Rain ....... and more rain

A flooded bridge is nothing new this time of the year but unfortunately this week a falling tree destroyed the bridge.  It was bad news for us because the bridge is the main connection between the Bosque Santa Lúcia Reception Center and the main forest trails.  We were able to get some groups to the forest via another route but the mud got so bad, we had to abandon the effort.  Thankfully, there's a lot see in and around the Reception Center.  Thanks to our guides and woodsmen, we were able to complete the tours.

Legendary Muiraquitã frog

One of our woodsmen at Bosque Santa Lúcia discovered this juvenile frog in the nearby forest at Bosque Santa Lúcia.  It's a very rare frog, maybe in extinction.  Passengers from the cruise ship, VIKING SKY were indeed fortunate to see this frog.  Many had seen paintings of the frog in the Santarém Museum before coming to the Bosque.

Sunset on the Amazon

Sunset playing with rainclouds upriver in the Juriti area.  18 February 2018.

Desert Tour?

Not a drop of rain since July of this year!  It's enough to make me cry!

Drought continues

I took this photo of the road that passes next to Bosque Santa Lúcia just day before yesterday.  Yes, that's dust ... and plenty of it.  It hasn't rained a drop since July.  There's some prediction that it might rain in the next week.  Please!

Which way home?

Heavy rains. Swimming only!

Flooding in front of the city, 2009

It's predicted that the current flooding of 2014 will be greater.  Get your canoe out of the garage.

Pebble on sand

Dust

Dust everywhere this time of the year, especially near dirt roads, as in the case of Bosque Santa Lúcia. Spot doesn't seem to concerned about the weather.

Muddy road

Last Wednesday we were scheduled to receive three busloads of passengers from the cruise ship, Royal Princess. Unfortunately, it rained the night before leaving a layer of mud that was impossible to pass over. Normally this wouldn't have happened, but some politician decided to help us out by running a patrol over the road. The loose dirt hadn't been compacted by traffic, thus the mud following the rain. I got stuck in my car. Actually, I didn't get stuck. The rear wheels locked up because of the accumulated mud in the area around the tires. My Fiat wheels up front were turning, but the rear wheels were simply dragging. About an hour later two of the tour buses entered the dirt road, only to get stuck about half way to the Bosque. An emergency bus was sent in. It got stuck too. Finally, the tour was canceled and the passengers walked back to the highway, in the mud. Every vehicle entering the road got stuck. The road was open the next day because the sun had dried up the mud and some traffic had compacted it down. Image, a truck being towed into a wide spot in the road.

Dryness

This past week I was "shooting the bull" with some of our woodsmen under the shade of an old jack fruit tree, when I spotted José Garcia passing by with a string of horses. About fifteen minutes later he passed us again and headed off on another trail. "What's he up to?", I asked one of the woodsmen. "He looking for grass" he responded. I guess there was none around. It's been very dry in this part of the Amazon. Only one good rain in the last two months, which occurred at the end of October. Prior to that we had gone a full two months without rain. Although we got a light rain last night, the weatherman says it's going to be the middle of January before we get wet.

Invisible bugs, continued

These bugs don't need to close the curtains when they make love. They are near invisible! The warm afternoon sun must have awakened hormones because they were other couples making out too.

Runoff

Proper drainage seems to be the secret to avoid erosion and giant mud holes. The runoff seen in the attached image is coming from the Santarem-Cuiaba Highway and it's heading in the direction of Bosque Santa Lucia. For a couple of years it ended up in a mud hole that became the size of a football field. My readers will remember that I named it "Lake Maria" in honor of our mayor, whose government did nothing to better the access in this part of the region. Thanks to the voluntary services of a neighbor on the highway and his bulldozer, we were able to bury Lake Maria in February of this year, thus opening up access to the Bosque again. The runoff from BR-163 hasn't changed, but at least it's not accumulating on the dirt road.

International Day of Water, continued

All this rain eventually makes its way to creeks and the rivers. My friend in Mararu, Sr. Dagaberto, does his best to use the creek that runs through his property for raising fish, but nature takes it course during the rainy season. He's built brick walls and all kinds of construction projects to avoid losing his creations, but the fast moving water takes it all away. Image, an American egret overlooks summer construction ... and an easy lunch at the expense of Sr. Dagaberto.

Bromeliad in water

Winds and rains bring down things from up in the trees this time of the year. I found this flowering bromeliad float next to the footbridge.

International Day of Water

We're certainly not lacking for water. Our rainy season is at its best this time of the year. Annual rainfall is approximately 2,000mm and most of it falls between between February and May. The river system raises and falls some 8-9 meters between high and low season here in Santarem and there are years when the water floods the streets down at the orla. Image, our 42 meters footbridge at Bosque Santa Lucia, which has been under water twice this year. Cleuson applying a sprinkling of sand to make it less slippery.

Ruffled feathers

I was down at the waterfront to see our health team off to Juriti when I spotted these black vultures next to the riverboat. They didn't look too happy with the rain.

Road to Bosque is open, continued

The next day, Áurea and I made a test drive to the Bosque in our small Fiat car. Here we are about to enter the area that I've often referred to as Lake Maria. Over the last year it has almost swallowed the car on every trip to the Bosque. Then it got so bad, even big trucks and buses were forced to take the detour you see to the left. Then it closed down too. I had to cancel all my private tours to the Bosque and finally the buses taking ship passengers also had to cancel out. Although the road is still makeshift, it's passable. I look forward to doing ecological tours again!

Road to Bosque is open, continued

Sr. Jaci's red farm tractor has been a blessing in getting the road to Bosque Santa Lúcia open again. That blade on the front is perfect for spreading out dirt and also for the construction of drainage ditches. Right after we left him here, five truckloads of gravel (clay with some rock) was dumped at this site. When we returned from the Bosque, Jaci was already spreading the material over that section of the road. I should add that all this hard work, and some expense taken on by a few of us, is very makeshift. To do the road construction right, it will require a lot of heavy equipment. That's where the mayor's transportation department will come in, we hope. As I mentioned, the change in local politics may make this possible.