There is a place in Brazil where the Rio Negro River and the Amazon meet and flow side by side for nearly 40 km without mixing — a phenomenon created by differences in temperature, speed and water density between the two rivers.
As Alvin Goetz of Rimbey watched, the captain of the small boat he was travelling in lined the vessel up precisely at the meeting point of the two rivers. Out one side of the boat was the almost black-looking water that is characteristic of the Rio Negro and on the other side was the sandy-coloured water of the Amazon.
This is a place the Rimbey farmer had long dreamed of seeing and just one of many highlights of a recent agricultural tour of Brazil.
Agricultural tours that combine sightseeing with visits to farms and agricultural operations have become increasingly popular with rural and urban travellers and Brazil is a key destination for such tours. Brazil is one of the world’s most important agricultural producers. It also is home to world-class tourist sites such as Iguassu Falls, Itaipu Dam, and the Amazon River, making it a popular destination.
The tour began with a boat expedition along the Amazon River, which is the world’s second longest river and the largest in the world when measured by total water flow.
The group also had the opportunity to tour Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, and see its famous opera house.
“Manaus is an amazing city to tour,” said Goetz. “It was carved right out of the jungle and it has the most incredible opera house. The last thing you expect to find in the middle of the Amazon rainforest is an opera house and this one is built to a very high standard. It is really something to see. We didn’t get to go inside the building, but ironically there was a two-hour special on television about Brazil that showed the interior of the opera house shortly after I returned from my trip.”
The trip also included several farm tours in different parts of Brazil. The first farm tour took the group to a banana plantation that was owned by the president of the local co-op who showed them his crop of approximately 7,000 banana trees.
“I hadn’t never seen a banana plantation before and I couldn’t believe how big the trees were,” said Goetz. “The leaves on the banana trees were huge. I paced one out and it was 10 feet long.”
The group also visited farms that grow soybeans, corn, cotton and sugar cane.
Goetz found it fascinating to learn how agricultural producers in Brazil are able to seed one field and harvest another at the same time and to see the sheer size of the farms.
“We heard a lot about how the farms are incorporating natural methods of weed and pest control,” Goetz said. “There is also a move away from large corporate farming operations. I was pleased to learn that the government has instituted new regulations to limit the size of agricultural operations and help protect the environment.
“Despite this, most of the agricultural operations we visited were very large. One farm had just brought in 100 brand new combines.”
As a lifelong cattle rancher, Goetz was particularly interested in learning about the beef industry in Brazil.
“Brazil is the world’s largest beef exporter with the world’s largest commercial cattle herd, and it was interesting to learn a little about their production methods,” Goetz said. “We visited a cattle handling facility that was one of the best I have ever seen.”
When they weren’t touring agricultural sites, they visited tourist sites.
Visiting Iguassu Falls was an absolute highlight of the trip. Iguassu Falls are one of the great natural wonders of the world. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and Goetz had long dreamed of seeing them.
“The river near Iguassu Falls forms the natural border between Brazil and Argentina and the falls themselves are incredible to see,” he said. “We travelled by zodiac to the base of the falls. It was incredible to be so close to the roaring water. There is a stunning natural park area that surrounds the falls and you can walk on footbridges to the base of many of the smaller falls. There are hundreds of smaller falls as well as the larger falls at the site.”
Also impressive was the Itaipu Binacional Dam, which was voted one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The monumental structure produces 25 per cent of Brazil’s electricity and 78 per cent of Paraguay’s.
“The dam was the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world until China’s Three Gorges Dam was completed,” explained Goetz. “The dam itself is an engineering marvel and amazing to see. It’s a rare thing for two governments to co-operate on such a massive project and you can understand why both Brazil and Paraguay are so proud of the accomplishment.”
Goetz was very pleased with the tour and would highly recommend it to other travellers — even those who are not agricultural producers.
“Many people are interested in learning about where food comes from and from that perspective the farm tours would interest anyone,” he said.
“But it was good to see the tourist sites too. I had always dreamed of seeing the Amazon, the Brazilian rainforest, and the Iguassu Falls. This was a trip of a lifetime.”
>b>If you go
• Goetz travelled with Rupiper Tours. A 12-day tour agricultural tour of Brazil costs $4,695 per person based on double occupancy and includes airfare from Miami, two meals per day, transportation and tours in Brazil and admission to special sites and activities. The next available departure will be in February 2014. For more information, visit www.rupipertravel.com or call 1-888-414-4177.
Debbie Olsen is a Lacombe-based freelance writer. Follow Debbie’s travels at www.wanderwoman.ca. If you have an interesting travel story you would like to share, please email: DOGO@telusplanet.net or write to: Debbie Olsen, c/o Red Deer Advocate, 2950 Bremner Ave., Red Deer, Alta., T4R 1M9.