Winner of a day, Tues, 3/14/23

 

I have no idea where the phrase "winner winner, chicken dinner" comes from, but it surely could describe our day on the Rio Negro!  (Haha, I just looked it up:  The phrase originated in Las Vegas casinos when chicken dinners were on their menus for $1.79.  If you won $2, the dealer would shout the phrase.)  Woo-hoo, I feel like we won two bucks!

The Pilgrim tied up near the City of Novo Airão (New Airão) last night and today we'd pull next to the main dock and do a walkabout the town.  Always curious, I looked up the word Airão, which means Heron in English!

As soon as we stepped off the boat, we were greeted by this Lesser Kisskadee, cheerfully chirping.  Still fairly early, the air already felt hot, like we should seek shade whenever possible, which we did.

Scenes about town as we began our walk.  The bright and pretty flowers I don't know, but I was intrigued by the religious icon in the window of the house, top right, with vultures in the yard.  The place, lower left, is an upscale hotel.

I posed for this thing thinking it was a giant tarantula, only to be informed by Jimmy that it was an ant.  Oh.  Oh well.  My red rain jacket is tied around my waist (in case), and a very special present for a very special little girl (who's sixth birthday is tomorrow) is in the white bag.  💗

Novo Airão is good-sized, over 15,000 residents.  Proper streets with cars and trucks (you might be wondering).  And a dinosaur park!  Jimmy checks it out before we continued on.

We stopped at an open air workshop, watching men slice a thick bamboo-like cane into fine strips to be used in making rattan rugs, placemats, baskets, etc.  The cute li'l fella sidled up to me, I think, to ask me something, but he didn't speak English and I don't speak Portuguese; instead, I just hugged him.  We had the option to buy something afterwards, but most of their goods were too big for a suitcase.

Afterwards, we walked some more and ended up at a large, open air woodworking shop, eyeballing their fine works.  Jimmy and I bought a small wooden bowl that would fit easily in one of our bags.

Then, oh boy, a slew of motorbikes awaited to take each of us (thankfully, it was too hot to walk anymore), to this tiny floating house.  What awaited?

Pink Dolphins!  We got to feel them, pet them, as the lady with her feet in the water gave them a fish.  She knows them by sight, females and males, has given each a name and is allowed to feed them daily.  More than one or two show up, but she knows who's who.  And this is regulated.

Such a neat feeling.  Jimmy left, has a turn.  Me and Bernice, right, have just stroked the smooth and rubbery skin of this pink dolphin.  Wowzers!  Everyone could participate.

Prerequisite photo. 😊

Later .... Here's where the group learned about native fruits that had been picked whenever we went ashore (mostly).  We had our checklists so we could mark the ones shown.  Easiest to tell is the fan of palm seeds in front -- açaí seeds.  Guavas and wild pineapples and mangoes and more.  Three juice mixtures had been made (at right) for us to sample.  Left to right you see:  Acerola (Bahamas cherry), Maracuia (passionfruit) and Cupuaçu on the right.  Best tasting was the passionfruit juice.

Comfortable "living room."  Air conditioned.

Enlarge the pic and look behind Ibby in the red shirt.

Top, from left:  A piece of tucumã seed (also from a native palm tree), and a giant ball of rubber we bounced around.  Bottom, left:  Bonnie sniffs a native coconut (which didn't smell like one to me), and the açaí seeds.

The Pilgrim continued "steaming" toward our next destination while we listened, tasted and smelled the tropical flora and fruits.  Very interesting afternoon.

But, oh my goodness, look, there's more!

We're tying up at the beach!

Our own beach!

And going swimming!  Hi Jimmy!  The water was warm and clear, just tannic, and the beach is sandy.  No little fishies with sharp teeth and no spectacled caiman waiting to do more than nibble.  This is a safe place to swim because of the fine sand.

The crew set up a Brazilian barbecue, too.  Look at those hot coals producing delicious chicken and local fish.  Mmmmmm

Of course, Jimmy and I couldn't wait to dig our toes into the soft sand and walk to the far point, both of us still in our bathing suits.  Our Pilgrim riverboat is yonder.

Half the time tree roots are in the water and the other half not, but these exposed roots are seriously weird.  The jungle lurks not far behind!

Time for me to return to the ship to change, but first I rescued the purple floatie and put it back inside.  Swimming or just frolicking in the water felt wonderful.  Imagine us -- in the Rio Negro ... on purpose!

Our group was gathering on the sand.  The crew did such a lovely job of setting up tables with linen cloths, china and cutlery and fine glassware, all for a beach BBQ for us.  Drinks were available, too, at the table, far left.  I took this pic from the boat before joining the group on the sand.

And finally, the sky became the star show.

Wow!

Here is our dedicated crew, receiving kudos from the gang -- thanks for everything, you guys!  This is a farewell for all of us, as the group will be disembarking tomorrow morning.  We'll be moving to a hotel in Manaus tomorrow night, the same one we met in as a group our first night in Brazil.  What a fantastic send-off they've given us.  First class all the way

Tonight we'd overnight at Lake Acajatuba, and at 6am, we'll be Out and About exploring in the canoes one more time.