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Monday, June 25, 2012

I am now in Manaus, Brasil. The plan is to head to the festival in Parintins in the next couple days. Manaus is huge. About two million people, and it has a 12 mile radius from the town center to the outskirts. We stayed with a family for a few days; my Portuguese is quickly strengthening. I want its level to become as strong as my Spanish, if not stronger. Some of my earlier impressions on arriving here were that Brasil has been hit with a massive wave of tourists in the last five to ten years, and this has changed their attitude and behavior towards tourists, including me. More Brazilians are learning English, and pretty much assume that a tourist does not speak Portuguese, and that they will not be able to communicate if they do not speak English. I surprise people with my Portuguese, or they just think I am Brazilian. My Portuguese is not perfect, but it is good, and I often get asked if I am a Brazilian. With the upcoming World Cup and Olympics, many people plan to learn English by the start of the Cup to be more effective in their jobs. I have been posting almost all my photos on facebook. Soon I will publish more photos and videos here, or make some more photos on Facebook public. I have uploaded many videos publicly on my youtube channel; see link above right.

Wednesday, June 06, 2012


I am currently in Iquitos, Peru. I arrived here from the border of Ecuador on a boat similar to this one and this one will take me from here to the border with Brasil. This afternoon, I will board this boat and travel to Brasil!