Beaches of Brazil Exploration Dispatch

October 9, 2008 – Another Day in Tropical Paradise

Today we crossed by highway into Paiui, the hottest and one of the poorest states in all of Brazil. Our driver told us that birds that fly over this state fly forward using only one wing. They use the other wing to fan themselves in the tropical heat!

The cooling winds that blow into the beaches south of here are gone. The locals say if you see a tree moving in your yard, shoot it, it has to be a burglar; the air is too still to move trees here!

In the afternoon we went by motorboat up the delta of the Rio Parnaiba. This is the only deep sea delta in all of the Americas. It is a rich tropical land; it doesn’t have a dense rainforest like the Amazon, but abundant life all the same.

We enjoyed watching iguanas cooling themselves in the branches of trees along the waterways. We also got a chance to see the fascinating Brown Capuchin monkeys. They are often called Einstein Monkeys, because of their intelligence. They are known to be the most technologically advanced of all primates. They move special hard rocks hundreds of meters from the river bed and then use them to break nuts open. Our guide told us he has also seen them carefully insert their long tails deep into the narrow holes where crabs live then pull the crabs out quickly when they latch on so that the other monkeys in their family can grab them to eat.

We were too busy driving to stop for lunch today, so we loaded our motorboat with Styrofoam coolers full of Guarana, local Brazilian soft drinks, beer and fruit. We also had roasted chicken and fresh bread from a local supermarket. Our onboard picnic was enjoyable! The best surprise was when Leila pulled ice cream from the cooler – a real treat in the delta heat!

Later we went by paddle boat further and further into the delta. We were also watching for Anacondas and Alligators as we slowly moved up the water ways. Our guide, Pedro said that when a 2 meter alligator gets into a fight with a 5 meter Anaconda that it is quite a show. He also said that the Anaconda usually ends up having supper after the fight! In the end we saw nothing so large and dramatic as alligators or anaconda snakes, but we felt their presence as we paddled the dark waterways.

Our trip back down the river toward the sea was after dark. A big moon hung over the tropics on our way out.

Tonight we are staying in the town of Parnaiba. This is a sleepy coastal town that time seems to have left behind. It was a major port until the river silted the port long ago. Then the palm wax industry died with the development of synthetic waxes for use in car wax and cosmetics. Our hotel is an old mansion that belonged to the Clark´s, a British family who got wealthy exporting palm wax. It has large cool rooms and the verandas make one feel a part of a different time. Stay tuned for more reports!