Great weekend!

Here a great picture of the "meeting of the waters" where the Rio Solimoes and the Rio Negro meet. The first is the water from the Andes, yellow and full of mud. The second is from the rainforests, clear and black and full of alkalines. The two rivers flow alongside each other near Manaus, Brazil, and it takes almost twenty km for them to really mix.

On another note, one of the friends that we made during the trip came to Munich last weekend!

Gert, a librarian from Berlin, hadn't been to Munich in decades. We visited all of the usual touristic sites, and after visiting the Schwabinger-fest, we also went to the Unterschleissheimer Party (five years:city after being a town for 1,200 years!). We also had a great Brunch in Freising...three days were full and gone before we knew it!

Some Amazone Animals

While I was sick on board (lumbago and a bad cold from the air conditioning on board), Michi took a swim in the Amazon River.

We were told that Piranhas and any other dangerous fish don't live in flowing water. But here is a püicture of such a fish. Then a girl with a parrot, and then a picture of our arrival in Parentins, Brazil.

Sorry, folks!

Okay, okay, I haven't gotten the hang of adding pictures yet. But Blogger isn't being very cooperative, either...

If you've just tuned in, don't be scared away by my last entry: five huge moths!

This is my third entry in the last hour, so be sure to read what I wrote earlier!

If everything works, I'll show you the pictures of the wood factory, the skyline of Belem, Brazil, and a poster of the new Pope.

Benedict XVI from Germany. We had heard about his electiona day earlier, and all the people we met on the streets were happy to point out that we and the new pope were from he same country!!!

Pix?

Wood and Insects

The first picture is of what they do with the wood that they don't burn down in the rain forest. Contrary to beliefs, they don't actually burn down all of the forest to turn it into fields, etc. They use the wood to build houses, and this is one of the factories that makes building planks out of the wood.

Before we went on the trip, we were warned about malaria. But taking the preventory medicine is almost worse for your health than getting the sickness! We were told that it's good to have the medication along, but to consult the ship's doctor if we have a fever, and then to take it. Not before.

I, personally, didn't see a single mosquito until we arrived in Bremerhaven. Michi claims he saw one near the Canary Islands. Needless to say, we didn't woory about malaria!

But, there were huge moths on the ship. They were the size of the hand of a 10-year-old child. We thought they were cute, until we saw the face of the deck hand. He was opening an umbrella when one of these moths flew onto his face. They apparently have some kind of acid which they can spray. He had burn marks on his cheek for three weeks!

A few new picures...

A comment to "The truth about BBQ'ing"

Of course most of you men out there aren't lazy as in the aforementioned "thoughts." The text isn't from me, but I was able to see many parallels with many men that I have known. Two notable exceptions are my father and my sister's significant other, Ben. Both men not only know how to cook, but they enjoy it. While Ben would rather have the kitchen to himself (he even does the dishes!), my father does the "mise-en-place," meaning he prepares everything, and spends a lot of his time reading cookbooks and watching cooking shows to develope new ideas.

New pix in an hour...

BBQ

The Truth about Barbequing

Barbequing is the only type of cooking a real man will do. When a man declares that he will BBQ, the following chain of events is put into motion:

1) The woman goes to the store and buys everything.

2) The woman makes the salad, the vegetables, and the dessert.

3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man, who is lounging by the grill, a beer in hand.

4) The man places the meat on the grill.

5) The woman goes inside to organize plates and cutlery.

6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals with the situation.

7) The man takes the meat off the grill and hands it to the woman.

8) The woman prepares the plates and brings them to the table.

9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

10) Everyone praises the man and thanks him for his cooking efforts.

11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed her night off, and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there’s just no pleasing a woman.

About the two new pix:

In Parintins, Brazil, there's a huge dance-contest which dominates the city. One half of the city is blue, the other half is red. The festival or dance contest that they have is the second largest after the carnival in Rio de Janeiro.
On the "blue" side of the city, the street signs are blue, the houses, the people. And even the coca-cola ads! On the other side, of course, everything is red!

The second picture is of Gert, Martina and Michael. (L to R) They're obviously having fun!

New Pix!

I've written this headline about 5 to 6 times. It takes a while to upload, and then blogger tells me: "what? You wanted to show pictures? Well, I don't know anything about it." No matter that I spent about 20 minutes waiting (and about 5 Euros): hey, no problem!
Anothe try...

...and more new pix from the Amazon...!

New pictures!

Hey, it works!!!!!!!!!!

I can finally post pictures!

Okay, the last was of Alexandra Malinka taking polaroids of the native villagers of Vendaval. The next two are of
1: the largest sea-born leaf: the Victoria Regia Amazonica (The largest leaves are able to support a child!)
2: the meeting of the waters near Manaus, Brazil.
The two rivers; the Rio Negro and the Solimoes come together here, and because of the difference in temperature and velocity, the rivers mix after about twenty kilometers.

Photos

Okay, one more try. Then I'll go to bed!

Well, mabe a first photo of the Amazon...

If it works, then you'll get lots of good shots in the next few days!

Well, mabe a first photo of the Amazon...

If it works, then you'll get lots of good shots in the next few days!

Picture?

Well, mabe a first photo of the Amazon...

If it works, then you'll get lots of good shots in the next few days!

Hello Bellies!

Yes, I have something new to rave about!

First of all, thanks to Kat and Ben for their comments to my "Smoking" ranting. And yes, there are about 7,000 Americans in town right now! I work at the Marienplatz, the main attraction for tourists (but don't ask me why... the Rathouse is ugly and the famous "Glockenspiel" is way out of tune. And the Americans that go to Berlitz to learn German complain about the smoking...

My new problem is the bellies. Stomachs. Hips. Butt-cracks.

The young, and not so young women in Munich have a new fashion. Well, it's not too new, but as it's been over 30 degrees Celcius for the last few weeks, the new fashion is to be seen everywhere.

A slim young woman wearing jeans, pants or a skirt low on her hips is nice. I'm envious, because I don't have the figure.

But...5'4", 155 lbs, tight jeans and a top that barely covers the bra. 5'7", 180lbs, pants that show not only the butt-crack, but the string and tattoo.

Do we need to see this? Do we want to see it?

The women that have the "acceptable" figure wear normal clothes. And if they wear the aforementioned, okay!

The problem is, everyone who is too fat for the fashion wears it! And the rest of us have to look at it!

Any opinions?