Look who we bumped into!!

So there we were having lunch in a restaurant in Rio Branco and in walks one of the best Brazilian footballers in History ROMARIO !!

Thoughts on Leaving Manaus

Part two of our trip is now over and we are on a flight heading for Rio Branco in the Brazilian state of Acre. On the map it is the most Western part of Brazil next to the Bolivian border.

Last night we said a tearful farewell to our hosts in Manaus. Although we were accommodated in a hotel in the city centre, the Aoki family were our host family for our stay. I cannot stress enough what an incredible family they are. They have catered for our every need, they have organised everything transported us everywhere, translated everything and most of all have become very good friends. All of the girls have fallen for William who is an extraordinary young man who worked tirelessly for us all week and ALWAYS had a smile on his face. From the bottom of our hearts thank you so much.

Manaus I feel is a more modern city than Belem. It is a very large port city and was once the city that handled all of the Rubber exported from Brazil to the rest of the world. The rubber first entered Europe via the port of Liverpool so the cities have strong ties from the past. In fact there is a Brazilian song that some of our hosts sang that refers to Liverpool in the lyrics.

Whilst in Manuas we have had some wonderful experiences. The meeting of the waters was an amazing thing to see and we were also met by a couple of Dolphins. Venturing into the riverside communities and seeing how they live and get about on the river was really interesting and walking through the jungle to the giant lily pads, something we had only read about in books! On our walks through the forest we have seen sloths and monkeys and a few creepy crawlies !!  We have all had a chance at some stage to visit out vocations in some shape or form. We spent a morning with the Police who showed us how they operate on the river and took us out for a spin. Steve had  a really interesting meeting with the chief of police of Amazonia who would like to set up an exchange for research into the operations of the Olypics as they are hosting the World cup in the city in 2014. A visit to IMPA a university for environmental studies was a real treat and steve got to feed the baby Manatees from a bottle, a real privilege.  A visit to the world cup stadium construction site was interesting  but will it be ready ??????  they seem confident !!

Yesterday we finished the day by going to an orphanage  Abrigo Moacyr Alves. It is for children who have been abandoned by their parents due to their disabilities. Some were quite severe, others with downs or  cerebral palsy . It was quite an upsetting experience for us all and there were a few tears shed. We gave the Orphange  some Football shirts that were donated by Maghull and Aughton Rotary Club. You would have thought they had won the lottery !!  They shrieked with delight and hugged each other ( and us !!). Such a simple gesture that meant so much to these children that have nothing. Thank you Maghull and aughton you have made some children very happy and made a GSE team cry !

The hardest part is always saying good bye. The wonderful Aoki family hosted a BBQ at their house for us on our final night. Lucky steve was presented with a Flamengo football shirt ! and we gave some gifts to our friends. There were hugs all round as we said our good byes. We will remember our trip to the jungle city for the rest of our lives!

Thank you too all the Manaus Rotarians that helped to make our stay so memorable.

Next stop Rio Branco !!!!!!!!  

Some photos from Manaus

Over the past few days we have had the most incredible time in Manauas. Here are some photos which help tell the story.

Team arrive for jungle training !  A great selection of jungle animals on display looked after by the Army

Ursy at a Primary school explaining about the UK

Watching the Military police and dogs dealing with Pirates

At one with the kids at Casa da Criances

Slam dunked by a 3 year old!

Rotary Club de Manaus

I'm ready for my close up! At TV Amazonas

Getting in there early for the World Cup- at the stadium build in Manaus

With the top man. Did Steve call him Gov?

Feeding time for the baby manatees

Football shirts go down a treat at Abrigo Moacyr Alves

Children everywhere! By Liz Carridge

If you’re expecting us to come back with tans then you’ll be
disappointed. There’s so much to see that sitting in the sun would be a waste!
I’ll let Kat tell you the goings on of Tuesday morning, and I’ll tell you what
we got up to in the afternoon… First stop was the state university of Amazonas
where they offer physical exercise classes for people of all ages with
disabilities from those who have suffered strokes to those with learning
difficulties. They were putting me to shame as I’ve done no exercise since
we’ve been here, made more pronounced by enjoying so much wonderful food! We
also got to her about a Rotary-sponsored campaign ‘Respeito Passe Adiante’
which culminates in a march in Manaus where both disabled people and those who
are able-bodied aim to raise awareness of disability needs. Apparently there
are few facilities for disabled people even down to parking spaces and access
on to buses. The situation’s improving but there remains much to be done.
This was followed by a visit to Casa Crianḉas
− a free pre-school nursery run by the church
for the children of poorer parents. It is supported by donations from
Rotary among other organisations. The children were adorable and I was sad to
leave. It seems playing at tea parties
is universal and I managed to chat away to them and be understood. Well, if the
conversation is around “coppo”, “colher”, “prato”, “faca” and “garfo”.
We finished off the night with a presentation to RC Adrianopolis
at a rather glamorous Italian restaurant. It went ok considering technical
difficulties (well, we got laughs in the right places!) and we were presented
with some wonderful Amazonian
handicrafts. I can already see them on my wall…

Monday in Manaus

The first visit of the day was to CIGS, a zoo run by the military and the only one of its kind in South America. The animals are all inhabitants of the Amazon rainforest captured whilst the army are on training exercises. We were mesmerised by a harpy eagle, spider monkeys, a black panther and the crocodiles.

