Island Getaway

This has been my absolute favorite day of the entire trip so far.  We all took a six hour boat tour through the Amazon River.  The boat stopped on one of the islands within the river for a couple hours so we could enjoy the beach and have lunch.  It was the most beautiful place I have ever been to.  I have always seen travel magazines with beautiful beaches on them, but I never thought I would be relaxing on and enjoying one of them.  The start of the boat trip was a little rocky because we stayed out so late last night.  However, I can now say that I have vomited in the Amazon River!  After I headed to the front of the boat and got fresh air, I felt a hundred times better.  Then I enjoyed the warm boat ride.  At one point they turn on showers on the boat to cool off under.  

One of the aspect of Brazilian culture I love the most is their comfort in their natural bodies.  They do not have any shame about their bodies if they are fat, have hairy bodies, or sweat like a pig.  They just enjoy life naturally.  It is really refreshing not to worry about how much I am sweating, how my hair looks, if I look fat in this bikini, or if I forgot to shave my legs.  The L.A. mindset is slowly fading away.  One thing I am still a little uncomfortable with is the amount of Speedo's being worn.  It is just something I cannot get used to so quickly.  

The boat toured us around the islands and brought us onto one of the island's for lunch.  It was a good lunch, but like all the others, did not agree with my stomach.  My stomach is having a really hard time with the food here in Brazil.  I have been very adventurous thus far, but now I think I need to tone it down.  Tomorrow, I believe we are going to the mall, which has McDonald's and Subway, so I think those may help my stomach re-cooperate.

  

The real highlight of the trip was swimming in the Amazon River!  I joked with everyone that they were swimming in my throw up, but really we were so far away from where it happened.  The sand was so soft, like finely-ground sugar.  Everything about where we were and what we were doing made me so thankful for this entire opportunity.  After a few hours of bliss, the boat carried us back to the city.  It had been a long and wonderful day for all of us so we went back to the hotel and relaxed the night away.