Beginning the Final Week

Last weekend we spent two days at the northern town of Salinopolis, which is a beach resort community for the residents of Belem. The shore community is located about 100 miles northeast of Belem and about a three-hour drive away. The beautiful white sandy Atlantic Ocean beaches and dunes are bathed by the diluted Amazon River waters. This phenomenon of reduced salinity is influenced by the annual variation of water flow from the Amazon River, which reaches its peak in June and ebbs to its lowest level in November. During the lowest period of river effluence the increased salinity results in a large fish kill when the fish from the Amazon reach the Atlantic waters.

The GSE Team members enjoyed the opportunity to relax, swim and hunt for shells on the beach. The vacation home of our host family was a delightful retreat and the home-cooked food was delicious.

After our return to Belem we began our week with a tour on Monday of the local island of Mosqueiro. It rained very hard on Monday evening knocking out the electricity in parts of the city.

Last week we also visited the campus of the Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA) the regional equivalent of our land-grant universities, such as K-State. This university offers programs in forestry, land management, fishery, veterinary medicine, agricultural engineering, botany, animal husbandry, and ecological sciences. Yesterday we visited the state historical museum and a famous flora and fauna research institute, founded by a Swiss scientist for which it is named, Emilio Goeldi.

Today and tomorrow the team members will be conducting individual professional visits to various organizations, including the emergency management agencies, universities, tropical disease institute Evandro Chagas, the theater, churches and art centers. The week will conclude with the annual district conference and a special presentation by the GSE Team to the district membership of 1,100 Rotarians.

The team will depart via Rio de Janeiro for the US on Monday, May 3rd and arrive in Kansas City on Tuesday, May 4th.