychological counselor - by his own account, much in need since Brasil is a country of loose morals and sexual values hence there are many "problems." When he learned we were not married he nodded sagely and said "Ah yes, nowadays in India also they have that, boyfriend-girlfriend." Again by his own description, he also acts as a general administrator working with the government who knew everyone there is to be known including Lula himself! ("He is known to us" is a phrase we won't forget in a hurry.) What was his means of sustenance - he, erm, "collaborated" with the people of the town and had formed an "association." The "association" was so fond of him, it didn't even go on holidays without letting him be in peace and "forced" him to come along. To be fair, he kindly took us on a quick tour of Santarem around the docks at which point he was called by a friend and "association" member who called us over for some juice at her house. Since a good suco is not to be turned down, we went along and were treated to fresh orange juice and a delectable creme de maracuja! His friend turned out to be the wife of a big-shot doctor in Santarem and lived in a huge, secure house with a splendidly laid out garden. It turned out to be an unintentionally amusing afternoon and we even forgot about our baggage delay for a while.

An even stranger incident occurred at the Santarem airport where we spent most of the night before our flight to Sao Luis. I had gone to the information desk to inquire about whether there was Wi-Fi available at the airport and was greeted and answered by a wiry young man who said that we'd have to pay to get access. I said thanks and started to walk away when he engaged me in a brief discussion. He started off by asking me where I was from, which I politely answered but then he quickly moved on to whether I knew about Jesus Christ. I said well, what's there to know? But he insisted so I obliged and said he's supposed to be the son of God and apparently the product of the immaculate conception of Mary. Strangely - for an airport information desk employee - he asked whether I believed that was true and whether I believed in the Lord. A little bit puzzled and annoyed I said no, I don't particularly believe in any Lord of any sort to deflect any further line of attack. But undeterred he marched on and informed me that at some point I would come around and believe and in fact that happened to everyone, everyone eventually comes to believe. All of this, by the way, in perfect English. I thanked him for the information and made my getaway. We've chalked down Santarem as being a bit on the nutty side!

Baggagem perdida!

A long and roundabout flight with many connections dropped us off at the Santarem airport, from where we were to take two buses to Alter do Chao, a sleepy riverside town in the heart of the Amazon. We waited at the baggage collection area in the Santarem airport sleepily at 5:30 am, and were jolted awake when the carousel stopped and our bags had not arrived. Frantic thumbing through our phrase book brought us to the "baggage lost" page, and we explained to the staff waiting around that we didn't see our bags. Our confidence levels did not rise when everyone looked panicked and ran to the flight we were just on, waiting on the tarmac to take off to its next stop. Unfortunately, our bags were not found by the staff quickly rummaging through the plane's baggage compartment, and we found ourselves filling out an airline form with the help of two staff persons who spoke some English. I have to say that the airline (TAM) and airport security staff was extremely helpful, and we filled out the Portuguese form and made our way to the bus stop to take our bus to Alter do Chao.
Despite our grim situation (no change of clothes, no underwear except what we were wearing, no spectacles/contact lens solution, no medicines, no soap) the bus ride to Alter do Chau cheered us up immensely as we drove through the rainforest, and the cool breeze whipped through the windows bringing respite from the sweltering heat of the Amazon. A treat awaited us when we reached the pousada we were to spend the next indefinite period of time (until our bags reached) - for very little money we were given a palatial room in a charming garden setting (an arara (macaw) serenaded us from the neighbour's trees), with a sumptuous breakfast every morning, and best of all, the nicest and kindest owner! After feasting on a huge breakfast we made our way into the praca (which is about 3 blocks long) to purchase some underwear, clothes meant for this weather, soap, and contact lens solution. After a few tries, we managed to get all! In fact, it felt kind of good to have so few things to take care of. We enjoyed this simple living for the next two days while our baggage remained missing, taking turns to mope and be cheerful. More than the loss of the baggage, it was the indefinite stalling of the rest of our trip through Brasil that we were ruing.

Luckily, our baggage reached us in a couple of days, and we enjoyed our stay in Alter do Chao (and our visit to the Amazon rainforest) tremendously.