Asakiyume mita

I learned so much in the Amazon: one, that the river inhales and exhales: when it has breathed in deeply and its waters extend the farthest, tall trees are underwater and the fish feed on palm fruits. Maximum expansion is March. And then it exhales, shrinks-shrinks-shrinks, and temporary islands appear, and people rush out and take advantage of the 40 cm of rich soil the river has left to grow quick crops that can be harvested before the river rises and swallows the islands back up again. The river is at its lowest point in September--at which time you can walk to the island across from the pier where we got boats when we went out on the water (this is on a tiny tributary--one of our guides called it a creek--but it looked pretty big to us!)

I saw all the types of liminal houses: houses on stilts, floating houses, and house boats. Here is a floating house.



I have more stories to share (of course!) but we caught Covid (despite everything; we were vaxxed and masked to the max), so I'll probably still be a little scarce around here for a bit.

One more thing before I go: I loved how indoors and outdoors blended. Here's a coffee shop and bakery where we stopped on the way back from a bike ride: