Photo Essay: An Amazon Adventure
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A journey through the heart of the Brazilian Amazon
Rio Negro
The sun rises over the River Negro, the largest left tributary of the Amazon and the largest Blackwater river in the world.
Eco Lodge
An overcast sky greets us as we prepare to leave our eco-lodge and embark on a river trip.
Mooring
A man moors his boat to the porch, where the family?s clothes dry in the sun. Boats are the only real form of transport here in the Amazon and it?s essential to maintain them well.
Tapioca
Making tapioca ? also known as cassava or manioc. The extracted starch is ground to a powder then sieved and finally cooked in a huge wok. Though fairly tasteless on its own, adding butter or flaked coconut creates a tasty snack.
Fishing
A twelve year old boy shows off his catch ? a huge blowfish almost as big as himself.
Music
A tribal music ritual. Though watching this kind of traditional dance could be considered a tourist spectacle this is, paradoxically, often the only way such customs are kept alive.
Mean Muggin'
A young member of an indigenous tribe refuses to smile for the camera during the music ritual.
kids
The younger kids down in the tribal village were much more forthcoming?
Night
A night-time trek through the jungle. Our guides picked this flammable resin from a plant and used it both as a makeshift torch and a method of warding off evil spirits.
Monkeys
This cheeky monkey, just several months old, is being held in a sanctuary near Manaus. Her mother died soon after she was born and she is now cared for by a keeper (pictured).
Botos
Tourists feed and swim with botos ? river dolphins that have a distinctive pink hue. Botos have traditionally been imbued with supernatural powers in Amazonian culture. This particular location serves as a therapy center for local handicapped children.
Travelers Stoked on this Gallery
Paul Sullivan
Paul Sullivan has been a freelance writer and photographer since 2000. Operating primarily in the realm of music, travel, lifestyle, and culture, his work has taken him around the world. His work has appeared in/on the BBC, Dazed and Confused, DrownedInSound, Electronic Beats, The Face, The Guardian, DJ, Intelligent Life, iDJ, fRoots, The Independent, Observer Music Monthly, National Geographic Music, Time Out, Wax Poetics, The Wire, and others. He currently lives in Berlin.
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