2017.03.01 Parintins, Brazil

The small town of Parintins can be found at the center of a lush, verdant rain forest, halfway between Santarem and Manaus. Although there are no roads to Parintins, it is the unlikely center of the Boi Bumba festival, held every year at the end of June. The 200-year-old town, located on Tupinambarana Island, is rich in Indian culture. In colonial times, the island was the resting point for a group of coastal indigenous Brazilians who made a remarkable trek through thousands of miles of dense forest to escape the devastation of the Portuguese slave trade. The island is now the site of one of the country’s most important and spectacular festivals, Boi Bumba. The festival involves a parade of human and animal characters, and fanciful creatures from Brazilian Indian mythology, and celebrates a 19^th century fable about a resurrected ox. It is also a competition where two teams, Garantido and Caprichoso (red and blue), compete in extended retellings of the story, each team attempting to outdo the other with flamboyant dances, dazzling costumes, singing, and parade floats. The dancers and the contagious rhythm of the Boi Bumba music are exhilarating.  When not celebrating the festival, Parintins is a quiet town of 100,00 inhabitants, where the tallest building is the Catedral de Nuestra Senora del Carmen and the streets are home to small shops and eateries. The locals say the key to the city’s success is the warm hospitality they offer and their simplistic way of life.

Well, we did not take a tour here, as it is very small and not much to do or see. We did tender in here, but we used their tenders, which were open air and very nice. However, on the way over it rained, and stopped as we exited the boat on the island.

You can see most of the town from the shore, as if you walk about two blocks in, it is mostly commercial. We walked around and saw a market and a church, not sure if it was the cathedral or not, but did not go in. Here are some of the pictures we took while in town.

We spent most of what we had left in Brazilian currency and came back to the ship. We got off early so we could be there before it got real hot. Here are some pictures of the dock, logs floating on the Amazon and our ship.

That ended five port days in a row. We now have two relaxing sea days before we get to Devil’s Island.