Santarem flood plain with the Pereira de Sousa family and Gil Serique
Gil is my guide and I would like to consider him a friend. We have lots to talk about as we are both 'in the business' even going as far as doing excursions for cruise ship passengers.
And another thing we share is a commitment to bringing the benefits of tourism to local families of little other resources, thereby involving both the visitor as well as the visited. It's a win-win-win situation.
Here, just 15 minutes from the edge of Santarem, the road meets the flood plain. That's our ride, waiting.
Our trip to the flood plain just outside Santarem is a highlight of my trip, and there are many. It was not just about the water and birds (and sloths, many sloths) it also involved lunch with a family that lives there, sometimes on land, others on water as the river rises so high they are literally walking on water.
It's just mud, nothing serious
After shopping for ice, cachaça, limes, fish, we met Seba or Sebastião at the end of the road and he took us in his boat to his house, along with wife Lina, grandson Rafael and the lovely Giovana who was coming back from school.
Horses in the pasture will have to move further inland as the water rises
Giovana, coming home from school
Yes, that's a water buffalo.
Once we arrived at their one-room home, we proceeded to make the caiprinhas and throw those damn ugly fish on the grill.
Sebastiao pae, preparando caipirinhas
They certainly do resemble a kind of catfish
One of the things we talked about was the port project that would effectively ruin the area and not only Sebastio's familys way of life, but also the rich ecosystem on the rivers edge. It might bring in a few jobs, but this focus on soy production and the collateral projects related to it is messing seriously with the jungle in this area.
Sebas, Gil and Yours Truly
Rafael and Giovana- love these kids
I will put the photos of the flood plain boat trip on another post or in an album. This one is just about the family.