From the Field: The Amazon I Had Never Imagined

Last year, I went to the Amazon and soon it became one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Being there gave me a real sense of the preciousness of what we have at home. Brazil is diverse and spectacular. We say it often, but in the Amazon I could actually comprehend the meaning of this sentence.

There is so much life, everywhere…

I’ve encountered wildlife I never imagined seeing with my own eyes. I’ll always remember being on a boat alongside dolphins and pink river dolphins, which were consistently swimming next to us. Seeing them in their natural habitat was amazing.

One evening, while we were having dinner in the middle of the forest, surrounded by the sounds of local wildlife, a family of tapirs came looking for food. It was completely unexpected and made an already unusual experience even more memorable. 

The sky deserves its own commendation for its outstanding beauty. There is a sense of vastness in the Amazon that is difficult to capture in photographs, an overwhelming reaction to the sea of trees that stretches from horizon to horizon, and the sky. It’s a country within a country.

It’s one thing to know that Brazil is a plural country. It’s another to sit with the actual people whose relationships with the river, the forest, and long distances shape everyday life in ways completely opposite to our own. After that, I came home seeing my country, and the world, a little differently. Something I still can’t quite explain.

I could describe the animals, the river or that enormous sky, but none of that could ever explain the Amazon on its own. There’s something about being there that I still struggle to put into words. Maybe that is what actually stayed with me most. The Amazon is something you can read about, photograph and discuss, but there’s something about it that can only be understood through actual experience.

Thamires, Operation Analyst (GITs)