I travelled to deepest darkest Capao with my Slavic hitch hiking compadre Monika.

Our host Sam sings to us one night and plays both the guitar and the accordion (not at the same time, that would be clever ….and strange).

We talk spiritual and philosophical matters, shamanism, animism and he tells about his experiences of taking the jungle plant Ayahuasca. The mind expanding properties of this natural trip allow you to understand the universe and all it’s mysteries.

Sam wrote Tamarindo, an ode to Ayahuasca and his visions. It’s a catchy number and I dance to it on tea breaks mid-trek. Rough terrain jiggery reminded me of John Cleese’ Ministry of Silly Walks; it was hard to maintain any balance!

Clumsy comedy.

New ideas about Shamanism inspire me to waft around butterfly styleee with Pablo’s colourful kanga. It’s easy to forget when out in this wilderness that it was once populated by Indigeonous people. And that the forest may have been full of meaning for them, a reverence held – spirits, seasons, symbols.

A Xikrin girl. This may be the ritual dress for the Hummingbird Ceremony.

Tamarindo A Bitter Fruit – Fulano de Tao

O suco de tamarindo  /The juice of tamarindo

Que eu tava com a colher bulindo  /That I was with touching with a spoon

Nunca me deu azedo  /Never felt so bitter to me

Nunca me deu prazer do seu amor  /Never felt the pleasure of your love

A flor que tava se abrindo  /The flower that was opening

Num cacto espinho surgindo  /A cactus spike emerging

Nunca feriu meu dedo  /Never wounded my finger

Nunca me fez arder do seu calor  /Never made me burn by your love

De fato eu subi montanhas  /In fact I climbed mountains

E montes eu descobri sobre voce  /And hills I discovered about you

Agora to sozinho aqui no meu canto  /Now i`m here alone in my corner

Com toda a certeza que nenhum encanto  /With sure that no charm

Vai desaparecer com tudo que eu vivi  /Will disappear with all that I lived

Mesmo sabendo que voce nao volta pra mim  /Even knowing that you will not return to me

Xikrin-Kayoo man.

An East Anglian woman – Voguing in a hole.