Next stop was a lunch time presentation at Rotary Club Manaus in the Industrial District where we were warmly welcomed.
Then onto a bi-lingual school which shared its facilities with a university. The school is privately run and featured a swimming pool and a basketball court. I was very impressed with the clever 5 year old children I spoke to who could easily show me where Brazil is on the world map. They weren't so sure where England was so I showed them - that and a brief introduction to Lucas Levia and his importance to Liverpool football club! If I had my way Tranmere Rovers would have been next on the agenda but time was short! Soeaking English us going to be a useful skill for the people of Manaus as they prepare for the world cup in 2012. Taxi drivers are being taught English and it sounds as if there is a high demand for english teachers for the people working in close proximity to the stadium in Manaus.....mmm, I see a possible job opportunity there!

Team arrive in Manaus - Kelly's update

After a fabulous and jam packed first five days in Belem, we arrived in Manaus at 10.30am Saturday morning. We were met at the airport and taken on the bus straight to meet a ballet school. The ballet school operates at the weekend, its charity based ran by the teachers of the school and open to all the children in the city, aged 5 - 17. The reception we got from the children was amazing, we were all really touched by it, everybody was so welcoming and excited to see us, it almost like we were celebrities - the children were actually calling Kat Adele, the singer. They performed a ballet routine for us which was brilliant and that we chatted to the children and had our pictures taken with them. I had a little sing song to Lady Ga Ga with two of the children, they really were little performers. Straight from there we were taken to fish farm place for our lunch. We had a huge buffet of fresh fish and meat and chatted with the new group. After lunch we were taken to a prison, which I was really interested in given Criminal Justice is my area of work. We were given a tour around the prison, it was nothing how you would imagine a Brazilian Prison to be - it was a new building with a new way of working with the prisoners, focusing on rehabilitation and social integration as opposed to just punishment. The governor gave us a guided tour which included taking us to the high risk sex offender unit, it was quite surreal, particularly for the other girls who had not been in a prison before. And what a complete contrast the the morning ballet with the school children! In the evening we met up with some of the Rotaract team and went to a lovely Brazilian Restaurant that specialized in soup, but not any ordinary soup, you could add anything to it, meat, cheese, pasta, It was really unique, I've not seen anything like that before, we even had chocolate soup for desert which was delicious! Seriously the food here is so good although worrying I will need a new wardrobe by the time we leave. Today we have been on a boat trip out on to the river to see where the river Negro and the river Solmoes meet. It was awesome to see the two different colours. We then went to a little gift store out on the river and we all had a go at fishing the biggest fresh fish in the world, it was really good fun, although lots of girly screams from me and Liz as we thought we were going to get pulled in the water. We then went over in the boat to see some animals and the team got to hold a baby sloth and Kat and Steve had a snake put around their neck..scary!! We then walked through the jungle and went to see the giant lily pads, before getting back on the boat and visiting the river communities. Its really hard to believe how much we have seen in the last 6 days. It really is an adventure of a lifetime and non of us have stopped smiling since we arrived (or eating).

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings, will keep you all posted!

Adele and the cast !!

Lunch !!!

Meeting of the waters the black and white river.

The biggest  fish i've never caught!

New team member??

I wont be too much trouble i promise  xx

The giant lily pads in the amazon jungle

There's only one way to get over a phobia of snakes!

Riverside communities

The team hits the river!

