The Road to Bethlehem

We left the boat to Belém as a group of 10 after sleeping aboard while the boat was docked because of a late arrival to port. The crew got us up and on our way early so they could start swabbing the decks and whatever else it is that boat crews do. We soon dropped to 8 due strictly to the impatience of travellers unaccostumed to groups. Here´s us on the boat in artsy black and white and us leaving the boat in vivid color.














The 8 of us found a place to stay altogether in one room like a big family. Nati was the only lady and so I christened us Blanca Nieve y los 7 Dwarfs (I forget the Spanish and Portuguese words for dwarf). We were a Brasilero, 2 Argentinos, 1 Colombiano, 2 Italianos, 1 Frances and me, the American. We assigned dwarf names but I´ve forgotten them all. A Turk and a Finnish girl are the 2 that left us. The truly international crowd of young roust-a-bouts.















This is the room we shared that I eventually got us kicked out of thanks to an argument with the wicked witch that ran the joint. I tried to be nice, but the witch had it coming. This is a story I´ll save for when you buy me a beer.












This is Nati and our friend Rokko demonstrating the proper way to sit in a park in Belém. You are not to sit or stand on or near the grass. Nothing but your butt may come in contact with any flat surface besides the ground. Feet and especially backs are strictly prohibitted. No spitting, throwing objects at mangoes in the trees over head, and no laughing alound. Any misconduct will result in immediate whistle-blasts, stern looks, and strong hand gestures indicating fault due to the fact that foreigners don´t understand speech and locals know the rules.

And these are misc. pics of Belém.