We decided to have a last farewell dinner (we had about 3 all in all, I guess ;-)) at our favourite spot, the 'Antigamente'. As we were both too tired and too sad to eat a lot we invited a little street kid to share the meal with us. I had already shared some lunches with him, as they meals are huge in Sao Luis. At first he was a bit shy too sit down with us but then - I have never seen someone eat with that speed! He shoved everythin on his plate and then asked for a spoon and worked it away. I asked for his name but he seemed really shy so I thought better to leave him eat his meal in peace. Atila and I started talking about my trip to Belém and suddenly this little guy joined in, telling us he had been there once and that is was a really pretty show. And guess what, he told me to hurry up as the bus was going in about one hour! He remembered the exact departure time and the name of the bus company! He also knew at what time it would arrive etc. Then he asked me where I was from and he knew that there was no direct flight from Sao Luis to Germany... what a smart little kid! And when we left he wished me a save trip! I would not expect this from any kid his age, and definately not from one that lives on the street, more or less alone, not going to school... somehow it really broke my heart seeing this cute and smart little boy in this situation. Atila then told me about a project for which he worked some time back. The project tried to keep kids of the street and give an initiative for going to school. Kids do get kind of stamps when they go to school and at the end of the month the family gets an extra bonus if the kid has gone to school regularly. Unfortunately the success rate is not very high... but as Atila put it, if you help one kid get off the street, it is already worth the effort, 'Valeu a pena'.
The night bus to Belém was comfortable but really cold, I arrived there deep frozen. Unfortunately I didn´t see Vanessa at the station (or she didn´t see me).. anyhow, we missed each other and after waiting for some time I took a taxi and went to a Hotel.
I directly went out to see the mighty amazon river. I've been dreaming of seeing this river for so long that I couldn't wait anymore. There is a place called 'Docas' in Belém where they have renovated the old waterfront warehouses of the port and turned them in a really nice place with many cafés, restaurants, some shops... It's really lovely because they haven't overdone it and it has kept it's charme. I was just about to take some pictures when a guy asked me in English if he should take some of me and the boats... we talked a bit, he seemed ok and he offered to show me the place. We then went to a place called 'Ver o rio' (see the river) at the other side of the port. This place is a bit simpler then the Docas with barracas selling coconut, beer...
Later I wanted to check out the Fort and some Museums but because of the second round of the elections everything was closed. I walked throught the old town (even though every taxi driver told me I would be robbed immediately) and was surprised by Belém's beauty. Everybody, even the people of Belém itself, underestimate it, saying that there is nothing to see, nothing to do... But Belém has lot of nice little squares, churches... it has a somehow Italian or French athmosphere and is definately worth a visit.
Sunday night was the last night of the Cirio de Nazaré, a century old religious festival in Belém. The statue of the Nossa Santa Senhora de Nazaré is said to be made in Nazareth, then brought to Portugal and somehow to got lost and reappeared in Belém in 1700. Since then, every year there is a big procession and celebration to honour the Virgin of Nazareth. Uusually the statue of the Virgin is kept in the cathedral, but during the two weeks of the festival she is kept in the Basilica de Nazaré. On sunday there was a huge mass outside of the Basilica. It was a bit strange for a 'German' catholic to see because right next to the square where the mass was held was a funfair and people where screaming in the merrygorounds and it smelled of popcorn and all kinds of food. Also the priest asked people all the time to clap hands and cheer for Jesus, Mary, God, the holy Trinity... ('Viva Jesus!') But the strangest thing was at communion. Of course it was impossible for a single priest to give out communion to all hundreds and hundreds of people on the square so around 10 ministrants where helping ho, out - and not to get lost in the crowd, they where followed by a guy with a flag each ;-)
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