The Smell of the Amazon

I wish I could send certain experiences, smells, and sounds home like I can send pictures. This morning I woke up to a bright sun shining through my window. Fighting to gain consciousness, an aroma wafted through the room awaking me in an instant. We had entered the moth of the Amazon and could tell instantly. The color of the water changed from a beautiful blue to a murky brown. And the smell that awoke me in an instant was the smell of timber and burning sugarcane coming from the land we were sailing next to. The smell was unexpected and incredibly strong but in the couple of hours we have experienced it, it has become almost comforting…Reminds me of summers at home sitting around the campfire or camping in the middle of the woods.

Stopping for awhile in Macapa, 2 Brazilian diplomats left the ship and the US Ambassador to Brazil entered the ship. This morning we had the chance to hear from the Ambassador and his wife sat through our Marine Biology class with us.