Belem: 18th - 23rd January 2026
19th January – Monday
Uhm, I have some serious catching up to do with my diary and website. I’m not happy with myself and think I need to spend a day focused on it before I really forget what I did in Manaus and on the boat journeys. But on with my arrival at my room yesterday and today….
After all of the excitement at the doc yesterday I forget to mention how disappointed I was with the location of my room in Manaus as well as the room itself. My original booking was cancelled at the last minute and I booked this one really quickly and without reading up on it properly. The room is really small with a very firm, rock firm, single mattress and a fridge, one the plus side it does have a large unit for storing my rucksack and clothes. The bathroom is the nicest thing about this room. There are also hammock hooks in the walls but I think the fridge is in the way for using them.
Last night I had to ask Waleria, the host, how safe the area is as I am in the middle of a shanty town and it does not look safe to walk around. She said it is fine and that the only problem I will have is not no-one speaks English. Let’s see.
Waleria is an absolute darling, this morning she made me the best coffee I’ve had for a long time and then offered me breakfast, obviously I will have to pay for it, but what a lovely thing to do. 2 egg, cheese and ham rolls, a glass of juice and a second cup of coffee. The perfect way to start the day. Although I did start before breakfast with 10 minutes of meditation and half of my exercise routine. I need to get back into the swing of things and today is the start of that swing.
Over breakfast me and Manu made a concrete decision, she is leaving French Guyana on the 26th and will head as quickly as possible to Sao Luis and I will make my way there slowly and hang around for her. It is the only way, otherwise she will be following in my wake which is totally stupid. It is a compromise from both of us so we are both happy with the decision and we are both looking forward to travelling together. I may actually stay here in Belem for an extra day or two, there are 36 islands that are near by and some are very cheap to travel to, so I may do a couple of day trips to a couple of them before I jump on the16 hour bus journey to Sao Luis.
After breakfast, which was quite early, I left with a spring in my step and in search of a one of the vape shops that are supposedly in town. It was only 20 minutes walk away, but I must have spent at least another 20 minutes to half an hour looking for it. G Maps kept telling me I had reached my location but the shop was no where to be seen. So I stopped for an orange juice and sent them a message asking for location details. I waited half an hour with no reply. However, the lady and gent at the street store were so lovely and delighted at the fact that I tried to learn a little bit of Portuguese from them. It’s quite funny, just like in all the other countries, everyone presumes I can speak Portuguese, even today I’ve had so many people try to start conversations with me – I love it and really do wish I could converse with them.
After my orange juice I decided to head to Mercado de Sao Bras, which wasn’t actually that far where the second vape shop was supposed to be. The actual Sao Bras building, which is very beautiful, wasn’t actually open but the food court and market area were. I didn’t stop for food as I was still digesting breakfast but I did have a good walk around the market, which was indoors. It actually really reminded me of what they are doing in El Salvador by taking the stalls off the streets and putting them into a warehouse style space. Most of the stalls were actually closed but there were enough open to give a good overview of the place. Two stalls that really caught my eye were the prawns, yum yum, if I had been on my way back to the hotel I would have bough some, and the record stall that had lots of old vinyls for sale. And I must mention the delicious smell coming from the fruit stalls, it was mouth watering. If I do stay on for a few more days than planned I think I will go back there and treat myself to prawns and a huge bag of fruit.
After the market I went hunting for the second vape shop, could I find it – no. But I did pass a McDonalds – lol – so I went there and got an iced coffee that was very warm, full of chocolate and topped with canned cream. I wish I hadn’t as it wasn’t at all nice and certainly wasn’t refreshing. However, it did give me the need to find somewhere to sit so I went to the shipping containers that I had passed earlier. It was like a short street with containers, two stories high, on either side. Most of the containers were bars but a couple looked like trendy little shops. They were all closed but provided me with shade and a place to sit for 10 minutes. I absolutely love the use of the shipping containers and later during the day noticed that it’s quite common here in Belem to use them for shops and offices. I suppose being a port town they have hundreds of them laying around, it’s good to see they are not going to waste.
