Marajo

So I’m writing this blog entry on the ferry from the island of Marajo back to the city of Belem. (for the full story on the water buffalo and the church...well that's a long "story"






As Malinowski (the “father” of ethnography) emphasized, it is important for the anthropologist to take a break every now and then to recuperate and mull over the data one has gleaned from one’s time among the natives. (picture of malinowski) Couldn’t help throwing that one in….and I wonder what the people at the settlement think of me!

Anyways, so I took a mini-hiatus, more for the need of a quiet place to work on my Fulbright application ( a large grant for fieldwork more than a year and a half from now, no we never rest…I know cry me a river) than for the need to ruminate on deep insights. So I decided to head to the island of Marajo, which is approximately the size of Switzerland, and sits in the mouth of the Amazon. Well, four days later it’s official: for those willing to make the trip to Brazil in a year and half to come visit me (that’s approximately June 2011-12 for you OCD planners-you know who you are) a trip to Marajo would be on my list of things to do.

For where else can you get breakfast like this....



after watching this sunrise...






It’s a three hour ferry ride from Belem, which in itself is a fun and exciting adventure as you travel along the coast of some body of water which is part of the Amazon (I think at the mouth it’s just water…fresh, but unnamed…the whole thing is for some reason confusing to me)…anyways, it’s a great breezy ferry ride...until it starts torrential downpouring in the middle of the strait....




and then you get to the island and take a shuttle to one of the three easily accessible towns of Salvaterra, Soure, and Joanes (unless you have a private plane and then you go wherever you want). Each has their own “thing”. I chose Joanes for its relative isolation. And relative isolation I got. The very eclectic pousada



sists on an incredible bluff, getting buffeted constantly by cool breezes.





The rooms are decorated with whimsical paintings ,





and the beach is literally steps away…and on the beach, one does not collect sea glass (as the water body is the Amazon after all) but rather seeds! Incredible, unbelievable seeds! It was so much fun to walk along the beach collecting the most incredible seeds, some bigger than baseballs that I’ve ever seen.





So aside from some quality time in the hammock/or at my desk working on my grant application,




and quality time watching the daily torrential downpour arrive at 2-3 pm ( an amazing phenomenon),



I rented a single speed no-brakes bike (good thing we’re on a flat island and the chain falls off every few hundred meters or I might get above a km/hour). The bike trip was a lot of fun: I just went off exploring and encountered all sorts of fun landscapes, including this swampy area with a very interesting bridge.




A coastal forest



With some seriously spiky thwarting road blocks…..try riding your bike over those…no, don’t



A very “warm” savanna



a gorgeous isolated beach (great for riding around and around in circles on)



and a very interesting Mangrove…



and some generally strange things....like this house that had a fence made of soda bottles...reminiscent of anything anyone...(inside "joke")?



Unfortunately, the threat of stingrays on most beaches kept me from swimming on my bike trip (I guess I could have pe(a)ddled in the water on the bike), but I really enjoyed swimming in the stingray-free waters of the beach my pousada was on. For those of you who like warm waters, this is it! Walk straight in and while away the hours……and then back to the hammock for a breezy nap….

Now Malinowski had it right!


Ok, now some parting shots...it'd be hard to pin down a highlight of this trip...but I think finding this book on "Sting saves the rainforest" might be at the top....




that is until I found this 8x11 spread....puts that old famous "scream" painting to shame...




I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at this picture...and hopefully you won't either!