Hello, Hola, Privyet.

Just like to welcome our new readers from Australia, Argentina and Russia. Oh, and konnichi wa to Andrew in Japan. Thanks for stopping by folks!

Front page news this week

Viagra consumption amongst young men (25-32) in Manaus is on the increase. The use of such stimulants is not controlled in Brazil, so anyone can buy them, which may be part of the problem don't you think? Anyway, apparently the latest thing is a product called Vivanza, which alledgedly lasts for 12 hours and can be taken with alcohol. I see in the newspaper that in the photograph they have of the product, the boxes are clearly labelled "Amostra Gratis", or "Free Sample". Hmm. No doubt someone is making a bob or two on these. Well, boys will be boys I suppose - making money, having (lots of) sex etc...

...but perhaps if they could just rest up for a while they might have time to look at the filthy state they're making of Manaus. Apparently Manaus spent R$4m last year on cleaning 2.8m tons of cr*p out of the city's streams and rivers - everything from fridges to dead dogs, and no doubt empty viagra boxes and used prophylactics. To the outsider, it is no doubt depressing that there is no apparent sense of responsibility amongst the majority here with respect to litter and hygiene. And of course the local government is right to complain about it. But then the lack of education, lack of infrastructure, lack of money, lack of opportunity and lack of healthcare probably don't help the situation, and who is it that provides this...?

A local politician and his wife have been charged with 8 counts of, amongst other things, operating a gang, corruption, fraud, contrabanding and money laundering. I can't see what all the fuss is about, given the propensity of the majority of Brazil's finest for, um, the opportunistic diversion of such goods, cash and services as may be required for the maintenance of a pleasant lifestyle - but it seems at the moment that the problem is this pair have been put in a clink along with common criminals. Shock horror - that really is front page news, isn't it...

Iranduba

Last weekend we took a trip to Iranduba on Charlie’s intergalactic battlecruiser the Sammy III. Owing to the relative absence of beer on board, I actually arrived sober for a change, and in spite of Robson’s ability to mix cachaca, limes, sugar and water into some excellent caipirinha, I managed to maintain my relative sobriety for the whole day. Indeed the weather was excellent, the company good, and all was generally sweetness and light. And I must add that Naice caught her first fish - and we even managed to get it on camera. There is nothing quite like a trip down/up the Amazon to recharge the batteries and put things in perspective. I’ve nothing to add to this except some photos which I managed to snap en route. So there you are. Have a nice day and all that sort of thing.

River level

Must post this for the many river-level fans out there. The level now is 26.63m. This time last year it was only 25.06m, and eventually rose to a maximum of 28.16m on 21st June. If the level continues to rise as it has been doing, we may see the highest level in Manaus for over 50 years. This would result in a fair degree of flooding in Manaus itself, as well as causing problems for many of the cattle farmers around Iranduba and beyond. Of course it may not come to pass, but by the end of April we should know - normally in April the river rises over 2m, which would put us at over 28m at that point. [As a point of interest, avid fans will remember that the low point this season was just under 18m (October 26th)]. My camera is at the ready.

Scientific Research

We set off on a pleasant Sunday morning. The river was calm and peaceful, the boat was ticking over nicely, God was in his heaven etc etc. Our mission was to map the Rio Taruma. More specifically, to survey the infrastructure. In fact, to acquaint the general public with all the floating bars on the river. We knew it was a tough assignment, and would require all our diligence, courage, commitment and stamina if we were to pull it off successfully. But we felt we had the right team. Ian, our software engineer (and Team Leader), apart from being able to publish the results and make them available via mobile commuinications technology, was also an experienced drinker; Professor John, our resident biologist and guide, would help ensure we didn't run aground or miss anything of botanical interest; Captain John, taking a break from command of the Alyson, would provide much needed ballast and keep us on our toes with his enquiring mind; and I was there to steer the boat and add my local knowledge of some of the relevant infrastructure.

Our first stop was at the floating petrol station, to fill up with cans of Skol, and then we were off! It was a gruelling time, as we zig-zagged up and down the Taruma, stopping to replenish supplies of Skol, take photographs of anything of interest (freshly caught Tucunare, for example), and ask the names of various hotels and floating bars. We navigated as far as the junction of the two principal igarapes which join to form the mainstream Taruma, and slid gently back down to make our first serious stop. This was a quiet floating bar situated away from the mainstream entertainments area. At least it was until we arrived, at which point several other vessels also tied up and proceeded to flood the bar with the usual high-volume, distorted pagode music and discharge various crew and passengers. But it was too late - we had already ordered our food, and were in mid-Skol (pic.). After this we continued our journey until we came to the Marquee bar, near the local jumping off point for speedboat taxis going up the Rio Negro. More Skol, increasingly silly conversation, and suddenly it was time to head back home. The whole trip had taken us 6 hours, and we had survived - tired, but content. For more on this, with various pics., take a look at Ian's blog: http://ianlawrence.info/random-stuff/river-trails. He will be creating a website for this stuff in due course, and we will all be rich and famous.