TRAVELS AND TREASURES 8

MY JOURNEY IN A HAMMOCK HAD BEGUN.

I HAD NEVER HAD THE PLEASURE OF SPENDING

DAY AND NIGHT IN A HAMMOCK BEFORE, 

SO I WAS MIGHTY CURIOUS AND EXCITED 

HOW MY BODY WOULD LIKE THE ADVENTURE.

THE FEELING OF BEING WRAPPED UP IN A WOMB

MADE ALL MY MUSCLES RELAX AND

TENSION AND FATIGUE DISSOLVE.

MY LIFE IN A HAMMOCK!

BEING A HERMIT LOVING SOLITUDE,

I THOUGHT I WOULD BE CHALLENGED SOCIALLY,

BUT FOUND THAT I LOVED HANGING OUT AROUND

PEOPLE I DID NOT HAVE TO TALK TO 

BECAUSE WE HAD NO COMMON LANGUAGE.

A SMILE AND A NOD WAS ENOUGH TO 

CREATE AN EVERYDAY RELATIONSHIP.

THE EXPECTATIONS AROUND HAVING TO 

EXERCISE SMALLTALK ABOUT SHALLOW COMMON

NOMINATORS LIKE WEATHER,

DID NOT EXIST.

 PEOPLE CRAWLED INTO THEIR OWN COCOONS

AND MINDED THEIR OWN BUSINESS.

THERE WERE SOME GUYS (OF COURSE)

THAT FOUND TWO WOMEN TRAVELING TOGETHER

"INTERESTING" AND ESPECIALLY ME

WHO WAS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT IN MY LOOKS,

BUT THE CLOSE INTIMACY OF 

THIS LOCAL TRANSPORTATION

DID NOT PROVIDE ANY SPACE 

FOR ANY MORE CHALLENGES 

THAN A CURIOUS APPROACH AND CREATING AN AUDIENCE

WATCHING ME SLEEP IN MY HAMMOCK.

THE FOOD WAS EXCELLENT AND THE RITUALS

AROUND FLIPPING OUT THE TABLES AND

SERVING THE MEALS WAS SMOOTH,

DESPITE THE LACK OF SPACE AND THE DETACHING

OF THE HAMMOCKS FROM THE BEAMS AND 

DESPITE LANGUAGE BARRIERS.

EVERYBODY COLLABORATED. 

EVERY NOW AND THEN THERE WERE 

CANOES  TRANSPORTING PASSENGERS 

TO AND FROM LAND, THAT WERE EITHER

LEAVING THE BOAT OR ENTERING AS WE PASSED BY.

THE POLE HOUSES BUILT FOR HIGH AND LOW WATER

ALONG THE SHORES OF THE AMAZON RIVER

LOOKED LIKE HOUSES ON STILTS.

MEN COMING UP IN THEIR CANOES ALONG SIDE

OUR VESSEL OF TRANSPORTATION TO

TRY AND DO BUSINESS WITH WHATEVER 

THEY HAD FOR SALE OR TO TRADE WITH TO 

PICK UP MOSTLY RICE AND BEANS 

FROM THE MAINLAND.

WE HAD ONLY ONE INCIDENT DURING THE WHOLE 

TIME, ALL AND ALL THREE WEEKS,

 THAT I SPENT ON THE AMAZON RIVER.

IT WAS AN EXPERIENCE I WOULD HAVE 

PREFERRED NOT TO HAVE HAD ...

A SPEED BOAT WITH AUTHORITIES ARMED WITH 

MACHINE GUNS CAME ON BOARD

AND WE HAD TO LINE UP AND BE AVAILABLE

FOR ANY UNPREDICTABLE  ACT OF CHOICE BY THEM.

I DON'T THINK ANYONE TOOK A BREATH

DURING THE WHOLE HOUR THE VISIT LASTED.

A COUPLE OF YOUNG BLOND GUYS, BACKPACKERS,

WERE TOTALLY WALKED OVER. 

NOTHING THEY HAD WAS IN ONE PIECE WHEN 

THE SEARCH WAS OVER.

I ASSUME THEY WERE SUSPECTED OF HAVING DRUGS

BUT NOTHING WAS EVER FOUND

EVEN IN THE INTRUSIVE INTIMATE SEARCH 

SO THE PARTY EVENTUALLY LEFT.

I NEVER SAW THE YOUNG GUY'S AFTER THAT,

THEY HID IN THEIR HAMMOCK WOMBS AND PULLED THEIR 

MOSQUITO NETS TIGHT LOCKED.

ALL THEIR CAMERAS, WRITINGS AND POSSESSIONS 

WERE DESTROYED AND THEY WERE 

TOTALLY TRAUMATIZED.

