Arrival in Santarem

Our team arrived at 3:00 a.m. in Santarem and reached our destination at the Hope Foundation at 4:00 a.m. This is a college dormitory setting in Santarem, which is linked to the Catholic Church. We had to wake the staff in order to gain access at this ungodly hour of the morning. Even the security guard was asleep at his post. We rested until 11:30 a.m. before gathering with the Rotary leadership. We visited two agencies, one similar to a Head Start program and another a children's rehabilitation program. Santarem is a city of about 300,000 population that is located at the confluence of the Tapajos and Amazon Rivers. This is a very large fluvial port and a large agricultural center for Cargill, which exports soy and rice. This is also a regional educational and health center. Recently, the Brazilian government decided to subdivide the state of Para and create a new state of Tapajos. Santarem will become this new state's capital. Belem will remain the capital of the other half of Para.

Week 2 Begins with a Change of Plans

Sometimes the best laid plans require re-evaluation... this is where we find ourselves today!

Contrary to our ealier entry, we have remained in Manaus for an additional three days, in order to attend to the health of one of our team members. Eric's heat stroke has led our team to re-eveluate our initial plan of taking the "African Queen" adventure down the Amazon River. A 33-hour excursion without access to medical attention seemed imprudent in light of our team-member's health status. His medical consultant said that we could travel after he has had a two to three-day recovery. Proceeding with our original plan would have cramped the time available for the visit to Santarem, due to the departure from Santarem to Belem on Monday, April 19.

After holding a team conference and discussing options with the Brazillian host leaders, we jointly decided to switch to air travel to Santarem... the Indiana Jones adventure in the Amazon will to have to wait for another time. Instead, we will leave Manaus early on Thursday morning (1:00 a.m.) and arrive in Santarem at 3:00 a.m. in Santarem.

Everyone is pleased with our decision, as it reduces the risk for the teamm and allows for the full programming to proceed in Santarem. Today we will visit some local museums. The delay also allowed the team to make a presentation yesterday to the fourth and largest Rotary Club in Manaus' industrial district.

Yesterday we attended the Amazon Theater opera company's practice session for the upcoming annual opera festival. What a magnificent musical presentation!!

Stay tuned for more later.