March 15, 2016 - The perfect day with a mixture of cruising the Amazon this morning with arrival in port just before noon. So a leisurely breakfast and coffee followed by a bit of time with my needlework, which I love! You see I'm really slow! I'm working on the same piece that I was doing LIS/CPT! Don't know why I don't pick it up at home, but I just don't. My goal is to do one Christmas piece for each of the children's families... And I'm waaaay behind. So anytime I can get a few stitches in, I'm ahead of the game. Best get busy before I go blind with those tiny stitches!
We dropped anchor a bit ahead of schedule and stared tendering early. We were all signed up for the Boi Bumba show, dutifully turned in our excursion tickets for our tender tickets and patiently waited for our number to be called. We'd heard only good things about the folk dance and although I'm not too folksy, I was looking forward to seeing what there was to see.
The tender was considerably lower than the dock, so, one of the typical river boats tied up to the dock and the tender tied up to the boat. As a group we were helped off the tender onto the boat, crossed the deck of the boat to be helped off and onto the floating dock. I was amazed to learn that during the course of the year, during rainy season, the water can rise 90 feet above the height of low season!
Back to the Boi Bumba. Parintins hosts the annual festival during the last week of June. The three day festival is the biggest celebration in Amazonas and the second largest in Brazil after Rio's Carnival. This traditional Brazilian festival has evolved from a mixture of African and European cultures. It is centered around a ritualistic dance recounting the kidnapping, death and rebirth of a legendary Boi (ox) a metaphor for the agricultural cycles.
Originating on the 18th century plantations the festival arrived in Parintins almost 100 years ago. It's comprised of a vibrant, infectious rhythm and spectacular costumes with at least a million feathers! The last few decades the festival has gained in prominence and every June at least 35,000 people crowd into Bumbodromos, a stadium built especially for the celebrants, who join in the revelries. The fantastic procession incorporates dazzling dressed participants, including mythological beasts. In Parintins there are two distinct competing camps, the red Garantido and blue Caprichosa. Both compete to see who can create the most elaborate, outlandish costumes.
The costumes are spectacular, and I don't think I have never see that many feathers in one place! There were the good guys, the bad guys and some you couldn't quite figure out, but each costume was carefully crafted and, good guy or bad guy, they were all absolutely beautiful!
The show was about an hour long, and no one could resist the infectious rhythm throughout the presentations. Every one was swaying or tapping or clapping! It was an exceptional show and one that none of us will forget!
As we left the show there was a small craft market filled with local artisans and we were able to find a few more of the beautiful Brazilian stone necklaces and additional treasures!
We dribbled back to the ship, as somehow I got separated from the group and made it back first. The heat is exhausting and the tenders can be quite uncomfortably warm, but you know you are in the Amazon! And how exciting! Sorry, but it really is amazing that we are HERE! In the middle of the muddy Amazon, watching for pink dolphin.
The ship is showing PAPILLON with Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen tonight on the big screen in anticipation to our stop at Devils Island... John and I are opting out to enjoy a quiet dinner for two in Sette Mari.
Tomorrow we're in Santarem and fishing for Piranhas!
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