By now I had given up on looking for a vape shop and instead headed to the Basilica Santuario de Nossa Senhora de Nazare, which is a neoclassical basilica that was built in 1909, and Parce de Santuario de Nazare. The church is being cleaned / renovated so a lot of the outside was covered with scaffolding but you could still how magnificent it is. I also went inside and it was stunning, but I didn’t hang around for long as I don’t think I was 100% appropriately dressed. Outside were hundreds of ribbons tied to the fencing and a guy selling the ribbons, I presume they are for loved ones and people lost, or else people tied them there to show their devotion to
God. I must research and find out the reason. I hope it is my former reason rather than the later one. Feeling thirsty and having lost my packet of cigarettes I stopped and got water and a new pack of cigarettes and just managed a quick smoke before a lady stood next me and changed her shoes to flip flops, in Portuguese she said, I came prepared, seconds later the rain came – lol. It was a 28 minute walk to my hotel but I think I did it in 20. My trainers were soaked and it looked like I had rivers running down my legs, but at least the rest of me was dry as I had been sensible and taken an umbrella with me.
Both vape shops finally responded to my messages and, cutting a long story short, they are virtual shops and only do deliveries. The second shop responded first and wanted online payment but I couldn’t get it to work. However the first shop, not only did vape juice which the other didn’t, but it was also cash on delivery. So guess who is now a very happy puppy. Welaria also used her pizza account for me and ordered me a vegetarian pizza, which had meat on it! It was so delicious and as sharing is caring I shared with Waleria.
This evening I am going to finish the book I started on the boat, I actually think I have read it before as bits of it feel familiar, it is The Thirst by Jo Nesbo. Anyway I am really enjoying it and don’t have much of it left to go. Plus my laptop battery is about to dye!
PS, this area isn’t as bad as I first thought, although extremely run down everyone seems really friendly. I am also liking the fact that everyone spills out onto the street in the early evening, there is so much going on and I have a little balcony to watch it all from.
Good night, sleep tight.
20th January – Tuesday
I am exhausted, it has been a long day. Waleria not only had coffee ready for me at 7:30 this morning, but also my breakfast, which was delicious, so by 10 am I was feeling restless and booked an Uber to The Coffee shop, which had good reviews but was bog standard and to be honest the lemon drizzle cake was dry and not very lemony. However, my main purpose for going there was because it was just around the corner from two museums which made it a good Uber drop off point.
The first museum was the Museum of Art of Belém at the Palacio Antonio Lemos. And wow what a beautiful and grand building it was. The marble stairs had a red carpet going up them, it was very regal, with the museum on the top floor. The display in the first room was very special, with art work depicting the time when the Portuguese first arrived, some beautiful bronze statues and some rather regal furniture. There were two rooms of portraits of white men which did nothing for me followed by quite few displays of more local people, which were stunning. I really enjoyed that museum.
From there I went to the park across the road, Parc Bom Perdo II. it was so sad. So many homeless people had made tents from bin bags and it stank of urine. I discretely took some photos but didn’t hang around long as I was getting a few funny looks and it didn’t feel safe having my phone out. I quickly went into the Museo do Estado do Para, which is literally next door to the art museum. WoW, what a strange little museum, but again in a very magnificent building. The first room was made from plastic bottles and bits of material all woven together to form a huge dome with a ‘fire / totem’ in the middle. Around the edges were cushion and hammocks for you to chill on and whale / sea / jungle sounds were being played through speakers. It was actually very relaxing and on my way out I did chill there, on a hammock, for a while. The rest of the exhibit consisted on mainly placards with quotes from people explaining their experiences and feelings living in the Amazon and what has become of them today. It was actually very interesting, but at the same time very strange.
