This week, I got to listen to some really amazing music! Our riverboat has a crew of 23 people, and they are all talented in many different ways. Two evenings this week, some of the crew members played local music for us, and it was incredible to hear the sounds of the Amazon come to life through their instruments.
We also visited a few local villages, and the children there were so welcoming. They have beautiful voices and sang for us. It was such a special experience to hear their songs, and it really made me feel connected to the people and culture here.
You can hear some students singing a welcome song to us here.
The most fun activity this week had to be piranha fishing! I think everyone in our group enjoyed it, and it was such a unique experience. We used rods made from vines and baited them with pieces of steak. To attract the piranhas, we splashed the rods in the water because piranhas hunt by sound and vibrations, as their eyesight isn’t very good. Then, we dropped the hook into the water and waited.
When you feel a bite, you have to pull up the rod quickly — piranhas are fast! My son, Ben, had the best luck. He caught three red-bellied piranhas, one vegetarian piranha (yes, there’s a type that eats plants!), and even a catfish! Unfortunately, I didn’t catch any, but it was still so much fun to try.
The piranhas' teeth are incredibly sharp. Our guides showed us the scars on their fingers from piranha bites they got when they were younger. Both almost lost fingers!
