A Day in the Life of a High School Administrator: Rolling on a River (Proud Mary)-Tina Turner

Ready for the boat ride

Another great day at the coast. We woke up early to catch a speedboat tour of the Parnaíba river delta, which is the largest open water delta in the Americas. I read an article online that said in most countries, the Parnaíba delta would be a major attraction but in a country as diverse as Brazil, it gets overlooked. We took a 3 hour speedboat tour and it was awesome. We rode around and checked out the mangrove forests, wildlife, and various coastal ecosystems. It was really interesting to see the mangrove forests because I have heard so much about them and the threats they face world-wide due to development and environmental issues. We saw all kinds of people eking out a living along the shores by fishing and crabbing. As we talked with one crabber we learned that four crabs will sell for four Reals (pronounced hey-ais.) It seemed a pretty hard way to make a living.

Mangroves

Map of the delta

These are mud crabs so they dig around for them along the shore.

In the dunes of Baby Horse Island

Our boating crew, Zilmar in the front

This island is completely submerged during high tide but divides the ocean and fresh water river during low tide

After our interesting boat adventure, we headed out to meet the rest of the CCL teachers at a local beach called "Praia do Coqueiro" or Coconut Beach. As I love coconuts I thought it was promising. It was a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze. We spent the afternoon with another big lunch of various fish dishes and lots of talking and laughing with the teachers. A little swim in the ocean-the water was so warm! Then it was back to Marcel's apartment to shower before the return trip to Teresina. Luckily our bus ride was a bit faster and we were home by midnight.

We passed this bot, Erika II on the way back to the harbor so I said I was Erica I and my boat was Erika II, ready and waiting for my next trip through the Parnaíba delta.