After that museum I went for a walk down to the harbour and the Clock Square – it wasn’t actually that nice but very interesting. It was filled with a lot of homeless / down and outs which made me feel very sad. There were also a lot of large black vulture type birds and one white crane like bird, which was beautiful to see even though they were scavenging for food. There were a lot of fishing boats in this part of the harbour and it stank, not of fish, but of urine. I walked along the front and it soon turned into an amazing market area. It was a true assault on the senses, meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and souvenirs everywhere. I had a good wonder around but at points the small was so it was so pungent I thought I was going to be ill. Eventually the market became a food court and I settled on a piece of fish with some Brazilian acia, the woman serving was delighted that I had chosen her stall and through hand gestures, explained that I need to add sugar to the acia as well as that bread crumb stuff they seem to put on everything, I think it is called Farrine or farrafa, I must do some research on it. The guys on the boat at the BBQ had both and I cannot remember which is which, but one is ground up more finely than the other and is actually much nicer. Anyway, since being back I have research Brazilian acia and it is a staple, high energy, high antitoxin food eaten widely across Brazil and especially here in the north. It is made from the acia fruit which is dark purple and, well, once you add sugar, it is actually very nice, and they eat it like soup, and it really went well with the fish that I had, which was so delicious. If I stay here waiting for Manu, I will definitely eat there again.
Not far from there was the Estacao das Docas, which is basically the old docks, with about 6 warehouses, that have been converted to contain restaurants and bars. The food look good and the prices looked reasonable but it was definitely a tourist trap and full of wealthy people. I had a wonder through it and was actually quite tempted to sit and eat some more but resisted and just enjoyed the atmosphere and views of the river. It was here that I came across my third and final museum, the Museu das Amazonias. WoW, it took my breath away. It was fabulous. The photographs of the Amazon where stunning, but even more stunning were the photos of the indigenous tribes of the Amazon – so beautiful and I learnt so much about their lives and their hatred for what the ‘white man’ has done to their habitat. It made me feel very still and silenced, it really did move me and made me think hard about how we treat people and the disrespect we have for indigenous people and cultures / ways of life that we see as not being ‘civilised’. I came away from
there with a rock in my heart and a far deeper understanding of life than any other museum has ever instilled in me.
As the rain had stopped I decided to walk the 45 minutes back to my hotel. I made a stop at a bar by a petrol station and had a beer and watched the end of a football match on the TV. Man City lost 3:1 to the Latin American club they were playing – lol. The walk back was fine, it didn’t feel like 45 minutes and once I passed through the centre of town I recognised where I was as I had walked a very similar path yesterday. But as I said earlier I was bloody exhausted by the time I got to my room and have not moved since.
Manu and I had a good chat this evening. I am glad we spoke in person as all of the messages were beginning to get too much and I was getting the impression that she was pissed of me for having already done a lot of the things that she wants to do. But it couldn’t be helped, after all I have been out here for quite a while now!. Anyway, she arrives in Belém on the 29th so I am going to try to hang around here for her rather than go to Sao Luis and meet her there. She seemed happy with this. I just need to find something to do to fill my time between now and then. I am thinking about a couple of days in the jungle and maybe a visit to an indigenous tribe, these tours are actually quite expensive but I think it will be worth it and far more interesting that staying in town twiddling my fingers waiting for her. I also may visit one or two of the 42 islands that are off the coast of Belém, but I wont do too many as Manu has indicated that she would also like to do one or two before we move one. I think there is one with a hotel, I need to research and sort something out. I think tomorrow I will stay here, or at least local and make some plans and book some things.
21st January – Wednesday
I have done very little today. In fact I am not even sure what I did this morning. Last night I slept on the floor. Not literally, there is a pull out mattress under this bed so I pulled it out and slept on it in the hope that was a just a little softer than this one. It was, but it made no difference, I still woke up every couple of hours as I have been doing since being here. I do love a firm bed but this one is so hard that the sides of my hips are feeling a little tender from so much pressure being put on them. I did think to hang my hammock, but the fridge is in the way. Anyway, no complaints as I do love this room, I just wish I was sleeping a bit better.
