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1/2/13
We slept well in our hammocks last night as we had our mosquito nets up to protect us from bugs. We seem to have got the hang of the hammock thing - the secret is to tie it tight and sleep across it on a bit of a diagonal to keep your back straighter.
We headed out to explore our new surroundings. The small town was compact and bustling. We walked down to the rivers edge. Here we caught a small boat over to a small island in the middle of the lake. This was like being in a tropical paradise! White sands and palm trees. We walked along the island, past small bars/restaurants with their plastic tables and chairs set right out on the sand next to the water. We sat under a tree on the quieter part of the island and read our books. Our stomachs rumbled and we headed back to share some nibbles and drinks on the sand. We both went for a swim and it was easy to forget you were swimming in the Amazon river - we kept thinking it was just a normal beach.
Afterwards we caught a boat back to the mainland, bought some supplies for breakfast the next morning and headed back to the hostel to rest.
That night we walked to the main square to grab dinner in one of the small restaurants. We spotted our Brazilian friends from the boat trip and after our meal, joined them for some drinks. It was a lovely evening, swapping stories with them, eating dessert, sharing beers and listening to some excellent live acoustic Brazilian music - made a nice change from the music we endured on the boat! It was time to say goodbye to our new friends but we went home to our hammocks rejuvenated from a good days rest and swim.
2/2/13
Today we were catching our flights from Santarem to Recife, on the coast. We had the morning to enjoy our breakfast in the hostel and then look around the shops in town. We'd noticed there weren't many taxis around so we decided to look for one early to take us to the airport. Lucky we did because there were none to be found! We asked in a couple of hotels but to no avail. Eventually we went into a tourist cafe/shop and the owner had some private numbers for taxis. After calling around friends of friends he managed to find us one. Who knew the beach paradise was so hard to leave!
Our flight was to Recife but it involved landing in Belem and Fortaleza on the way. At these stops we didn't disembark but other passengers did. We remained on the plane and then the new passengers boarded and filled the empty seats. It was different - a bit more like a bus stopping at different stations on the way. It also meant there was a lot of landing and taking off, so the minute you were up you were coming down again.
We made it to Recife and caught our taxi to our small portugese hostel in nearby Olinda.
The Brazilian Amazon - tick. Now onto the next adventure!
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