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Sept. 12, 2005 The weather in Belém, Brazil is just about the closest thing to Paradise on the entire planet, rivaled only by places like Singapore, Bali and Zanzibar. I simply cannot resist the tempation to list out the average daily high and low temperatures for every month of the year: January.....88 and 72 February....87 and 72 March.....87 and 72 April.....87 and 71 May.....88 and 73 June.....89 and 72 July.....89 and 71 August.....90 and 71 September.....90 and 71 October.....90 and 71 November.....90 and 71 December.....89 and 72 The rainfall here is fairly heavy, with 86 inches a year, twice as much as New York City, seven times as much as Los Angeles, but it is something I think that I could deal with. The other day I got caught in a downpour about half a mile from home. I could just have stood under an awning or canopy somewhere and waited it out, but I decided instead to walk and get wet, knowing that I have a big fan in my room and could dry my clothes in a matter of two or three hours. Actually, the rain was refreshing, as it’s been slightly warmer than average the last week or so, with temperatures in the mid-90’s. Mind you I have no problem with 90’s or even 100’s. All my problems are with 60’s, 50’s and lower temperatures. On the coldest day I ever experienced, it was 19 below zero in Chicago around 1966. Now I ask myself whatever kept me in that city for so long. Belém is on the Rio Pará, part of the enormous Amazon delta. It’s a sizable city, with a metropolitan population of 1,500,000, and it has modern department stores. It is more comparable to Asunción, Paraguay, where I stayed 3 months, than to Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro, which, of course, are major world cities. Asunción, which is older than Belém, features more colonial style architecture. Here buildings are more modern. Asunción has a definite cooling in the winter, with 50’s and maybe even 40’s sometines, though usually it’s warmer. Asunción is hilly too, whereas Belém is flat. As a former bicyclist, I have a keen prejudice against hills. I have two months left in Brazil, and I haven’t decided what to do next. My original plan was to arrive in Uruguay about two months from now, stay there a couple of weeks and then return to Buenos Aires for the Argentine summer, starting December 21. Another possibility is to renew my visa in Brazil, remaining 5 months instead of 2, or even possibly to seek permission to reside in Brazil. A third possibility to sail up the Amazon to Manaus, a city in north central Brazil, 5 days away by ferry, visit briefly, and then continue by bus to Caracas, Venezuela; there is a bus route I’ve been told. I don’t think Manaus is reachable from Belém by bus, except by a very circuitous route. The only trouble with going to Manaus is that if I cannot arrange transportation to Caracas, I’ll have to sail back down to Belém, spending another 5 days on the ferry. I’m fairly certain that I can get permission to reside in Argentina, but I haven’t yet checked requirements for Brazil. The Portuguese language is problematic. So far, I can read and speak somewhat, but my comprehension of the spoken word is not all that it should be. Spanish is no problem. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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