Here We Are In Brazil

The last 24 hours before we left for Brazil was a little crazy. For one thing we found out the we were leaving 24 hours ahead for the original time we were to fly. One of the last things I was going to do was update my blog before I left.........didn't happen with the flight change. So I recommend that you always check Carrie's blog when you check ours. She has more updates than I do.

We arrived in Manaus, Brazil at about 12:30am on Sunday morning Feb. 8. It took us about an hour or so to get through customs and get our luggage. All the luggage was there, with one bag split open. I don't think we lost anything out of it.

Fred and I were the first to get through customs and get through the doorway were we expected to see Phil and Cindy. No one was there that we recognized. We laughed about how we had cut it close picking up people from the airport and maybe they were in the same boat. By the time Carrie, Chuck and Laurel were through the doorway they were smiling and waving. Yes, they were visiting with friends and the time had gotten away from them.

By the time we all loaded up in a 4 door pickup and drove across town another hour and a half had passed. Cindy called ahead on her cell phone for the boat to pick us up at an aviation mission post outside of town. It started raining as we loaded all our luggage on a long narrow boat with a little fiberglass roof that they call a canoe.

Someone pulled the rope on the outboard motor and we were off, down the Amazon river at about 2am with no lights on our boat and an overcast sky. It was amazing how well we could see the trees along the bank as we glided down the dark river. Most of the time we were in a channel between the mainland and an island. We could see the lights of homes scattered along the river. I kept asking myself "Are we really here....?"

Sooner than I expected, we broke out of the channel and there was the massive river that I had expected. The river is so huge that it makes you think that you are on the ocean, except there is no tide. In just a couple of minutes we were at the base and pulling up on shore. We unpacked the canoe in the rain and got all the baggage up to the house and sorted everything out, chatted a little bit and went to bed.

Laurel, Chuck, Fred and I are staying in the guest house right next door to Phil & Cindy's. Carrie is staying with them at their house. Sunday morning no one moved very fast. Fred and I got up just in time to go to the dining hall for lunch. My, did that ever take me back about 40 years, to all the meals I had while living in the dorm at boarding high school, Sunshine Bible Academy.

Monday-- we all moved pretty slow.
Tuesday-- we took a hike on some of the trails in the jungle near the base.
Wednesday-- I started making new curtains for their living room.
Thursday-- I spent time sewing again and Cindy and I had some great laughs playing Hand & Foot Canasta

Carrie has been busy teaching some photography class to the high school kids. Tomorrow she will teach one for adults. I may go to that one.

Fred has been doing a lot of reading and keeping track of the guys and their projects. Yesterday they worked on the launch (big passanger boat) and put it a couple of outdoor electrical plug-ins on their house plus, another outdoor light. Monday they went down river and worked on something. Over all Fred is continuing to improve. He is tolerating the heat better than I expected.

Today we all took the canoe to Manaus. It was great to see the trip in the day light. We went to the open market and did some shopping for fruit, veggies, fish. I am sure Carrie will have some good pictures to share with you from this morning. This afternoon we are at the mission house were we have Wifi and an airconditioned room to work from. It is great to have a hour or so of cool air.

The heat has not been as bad as I expected. This is the cool time of the year here. We have rain every day at least once and when it rains it downpours. The rainwater pours down the slope of the base to the river. We watch the the river rise more every day. We have seen a lot of awsome lightning storms and cloud formations.

One other little interesting note. The jungle is not quiet, especially at night. When it starts to get dark at night the real noise begins with toads and frogs crocking and some other animal making noises that sound like someone running a stick over notches on another hollow pipe. I can't remember all the sounds, but it is sooo noisy. In the day time we have loud birds and rubber nuts that explode and bang on the tin roof and sound like gun shots. We are right on the Amazon, which is like living right next to a busy highway with all kinds of boats: house boats, fishing boats, one man canoes, huge fuel barges, boats halling cattle from the interior, giant container ships, fast passenger ferries, slow passenger canoes, even a Princess Cruse Ship.

Today is day number 7. That means we have 14 days to go.

Thanks for everyone's prayers and support on this adventure.