Something's fishy

Another rainy beginning to a day

Another one of the jewels of Belem, depending on who you ask, is the morning fish market. Apparently it's also the morning acai and fruit market, but we got there 'late', i.e. at 6 am instead of 4. I just couldnt do it, not even for acai. Head hanging in shame.


The market is called 'ver o peso', which literally means see the weight. It is a historic market area that has been running for at least two hundred years if not more.

The pointed grey-blue building in the background is the symbol of Ver o Peso.

Boats in with their catch, and a good thing as the tide appears a little low.

Heading back out onto the Amazon...

The real Ver o Peso. Fish on a scale for all to see.

The fish market is a sight to behold, especially for K. who is a vegetarian, and hates the smell of fish! She was very accomodating though, and let me take nearly a ba-jillion photos, some of which made the cut, oh bad joke, and are below.

A morning cafezinho

Blurry line of fish

Faux artistic shots meant to convey the movement and vibrancy of the market, beware, I might start spouting Kerouac.

And then there were fish...

and more fish

and more fish

and still more fish

it's beginning to feel a little bit like Dr. Seuss, I think, one fish, two fish...

You gonna eat that fish, cause if you aren´t....

You want a fish, I got a fish for you!

And on the way home we came across the leaf cutter ant parade. For those who have never seen leaf cutter ants they are really a site to behold

The ants go marching two by two...

and that was that.

Teatro do Paz

Another one of the jewels of Belem is the 19th century Teatro do Paz, which has been immaculately restored.

I have been lucky enough twice to be in town when there is a show on there, and it is always worth the price of admission to just sit in the theater.



This time, K. and I took the opportunity to take a tour of the theater during the day time.



It was pretty boring, actually, i.e. this marble came from Italy. This chandelier from France. But what was nice was to be able to walk throughout the theater taking photos of anything and everything.











Working on renovating one of the ball rooms


Close up of original wood floor built from local Amazonian woods


Purty tile floor made with tiles from Italy.


No way are you going to get that Amazonian mud on my floor! Wipe your feet on these fine brass treads from America!


wooden chairs-surprisingly comfortable


How much they spent on these fancy brass gutters... I don t even want to know...


Boa noite ao teatro

Back in Belem

For those who have been following the blog and our travels for several years now, you might remember that I've been to Belem before. It is a city that is located at the mouth of the Amazon, and has a rich colonial history, dating from when there was a rubber boom in the Amazon. This colonial history has definitely left it's architectural mark as evidenced by buildings such as this:



real purty house


real purty house closeup


Situated at the mouth of the Amazon, Belem get's its fair share of rain.


not on my parade


This is currently the rainy season; but i had an interesting conversation with a taxi driver about what the rainy season actually means, as I was here in June, i.e. the dry season, and it rained here everyday as well. Well, he said, in the dry season it does rain everyday, but it's in the afternoon. In the rainy season it rains everyday in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Thanks for the clarification.

It's not too hot though, and is actually quite pleasant, especially after the rain when the entire city seems to glow (i guess mix equatorial sun with rain drops and that's what you get).


Belem after the rain

One of the nicest parts about Belem is the renovated/gentrified/revitalized area near the river called 'the docks' (as docas). It is a series of large hanger/warehouses that have been converted to fancy restaurants, theaters, and ice cream shops!!! all of this with a nice promenade along the river. A staple of my, and any sensible tourist's, Belem experience.


Guess why this sign isn't in Portuguese (something tells me the locals know where they are)


K., is a friend who is also a Fulbrighter here in Brazil, and we are both working on similar topics in the southeastern Amazon. Here she and I are at the river preparing for an ice cream splurge!






K. and I have made a pact to each other to scientifically test all 100+ flavors of ice cream at the dock's fancy ice cream shop during our time in Belem. From Brazil nut flavored to the innumerable Amazonian fruits, such as Bacaba, it's going to be a challenge, but K. and I are determined, and I believe when Jo gets here we'll have a research assistant in our noble quest.


Fine dining anyone?


dock long view



Another great thing about Belem is the local market at the river side (a subsequent post will be devoted to the early morning market, which is much different)


meats, glorious meats


Unknown fruit #1


Unknown fruit #2


Unknown fruit #3


Brazil nuts anyone?


Karimeh and cupuacu (one of my favorite fruits)

And that's just a taste of Belem!

When in Amazonia...

Do as the Amazonians do, or did, at least a few of the very rich ones did(in the late 19/early 20th centuries){wow, talk about some caveats}. Starting tomorrow I'll be doing what the many more of them (the landless and generally poorer peasants) are doing these days, and have been doing since the Amazon was characterized as "A Land without Men for Men without Land" (sic) ((a great future paper title)) by the Brazilian Agriculture and Colonization organization in the 1970s (((remember I told you this blog would be somewhat educational))).

Anyways, per that tangential introduction, I am staying, currently, in the renovated mansion of an Amazonian rubber baron (Amazonia was the epicenter of the rubber book prior to World War 2, when Malaysia took over as a cheap source)



It's a beautiful house, as one might get an idea from these not so great photos...



it's a little hard to get a sense of the scale here, but the ceiling is probably close to 25 feet high (those things in the right are knee high trash cans). It's really an amazing place with gorgeous wood floors (no doubt carved out of what was an even closer Amazonian forest a hundred plus years ago. The place has all sorts of interesting details, such as these wooden windows:



but there are some pretty shady characters here, such as this one individual, who is pretty sad that his female hostel companion is on a far distant shore...



So enough about the hostel, the city it's in, Belem, is quite interesting: founding in the 1600's, it has a mix of colonial and very decrepit modern architecture, actually most of it is decrepit regardless of whether it's 400 or 4 years old, which I'm not sure bodes well...but one thing that is looking quite vivacious is the greenery.



These are giant mango trees that line the road in front of the hostel (no, unfortunately there are no mangoes on them now, although if they were ripe they'd be falling on me, which is a liability, so it's good I guess their not)

The trees here are just, well, what one (might) imagine of the Amazon, covered in bromeliads and lianas (a fancy word for vines).





Aside from the greenery, the city itself is quite nice; for those of us not so geographically inclined, Belem is located on the mouth of the Amazon (i.e. where it flows out into the ocean, not where it starts). Here's a photo of me by the river with the daily storm a-brewing in the background (do I really look this ridiculous, or is it a function of the lens...)




also, there's always time for a dip in ye ole amazon (for those who are braver {read younger and stupider than yours truly)




Aside from the riverfront which has "benefited" from a massive redevelopment scheme, and of which I have benefited from its fine new restaurants...




there are also the beautiful colonial buildings I mentioned earlier....




anyways, well i think that's it for today's blog entry, i hope that wasn't too many photos, i thought it easier for the reader to have them embedded in the blog rather than putting a link to snapfish/picassa where they'd be decontextualized, if you don't like it like this, however, just let me know! I aim to please. Ok, so off to visit a "zoological park" and then to a meeting with remote sensing folks from EMBRAPA! Ate logo!