Amazon days 3 and 4

Our third day in the Amazon started with another gorgeous sunrise. It was incredible how well the water reflected the sky.

Apparently we had neighbors all night long. Not a bad camping spot!

It's almost hard to tell which way is up

Our first activity that day was piranha fishing. There are several types of piranhas in the region, but the red-bellied is the most dangerous. We slathered on the sunblock and got ready to roast in the hot morning sun. Our fishing poles were straight sticks with string and a hook, and we had chopped-up pieces of raw meat to use as bait.

I didn't catch any fish, but the girl next to me caught one. Actually, I think the guide caught it but then he really quickly told her to try his fishing pole to see if it brought her luck and she immediately had the fish on the line. A bit suspicious, but she didn't seem to pick up on it and was absolutely thrilled. They certainly have sharp-looking teeth up close!

In the afternoon we visited another village. This one was called Acajatuba. We explored the village for a bit and then had boys and girls soccer games against the locals. I just cheered since I have no soccer talent and I didn't want to embarrass my country :) We lost anyway, the boys 3-0 and the girls 2-1.

As we were heading back to the boats we got another amazing sunset. The sky looked like it was on fire!

We had dinner and everyone crawled into their hammocks really early. The next morning we were swimming with pink dolphins and we all wanted to have lots of energy for that!

As we ate breakfast our riverboats crossed to the Recanto do Boto, a preservation facility for the pink dolphins. They feed the dolphins but they remain wild and don't get fed everyday. There are no fences or contained pools, they come of their own accord.

The Amazonian pink dolphin (scientific name Inia geoffrensis), grows up to 8 feet long and can weigh over 200 pounds. They eat fish and have really flexible necks to be able to navigate through flooded forests. During the rainy season the water level in the Amazon basis can rise over 30 feet, totally submerging trees!

)

We got in the water in two groups and stood on a platform so we could touch. The dolphin "trainer" would use fish to get the dolphins to come close enough so we could touch them and also to jump out of the water. Sometimes when we was working with one, another would swim up and startle us all!

They're actually kind of creepy looking, not nearly as cute as normal dolphins.

The dolphins felt really weird - sort of spongy and rubbery and not at all like a living creature. But they were incredibly soft and smooth too!

After swimming with the dolphins we began our epic, 13+ hour journey to meet the ship in Salvador. We almost missed one flight, had some issues on the next, and got in around 2am. It was a tiring day, but absolutely worth it to get to do such amazing things and see the Amazon.