The principal purpose in Brasil was to experience the World Cup, so Colombia was a nice warm up to the futebol festivities and sights awaiting in Brasil. I met Chris at the airport in Bogota where we flew to Leticia, a small jungle city in the middle of the Amazon bordering Tabatinga, Brasil. In Tabatinga we would board a boat for a 3 day and 3 night voyage to Manaus. Of course international travel wouldn’t be an adventure without some hiccups. First we had some difficulty figuring out the migration process, which requied a couple repeated trips between Leticia’s airport and Tabatinga’s port. Also, Chris’ backpack had not arrived with our flight, so we waited in great anticipation for the airline to deliver his bag to the boat. And with a great sigh of relief, just 15 minutes shy of sailing off (figuratively as it was a motorized boat) she arrived on her moto with his bag and set off.

We slept in hammocks, strung 2 across on 2 levels of the boat. We were served 3 meals a day, consisting of carne, pasta, frijoles y arroz, which I’ve acronymed ‘CaPaFriAr’. Needless to say CaPaFriAr was a bit blah as it was meant to feed the masses, so to spice things up Chris and I added peanut butter on our breakfast toast and his Belicen hot sauce with our lunch and dinner plates. The boat would dock at small jungle villages to drop off and pick up passengers and provide supplies. It was entertaining to watch the exchange of money and flying stalks of bananas from canoes that paddle up to the boat with their fresh cuts of the day. We took advantage and explored a bit of the villages, buying avocados, tomatoes and bananas from a market to add some more variety to our meals. It caught the attention of some other travelers on the boat who gave us a thumbs up of approval. As it turns out Colombians don’t know peanut butter, so we had the priveledge of introducing them to the tasty, nutty spread. And they liked it! Possible business venture?

It was pleasant to awake early to exercise in the cool breeze and glowing warmth of the rising sun at the top deck and stand at the helm of the helm of the boat watching the sun setting to a starlit night. Yeah, it was that poetic. We saw lots and lots of trees and huts speckling the riverside. It is actually the flood season, with water stages rising up to 7 meters higher than in the dry season, so the water was right up against these huts, which would normally be far away from the water. As far as wildlife we didn’t spot any jaguars, anaconda, kaimans or monkeys, but I’m certain they were camoflauged somewhere out there. While docked at a village we saw a family of dolphins. Only the Amazon is home to these fresh water dolphins. Sorry I don’t have a picture, as I appreciated the moment. We saw plenty of birds fly overhead, but none I could recognize.

I had to pinch myself to make sure I was really in the Amazon! But seeing the splendor of the same passing landscape got monotonous. To pass the time I would I sometimes play captain and take out my compass and binauculars. I even showed a shipmate how to use them. Luckily the boat had satelite so we could entertain ourselves gathered around the small TV watching the World Cup matches. We also talked with other travelers and made new friends. Chris got nicknamed Clark Kent, because of his haircut and glasses.

Having docked in Manaus, our first order of business was to find internet and get in contact with Jessica, whom Chris arranged to be our couch surfing host. She and her mother were very gracious and welcoming, this being everyone’s first time using couch surfing. We introduced eachother to new foods around the dinner table and conversed In a mix of English, Spanish and Portuguese, sharing a lot about eachother’s jobs and education, travel experiences, family and culture back home. They introduced us to tapioca and exotic fruits and prepared a typical black bean, rice and meat meal. We introduced them to peanut butter and even managed to bake a couple apple pies.

Jessica acted as our tour guide and took us to various sites and some of her favorite hangouts. She dropped us off at Parc do Mindu to run through the jungle-like trails.

We cooled off in the mall with her favorite fruit serbert treat and chocolate covered fruit bon bons.

We walked up and down the most decorated street for the World Cup, where neighbors combined effotrs to draw chalk art on the streets and walls and hung colored streamers across the road.

We then got our toes wet in the Amazon River at Porta Negra beach before going to her favorite bar area to eat plates of whole fish and drinks.

Her best friend Ana joined us for a night out in town, dancing to a mix of latin, brasilian and music at the US Supporters Party. We had after-party drinks at The Cachaca House, where I was overwhelmed by the selection and varity of Cachaca. There are over 4,000 brands basically stemming from 2 types being white and gold (aged) from numerous regions across Brazil with the most well known being Minas Gerias. The national spirit is distilled from sugarcane commonly used to make Brasil’s national drink, the Caipirinha as well as batidas (with fruit), Quentao (warm spiced winter drink) and in marinades with the premium liquers drinken neat or over ice.

We wrapped up our stay in Manaus, visiting The CIGS zoo to see the snakes, monkeys, tortoises, birds, leopards and jaguars that we didn’t see from the boat.