Early afternoon I went to the +B supermarket, it was only an 18 minute walk. WoW, what a lovely big supermarket with a huge range of beers, wine, fruit, vegetables, cooked snacks and roast chicken. I didn’t really look around the rest of it as, bar the beer, that was all I needed. I have been a bit silly really and demolished Waleria’s mini bar, the beers are 10 realis each and the water was 5. I think I’ve clocked up nearly 100 realis, plus she has been making me breakfast and also did my laundry, so I am expecting quite a high bill when I leave. My shopping, including a bottle of wine and hair dye, came to all of 123 realis. I really should not have touched her mini bar and gone to the supermarket as soon as I arrived – but such is life and I did enjoy demolishing it!
This afternoon, I decided to go to Ilha do Mosqueiro for a few days, but I’ll extend my stay here for at least one more night. Manu wants to meet at Ilha de Marajo on the 29th, so that works out quite well for me and I can get a boat between the two islands so I wont have to return to Belem until we leave for Sao Luis on the 2nd February. The plan is all coming together.
I spent the afternoon adding to my website, I haven’t touched it since 23rd December, so have a lot of catching up to do. I will continue with it while awaiting Manu’s arrival. However, I am a bit concerned as the login page does not come up, all I get is a white page. I had to access my site via Bluehost. I contacted the Bluehost technician but they were useless and told me I had to go through WordPress, which I think is bollocks as I have never gone through WordPress for any of issues. I am hoping that it is just a glitch and I will be able to log on in the normal way tomorrow. Anyway, I can still access and update it, which is all I am really concerned about at the moment.
I think I will watch a film. Goodnight.
23rd January – Friday
Yesterday morning I went for a walk to Terminal Hidroviario and got all the information Manu needs for her journey from Belem to Marajo Island, which is where we will be finally meeting, probably on the 30th. On the way back I had a beer and a sausage roll. The walk back took forever and I ended up gong the wrong way, but it was justified as I was being distracted with a wonderful conversation with Yasmin. It was so lovely to chat to her and she said it would be nice to have me home for a good year. I think that has cemented by plan to get a van and set myself up with teaching online so I can become a digital nomad. I have been mulling it over for quite a while now and it just seems to make sense.
Life can be strange at times. I was so tempted, after getting the info for Manu, to go to the market and buy a big bag of prawns, but decided against it. When I got back Waleria offered me some food, vatapa, and it is made with prawns! It’s an Afro-Brazillian kind of stew and was delicious but I felt it lack solidity and reminded me of baby food – lol. While eating it I realised that you would not starve if you had no teeth!. In the afternoon I dyed my roots and knocked a good tens off.
Today has not been so good. Last night I popped down stairs and felt so dizzy that I was scared I was going to fall down the stairs, and I have had vertigo for most of the day, and have literally been in bed the whole
time praying for it to go away. I did some research this morning and am fairly sure that my salt intake is too high, which in turn can give you high blood pressure and vertigo. When I think back to the boat, the bbq meat had tons of salt rubbed on it and I had vertigo for two days after that, I also think the movement of the boat didn’t help, although I had no problems on the first boat. And the chicken I bought from the supermarket, I think it must have been marinated in salt for quite some time as, not only was the skin extremely salty, but also the meat, even the meat near the bone was really salty. My research also revealed that the Brazillians use a lot of salt in their cooking. Thinking about it now, even the snacks I bought and the sausage roll yesterday were really salty. I am going to have to be careful and watch what I eat. I think booking places with kitchens and making my own food might be a wise idea and only trying Brazillian dishes every now and then.
I am a little upset that I was ill today as I had planned to go Ilha Cumbo, to the chocolate house and then have lunch at one of the river restaurants. But such is life. Perhaps I can fit it in while I am on Mosqueiro, it will mean coming back this way but I can get the bus so it wont be overly expensive, although I did read that there is a new boat service that runs between several of the islands. I will investigate when I get there tomorrow. Waleria has been lovely, she made me a really delicious cup of herbal tea. It had a kind of caramel taste to it and was a little sweet. I must ask her tomorrow what the leaf is that she made it from. I want some, it was that good. I have decided, that due to my vertigo today, I will get a taxi to Mosqueiro, it is only about £15. I could get the bus but don’t want to risk feeling dizzy and ill on the journey and make myself worse, and bar breakfast, I haven’t spent a penny today, so a splash out on a taxi is warranted.