IT WAS THEIR LAST WEEK OF A 6 MONTH VISIT

IN SOUTH AMERICA.

REACHING MANAUS AFTER A WEEK OF 

PEACEFUL WOMB TIME, 

WAS LIKE BEING RIPPED OUT FROM A GESTATION TIME

AND BEING BORN INTO FRANTIC SURVIVAL MODE ENERGY.

HALF OF OUR CHARITY LUGGAGE

WAS PLANNED TO BE DELIVERED TO 

A NATIVE TRIBE

LIVING IN THE DEPTHS OF THE RAIN FOREST

OUTSIDE OF MANAUS.

AS WE LEFT THE BOAT WE TOOK A BUS

 AND TRAVELLED TO THE OUTSKIRTS

OF MANAUS TO A SUPPOSED TO BE FRIEND OF MY FRIEND, 

WHERE I WAS TOLD WE COULD STAY.

THERE WAS NO WELCOMING COMMITTEE

AS WE ARRIVED,

BUT EVENTUALLY AFTER HOURS OF WAITING

HER "FRIEND" ARRIVED.

MY PERCEPTION WAS THAT WE WERE

 NOT EXPECTED OR WANTED THERE BUT WE

WERE STILL ABLE TO STAY FOR A SHORT WHILE

AFTER A NEGOTIATION.

I FELL ASLEEP IN MY HAMMOCK AS SOON AS IT WAS

HOOKED UP AND NEVER SAW THE LIGHT OF DAY 

UNTIL NEXT DAY IN THE AFTERNOON. 

THEY WOKE ME UP AND MADE SURE I WASN'T DEAD.

THEY HAD ALREADY HAD A FULL DAY AND

DELIVERED THE CHARITY WITHOUT WAKING ME UP.

THIS SPECIAL TRIBE DID NOT "SOCIALIZE" 

WITH OUTSIDERS, SO ALL WORKED OUT WELL.

WE HAD A FEW DAYS TO SPEND IN MANAUS

WITH OLD FRIENDS OF MY FRIEND,

BEFORE ENTERING THE NEXT BOAT TO 

TAKE US EAST OF MANAUS TO SANTAREM.

WE DANCED ON THE STREETS,

AND EXPLORED THE CITY OF MANAUS,

THAT I FOUND EXTREMELY TWO FACED SOCIALLY …

AT THE SAME TIME SURROUNDED BY 

THE INCREDIBLE BEAUTY OF THE RAIN FOREST 

THERE WAS INTENSE POVERTY AND HOMELESSNESS

FROM VERY YOUNG AGE, 

FIVE YEAR OLD KIDS LIVING ON THEIR OWN,

LEARNING TO SNIFF GLUE TO COPE.

THEY SHARED THEIR STORIES AS IF THEY WERE

OLD MEN AND WOMEN.

THEIR VIEW OF LIFE WAS THAT IT WAS OVER BETWEEN

FIFTEEN AND TWENTY AND SOMETIMES EARLIER,

 BECAUSE THEY HAD HAD THEIR SHARE OF EXPERIENCES

ALREADY AND THERE WAS 

 NOTHING THEY COULD THINK OF

THAT WOULD ATTRACT ANY DESIRE

TO CONTINUE THEIR LIVES.

AT SOME POINT DURING THESE DAYS

THERE WAS A GUY THAT STARTED STALKING ME 

AND HE HAD TOLD EVERYBODY ON THE PLAZA

 THAT WE WERE GETTING MARRIED.

HE WALKED AROUND SHOWING EVERYBODY HEALS THAT HE 

HAD PURCHASED HIS WIFE TO BE … ME THAT WAS …

ALL THIS TOOK PLACE BEHIND MY BACK 

WITHOUT MY INVOLVEMENT,

AFTER WE HAD EXCHANGED WORDS ON THE PLAZA.

A SHAMAN, A STRANGER, FROM THE EAST SIDE OF BRAZIL

CAME UP TO ME ON THE STREET AND TOLD ME THE STORY,

AND HE TOLD ME THAT THIS GUY WAS NO GOOD NEWS.

HE INVITED US TO HIS PLACE AND THERE

HE DID SOME BRAZILIAN SHAMANIC RITUALS WITH ME

AND I NEVER SAW THE GUY ON THE STREET AGAIN.

CLOSE CALL TO DISASTER!

THE GUARDIAN ANGELS THAT SHOW UP ON MY TRAVELS

ARE DEFINITELY SENT TO PROTECT ME,

WHEN DANGER IS AFOOT.

TO BE CONTINUED …

with Love and Peace,

Morayah