Amozon-esque boat trip

Our last leg of travel took us from Breves back to Belém. I made the trip with our missionary host by boat, so that our pilot would only have to make one flight back. A trip that took our comrades one hour by plane took us 14 hours overnight by boat.

The boat was carrying lumber and other cargo in the front, while the back carried passengers on its three decks. Because we were carrying the bulk of the media equipment, we rented one of two passenger cabins on the boat. It had bunk beds and minimal standing room, but its own bathroom. We were on the top story with the snack bar and lounge area. The other two stories are where the other passengers hung their hammocks for the night.

We left the Breves port in view of a gorgeous sunset. But as the sun disappeared over the horizon, a lightening storm rolled in to take its place. As we floated slowly along the curving river through dark jungle, flashes of light filled the sky and a warm breeze blew our hair back.

For the second time on our trip, I felt like I was in a surreal other-world.

Bailique

The most interesting town we visited on our trip from Belém was called Bailique. It is a remote village that straddles a river and has a short, overgrown airstrip. Because the town sits on jungle swampland, all the houses are on stilts and are connected by suspended wood plank sidewalks.

When we arrived in the morning, all the boats in Bailique were grounded in empty riverbeds. When we left that afternoon, the tide had come in, and those boats were floating on about ten feet of water.

Bailique was like something out of a movie – a surreal, dreamlike neighborhood. Here are some pictures:

Marajó by plane

Last week I went to Belém, Brazil, with our photographer and videographer. We covered a story about an experimental plane used to do missions in remote jungle locations right along the equator.

This plane flew us around Marajó, the largest freshwater island in the world, just south of the Amazon. We visited the towns of Soaré, Salvaterra, Chaves, Macapá, Bailique and Breves. Along the way we met several national pastors and missionaries whose ministries are helped by the plane. We also visited some of the people blessed by those ministries.

The plane only fits four, but with our host missionary and his pilot we had five total …and all our media equipment. So we had to make two trips to each location.

With intense heat, lack of sleep, some illness and waiting for the plane, it was a pretty exhausting trip. But there were a couple really cool experiences along the way. By the way, if you ever go to that area, try the Cupuaçu ice cream – it’s incredible.

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