Back home we worry about poison oak and bee stings in the summer time. Here in the jungle there's a lot of things which can get you... alligators, parasites, pirahna, disease, and monkeys. There were several overnight tours to remote jungle lodges for students and faculty to live like the natives. In one such tour a few monkeys got in on the action and according to my source went beserk and started attacking the gringos. Three different people got attacked and bit by one monkey in particular. They took the people to the hospital and started the dreaded rabies shots. We had to make a special stop today to get more rabies vaccinations as a result of this incident. Everyone is doing fine, but all are sad that they might have to "Put the Monkey Down." To say this ship is full of pacifists would be an understatement, and even though the monkey went bananas there is growing support for the pardoning of the little guy. We are all waiting on pins and needles for the decision to come down.
In other sad news Vivian left her camera at a Zoo we visited on our last day in Manaus. We realized the missing camera when we returned to the port, and Vivian and I headed back in a taxi to look for it. Neither of us know Portugese, and I'm here to say it's hard to pick up anything in this language. We had about 15 people at the Zoo gathered around as I tried to explain that she left her camera. I was playing charades with my camera, and they kept thinking we wanted our pictures taken. New people kept showing up who "Knew English," but it was quickly evident they didn't know enough to communicate. We finally had to leave empty handed to make it back to the ship before it left. Needless to say Vivian was very upset, but I'm going to "share" my camera with her for the rest of the voyage. Tough lesson to learn.
In sporting news I signed up for a 3 on 3 basketball tournament. I wasn't thinking very clearly on this, as all the teams are college kids except ours. The court is about 15 feet wide and 40 feet long, so it's a rugged game with no space. We put up a good fight but fell short 21-15. The wind was blowing at about 25 mph, so any outside shot was an adventure. This hurt our team, since the college team had more height and springs for sure. I did manage to get hot and sink a few threes before I pulled a groin muscle. I'm hoping that ice, heat, and a few days will see me back on the court again. They were really trash talking us, and we owe them a little payback.
I have posted some pictures below of the last day in Brazil. Some alligators in the Zoo, a picture of a plastic bottle island in the Amazon, and a sign found on a restroom which was easy for William and I to understand. William got a big kick out of this sign, as did I. We are just entering the Atlantic and leaving the Amazon. We have eight days to cross this bad boy, so I'll try to work up a Ship Life post later this week. With our schedule the days of the week have become meaningless. A Monday or a Saturday feels no different to us. Our life is broken into two parts: ship life and port time. I hope all is well at home.
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