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This video covers a mangrove swamp in Trinidad as well as the Asa Wright nature center. I got a little carried away with the leaf cutter
ants. The Oil Birds are a very unique species of bird. They are nocturnal and are fruit eaters. it is a relatively large bird with a 3 foot wing span and nests in caves and dark places. They echo locate with a high pitched 2kHz sound which is audible to humans. The chicks are larger than the adults getting to around 1.3lbs. In the past the natives boiled the chicks down to collect the oil and hence the name. One of the highlights of the entire trip for JoAnn and I was the sighting of the Tamandua (arboreal anteater) along a side channel of the amazon. 
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A brief view of river life and how it totally dominates how people live. We were in areas and channels where probably no cruise ship had ever ventured and as such we were as much an oddity to the locals as they were to us.
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Kaieteur Falls is about 200 miles from the coast and transitions the Polaro river from the Guyana plateau down into the lowland forests.
It later joins up with Guyana's major river the Essequibo. With a single drop of 741feet and average flow of 23,400cfs it is considered to be the highest single drop waterfall in volume in the world. It is 4 times higher than Niagra and twice as high as Victoria falls. |
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A brief video showing the prison on Devil's Island made famous in the movie Papillon with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.
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Fernando de Noronha lies 200 miles off the coast of Brazil and is a National Park. It is a small island paradise with lovely beaches and
great diving and snorkeling. This footage is from my GoPro while snorkeling. 
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Belem is at the mouth of the Amazon river. This city of several million is the gateway to the Amazon though it lies about 100 km upriver from the Atlantic
ocean, It has a rich architectural history and a famous market. This video shows some of the beautiful churches but is primarily of the market. |
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This train line was completed in 1885 after 5 years of construction. It traverses the Atlantic rainforest of coastal Brazil as it descends 3,000 feet to sea level. With the development of highways and trucking it is no longer required to take grains to the port. Originally the route extended for 380 miles but now of the original 5 stations there are only 3 active. The ones from Curitiba to the coast through the rain forest with spectacular views as it passes through 15 tunnels and over 30 tressels. It remains open as a major tourist attraction. |
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Visiting a small village along the Amazon River where they were preparing manioc flour from the manioc root.
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