This morning, we got up to see Encontro das Aguas - when the Negro and Solimoes rivers meet and their black and brown waters don't mix. It looked really cool, but I never found out why it does that.
The same guide who dropped us off at the ship, Elcio, picked us up and took us around the city of Manaus a little. First we went to the market, which was a smaller, less touristy kind of Mercado Modelo. Andrea got some tree oils that are remedies for...lots of things. We saw something that claimed it was a remedy for cancer, herpes, and stomach ulcers.
Then we went to the opera house :) It was very elegant. The painting of the house ceiling and main curtain were especially nice. Strangely, the house only performs opera for one month during their peak vacation month. Otherwise it is used solely for the symphony or traveling artists (the Spice Girls once performed there).
Then we went shopping at some Indian stores to try and find a sloth claw necklace for Andrea. She only found one with caiman teeth. Boo hoo.
The coolest thing about Manaus is their concern for the poor. There is a giant fish/food market by the pier and from 6-8 every day, the people from the favelas come and can take whatever spoil-able food that wasn't sold that they want.
The government is also in the midst of a massive relocation program. Manaus is one of the sites for the next World Cup. Based on the revenue they expect to generate from the this, they have taken a sort of joint loan from the Bank of Brasil and Bank of America (Elcio didn't explain exactly how it works). With this loan, they are building nice government houses that families from the favelas can move into for free. Along with this, they will be able to use the army hospital when they need, and their kids can go to school. They tried a similar program a few years ago, but it failed because the families were given ownership of the house. The majority of families would live in the new house for 1-2 years, sell it, then take the money and move back into the favela. This time they don't get real ownership, and no one is allowed to buy or rent the houses. This is especially great since the favela houses here are so prone to flooding when the river rises because they're built so poorly. They hope the program will also help with the growing drug problem in the city. Manaus is the closest major city in Brasil to Colombia and Venezuela. Elcio said right before Carnaval the police seized 7 tons of drugs at the port alone.
All of my information is from Elcio, so I'm not really sure if it's all working, or if the program is really as good as it sounds. He couldn't really answer about the selection process, how they're moving people, or how they're handling the demolition/reconstruction process (because besides trying to provide for the people, this is obviously also a beautification process in anticipation of the World Cup).
..............
So now I'm back at home, resting/recovering.
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