Thur Jan 16, 2025
Hi Folks! We made it to the Amazon Rain Forest area, but it didn’t rain! We were docked in the town of Icoaraci which is the gateway to the town of Belem. Our tour didn’t start until Noon so we slept in again. Love catching up on our Zzzzz’s!
Our tour took us to many different places. We started at this outdoor botanical garden that had lots of plants and animals native to the Amazon. We saw a jaguar, a crocodile, lots of monkeys, a toucan and many other native birds.
We then went to the Church of Our Lady of Nazareth. The chapel was completed in 1923 and has a strong tie to the Belem people. They built this church where the image of the Virgin of Nazareth was found. They have a huge parade every October and carry a statue of the Virgin Mary all thru town.
We then stopped at the largest open air market in Latin America. It was huge but to be honest it was mostly junk they were selling. There was an interesting thing where this guy was putting all these white mice in a cage. The guide said he sells them to people that have snakes as pets. Yuk!
Our last stop was to a jewelry and gem shop but I chilled on the bus (with most of the men!) and Kathy went in. I guess they sold other things because she bought a beautiful dress there!
I’ll do another update after dinner. Ciao for now!
The Wandering Italian 