Bumba Boi!

As we continue up the Amazon little changes.  Still no more rainfall but often we smell the strong scent of burning and even at night our cabin seems to be affected.  Sometimes it is the cooking fires from the villages along the river and other times it may come from the burning of the forest clearing it for either agriculture or grazing for cows or even fires that may be burning further up the Amazon past Manaus where the wind is blowing the smoke our way.  We have pilots on board and will continue with them all the way up and back down.  On December 6th we come to Parintins.  The town has a population of about 80,000 people.  Here we have no tour but will do our own thing.  The ship offers a Bumba Boi experience as a tour with the local dancers in their traditional costumes and their traditional instruments but we choose to just wander around. We come here by tender as we are too big to dock. Parintins is at the tip of an island on the river and though one of the deepest spots is before we get there the channel becomes very narrow and shallow prior to the island and confluence of the rivers especially now with the drought.  

Parintins is in the State of Amazonas and Is a municipality being 350 miles from Manaus with about  230,000 people.  It was discovered in  1749 by the Portuguese and is a strategic point here along the river with the first real town being established in 1796.  Fishing and agriculture are the main types of employment for the people with some tourism.  From here the indigenous people leave  and move much further up into the forest.  There is folklore of these giant creatures that lived in the jungle and drawings of them but most likely they were based on a giant sloth that no longer exists. 

The area celebrates the Ox festival with the Bumba Meu Boi.  Each region seems to have their long traditions that focus on history and include music and costumes that represent their strength.  

The symbol of strength and resistance is their like their power against colonial masters.  Unesco status has been granted here to preserve their cultural heritage. 

One of the old legends and stories from the slaves involves a pregnant wife who was hungry for an ox tongue.  She pleads with her husband Pae to get her the tongue which they can’t afford to buy.  He kills the next ox he finds for her.  The farmer who owned the now deceased Ox is upset!   He hires a shaman to bring the ox back to life and the shaman does!  Everyone is happy and celebrates this miracle within the tribe.   There are lots of variations on the story but the point is the woman is happy, the farmer gets his ox back and the village can now all celebrate!!  The celebration is 

elaborate with big floats, costumes, singing and dancing.  This was the beginning of the festival in Parintins as it followed the people who migrated here or were brought as slaves.  

The original Founder of the festival was a small boy who created a kids game that developed to much more with it focusing all on the white ox.  

The another group forms and they have rivalry; the white ox and black ox with one having the heart and one having the star.  They have celebrated 110 years of this festival that began in a bigger scale in 1913.  Today it has grown to mega operations like 

everything is red and blue. Each team has 7 1/2 hours to tell their story which takes place over three days.  

People come from all over in small boats crammed in to watch and participate.  This is the only place in the world where you can get blue coco cola cans and some that are half red and half blue.  The

city is low lying but the stadium is up high and 

holds 35,000 people.   The festival takes place the last weekend in June usually during the dry season.  

None of the feathers are real now just man made so no birds are sacrificed. 

The heart and the star on their heads!  

The indigenous people who first were here portrayed as the Parintintins 

Was it a monster or the giant sloth?

The giant sloth that is extinct. 

And the pink dolphin with the color very exaggerated with the photo of the old man in the legend that dances with the beautiful girl

The costumes are extravagant as you can see. 

The ox and the bull.   And the beautiful dancers 

Look at all the colors, lights and festivities!!



The story characters of the pregnant women who asked Pae to get her the tongue !

All the different names of festivals held around the regions 

A very old photo that has been torn but shows some the early beginnings of the celebrations and the elaborate costumes. 

Even the Bank of Brazil gets in as a sponsor for the festival with the blue and red colors 


A photo of what it looks like when all the boats come bringing participants and spectators to the small town!!!

The big blue Coke sign!

Each group is dressed to the max to perform with their unique instruments too

Here is a photo of the stadium showing the side that is performing, the red side, lit up.  The blue side stays dark. The stands are packed full!!  

You can see the size of the floats and blow up in comparison to the woman in the foreground.  The people who artistically design all this are professionals and they are hired by festival organizers all over the world for their talent. 

Showing their strength and fierceness 





Our little store with the haul we took back to the ship! 

Look at the man’s lower lip spread out with the disk. 


And that night when we got on board they were preparing for a camp out on the Lido deck with fake campfires and s’mores too!!

We shop for a few unique things in the few shops that are set up under tents by the pier.  Then we find a very cute cafe/bar/store where I have a local beer and Dan gets a Coke. We find some snacks for our stewards and waiters too!!! The owner gives us free wifi and also goes to you tube to show us the video of last years local festival!!!!  He and his wife run the little shop. They speak little English but are able to say they have been married over 15 years and this is how they make a living. It’s very clean and because we are seen there others from the ship stop in and he gets more business!!  

My small piranha magnets and the fish scale they use as a nail file!

 The keychains that Dan turned into earrings!!! A big hot!

And the Christmas came to the ship as decorations and gingerbread displays popped up everywhere 



Even small trains were added and lights. 

And our door became decorated too. 

Santa and the Jingle bell were attached too. 

Our certificates we got for the Antartica 


And crossing the equator which we did a total of four times!

“All travel has its advantages.  If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own.  And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.”  Samuel Johnson