after a day looking around Belem hosted by two delightful young Ladies from Roteract we were exhausted> We visited the markets which sold the usual, fish chickens etc etc!  The place was teaming with life and the smells were amazing, not all pleasant but amazing . The stall holders were happy for us to taste the different fruits which were amazing, the were some rather strange looking foods that we gave a wide birth! Lots of arts and crafts and all very local. One thing i noticed there are not many tourists about and we were the centre of attention ( or was it the six young ladies i was with ?? ). The heat is incredible and after a short time you have to take on water or you start to feel tired very quickly. The churches we visited were spectacular and very ornate. We ended up at a wetlands area were we saw mangroves and lots of species of birds. Also huge butterflies much to the delight of kat. The Day finished of at a cultural centre with a display of some cultural dancing.
The end of the day ?  NO  back to the host  shower change close eyes for about 20 mins and out to a samba bar!!  It was a superb place with a great atmosphere EVERYONE dances here it was great and we all had a ball.
Today we drove through a Favela and saw a different side of the town. Quite a lot of poverty here and apparently quite a dangerous area. Then all of a sudden we come across a hotel, it was very nice and we had breakfast with some Rotarians before boarding a speed boat to go out on the river. Before long we were winding our way through the mangroves and into the river communities. It was an amazing experienced and  one  that does not come along too often.
We are well settled in now and  just as we a4e getting to know our lovely hosts we are about to move on. We are going out to dinner tonight for a celebration  and tomorrow we fly to Manaus deeper into the amazon and see what adventures lie there

ate Lago !

The team are looking good!!

Well we have clean clothes !!  I picked them up from the airport whilst the ladies relaxed and ate ice cream with Amanda ( fecury) !!  something not right there???
We are in much better spirits now we are clean. We are doing so many presentations it is untrue. All clubs want us to go but they only have a few members. Tonight we presented to twelve people, that included the team and the waitress!!! We are trying to arrange for the two presentations to be together  tomorrow as it is getting a bit silly !
The Brazilians are being very kind to us and we are trying to adapt to their way of life ( ie slow down a bit !)  I had an excellent day today at the police dog training school  in Belem. They were really good to me and i  met some of the team and their dogs. They put on a display for me and we then had a good discussion about the differences in practices ( mostly in Portuguese !) It was really interesting and i tried not to look too surprised when i saw some very strange ideas about drugs and exposive training.
The Portuguese is coming along and i now find i can understand quite a bit. By the end of the day i am really tired and struggle with it. They all seem quite impressed with our presentation and i think we have done ok although it will become a bit slicker as we go along. We are definitely getting enough practice.

More tomorrow.......

The journey

Well we have arrived in Belem Brazil. We arrived in the early hours of this morning and so i had hoped to lie in but body clock says no! i have only had about 5 hrs sleep after a 18 hrs journey and the sun is seeping in through the blinds and the city is coming alive. The only problem we have is our luggage is still in Lisbon ! We made our connecting flight with 2 mins to spare but they could not take our bags so we have to wait 24 hrs before they are delivered. So hopefully our hosts will help us out to stop us all from smelling !
It was a bit of a shock when we arrived and met our hosts, Roberto and Maria who i am staying with speak no English at all. It was a very quiet car journey home !! I am all up for having a go today though. We always feel "well they will speak some English"  Not here i can assure you. It is going to be a real test for the team. First presentation for the team tonight only one problem no plug adapters as they are in the luggage !  we will get by.
Anyway looking out of my window from the 10th floor of the apartment block the sun is shining and it is warming up at 0730hrs. People are starting to make their way to work and start their day, and we begin our Brazilian adventure. More later..........

Stupid Airlines !!!!!!

How frustrating !!   The airline have cancelled one of our flights and so we have to leave 24 hrs later. We also have the problem that they have changed one of the tickets and our luggage alowance is lower. Not good when your already packed and ready to go !
Well Brazil we are on our way but were gonna be a bit late !!

The final countdown !!

Well I have finished work and the final countdown has begun. Big panic on now as i cant fit everything in my bag !  I went to Liverpool FC today and got a load of gear to take out, we are going to make some kids day !!  Lucas Leiva and the rest of the team have signed a shirt for us to auction at the conference and so as not to be outdone Kat has got an Everton one. How could we leave Tranmere Rovers out !  Yes we have one of theirs aswell. Bits of a programme have started to filter through from Brazil and it is very exciting. We have lots of presentations to do with the first one being on day 1 !
Well i best get on with that packing !!

Pre-departure presentation - Chester University

With only week to go the team gave their presentation to members of Rotary clubs within the 1180 district. Friends and family attended and it was lovely to have our Portuguese teachers, Marina and Manuela, there to hear the presentation in English!

The afternoon was hosted by the Rotary Foundation chairman, David Barton, and the team were presented with an International Rotary Foundation badge by District Governor John McDowall. The team had their own presentation to make to our two fantastic Portuguse teachers who were asked to come onto the stage and thanked for all their hard work.

A lovely meal followed the presentation allowing the team, Rotarians and family members a great opportunity to get together before the team leave. There is only 6 days to go - next stop Brazil!

Our last Portuguse lesson!

Our last Portuguese lesson was on the 7th March. We have been lucky to have two fantastic teachers, Marina and Manuela, who have been teaching us Portuguese since November - no mean feat considering only Kat could speak any Portuguese before we started! We are very grateful for all the hard work they put into translating our presentation for us - not to mention their patience as we tried to get to grips with the language!