BRAZIL
​In 2012, I travelled overland to the Brazil's Pantanal and Amazon River region.  For the most part, I went by road but after several twelve-hour overnight bus trips I switched to flying.  Brazil was larger than I imagined.

In a small park, opposite the Opera House in Manaus, I came across some teenagers practising their hip hop moves.

In the open spaces of the Pantanal, wildlife is much easier to see than in the Amazon jungle.  There are few people and no towns.  Cooperation between ecotourism and the landowners in the region has contributed to the sustainable conservation of the environment.*

Porto Flutuante is where one disembarks if one comes to Manuas by boat.  The dock rises and falls with seasonal water levels, which can vary as much as 14 meters.*

Manaus's famous opera house, the Teatro Amazonas, was designed...at the height of the rubber boom.*
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The Iguazu Falls is considered one the planet's most awe-inspiring sights.  The falls lie split between Brazil and Argentina in a large expanse of national park, much of it rainforest teeming with unique flora and fauna.  There are thousands of species of insects, hundreds of species of birds and many mammals and reptiles.*

​I was surprised to see jugglers entertaining car 
drivers stopped at red lights.

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I watched my guide fish for piranha in the Pantanal.

The Brazilian Amazonas region lies in the north western portion of Brazil. Many of the settlements and all the cities are only accessible through the many waterways spread throughout the jungle. The Capital city Manaus is the largest city in the region and is home to over 1.5 million people, very impressive considering the only way to reach it is by plane or boat. All the cities here are surrounded by the Amazon Jungle, and the region gets its name from the Amazon river which runs through it. The Amazon jungle is home to a great variety of wildlife including caimans, capybaras, and many different types of birds and fish.
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For a century and a half from 1609, Jesuit priests set up missions where they established communities of Guarani whom they evangelized and educated, while at the same time protecting them from slavery and the evil influences of colonial society.*

*These captions are from Brazil -- Lonely Planet's travel guide.