Piranha - Deadly and Delicious
Posted at 2:27 am | Filed Under brazil
They had it even before we knew what was happening. My rod bowed in prayer to something below the tea-colored water’s surface. The six-pound test line danced like a cat on a hot pavement. All hell had broken loose. Beads of sweat rolled down Doris’ back. Her clothes were now a second skin, clinging to her every move. We panted for breath. We had fish on. The silvery oval-shaped body and red belly of a Piranha broke the surface. I reached for it. “Don’t let a finger get near their mouths or you’ll lose it”, our native guide barked.
Minutes earlier, I shuddered from a breeze escaping from somewhere up ahead despite 85 degree-plus heat. The double-digit humidity didn’t help either. A maddening buzz filled my ears, but thanks my coating of Vick’s Vapor Rub, the blood-suckers wouldn’t feast on me. My eyes burned. My nose dripped. A coffee-table-sized leaf or hanging branch slapped into me every few steps. Curses burst from my lips even with my best efforts to become as one with the rainforest, as the indian had.
Our fishing rods extended from 18″ to five and a half feet. I’d hoped the light mono would suffice, although I’d squirreled away spools of twelve and twenty pound test as an afterthought. If we tagged into a 50-plus pound Tambaqui even that wouldn’t be enough. Vines as thick as my wrist dipped into light coffee-colored waters making little ripples as it slid past roots and fallen branches. Tangled growth matted the gentle slope of the bank into tea-with-milk colored wetness. I’d flicked a thumbnail-sized chunk of bloody chicken liver on a barb-less hook with a split shot into a dinner plate-sized swirl just beside a snarl of mangrove roots jutting upwards through the surface.
Minutes later, his tanned skin gleaming with moisture, our guide demonstrated the efficiency of the scissor-like teeth. A green leaf held near the gaping mouth instantly sported a neat, crescent-shaped bite. Three heavy blows to the head prepared the killer for cleaning. After cleaning, the Embera made a series of diagonal cuts along each side of the fish. Into these he carefully rubbed a mixture of salt, garlic, and ground roots from a small gourd he carried. A simple shaved branch frame held the fish over a smoky fire of glowing coals. The firm toasted flesh tasted smooth and a bit earthy, like a seasoned and mellowed catfish. With a wink and a sly nod towards Doris he said. “Make these heads into soup and you will need many wives”. She glanced at me with a puzzled look. I smiled.
The Perfect Killing Machine
The Amazon is filled with danger. Soldier ants march by the millions devouring all life in their path. Submerged up to the eyes, Crocodiles lie in wait for the unwary - whatever or whoever that may be. Undulating its 20-foot length beneath the surface, the Anaconda, one of the world’s largest snakes, uses heat-seeking guidance to find its next meal. The barbed stinger in the tail of platter-sized stingrays can inflict a wound that takes months to heal. But none of these carry the fearsome mystique of the voracious Piranha. Ranging through South America from Brazil to the lowlands of Peru, they also inhabit waters in Venezuela, Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. In the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers of Brazil and the Orinoco River in Venezuela, no creature is safe from the Piranha’s razor-sharp teeth and powerful jaws. The serrated teeth fit together like scissors, enabling Piranha to cut the flesh from their prey. Like a shark, a Piranha’s teeth are replaceable, when one breaks off a new one grows in its place.
The Yagua Indians of Peru often use the sharp edges between the teeth of a Piranha jawbone to sharpen the point of their blowgun darts. A fish that is dying or swimming erratically will be quickly attacked by a large school. Piranha will also attack without warning to defend their eggs and territory. A wounded animal that strays into the water will be stripped to the bone so quickly it seems almost to “dance” on the surface as it’s ravaged from beneath. A bird that falls into the water will be gone, feathers and all, in three minutes or less. A trapped fish struggling in a net will be chewed clean to the head in a matter of seconds. Attacks on large animals and humans are often dramatically portrayed, but are rare. In some regions Piranha are known as “donkey castrators”.
“They will rend and devour alive any wounded man or beast.” U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt said, adding, “Piranha are the most ferocious fish in the world.” Piranha, also called Caribe or Piraya only furthered their fearsome mystique when Roosevelt encountered them during his exploits in 1914. There are about 35 known species of Piranha but only five species represent a danger to man. Species range from the Red-Belly Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) with its characteristic red belly to the largest of the carnivorous species, the Black Piranha with its demon-red eyes and a 17 and a half inch long dark body weighing up to ten pounds. It could remove a man’s hand in two or three bites.
Most species dine on fruit or seeds that fall into the water from overhanging trees. The fish are not always aggressive. Women wash clothes in knee-deep water where men spearfish while children bathe or swim in these same Piranha-infested waters without harm. Further adding to the Piranha’s mystique, Indian men with half a dozen wives and up to a score of children attribute their potency to Piranha-head soup, although no scientific justification for the soup’s potency yet exists.
Fishing for Piranha
Piranhas are usually part of indigenous peoples diet in the areas where the fish are found. All you need to go Piranha fishing are lines with a metal leader next to the hook so the fish doesn’t bite through the line, a supply of red, raw meat (worms or cut-up fish will do too) and a bit of luck. Piranha swim in large schools and are attracted by movement and blood. In May of 1999, hundreds of anglers armed with rods, reels, and raw steak flocked to the Brazilian town of Aracatuba near Sao Paolo for a one-Sunday piranha fishing tournament. The townspeople had declared open season on the flesh-eating fish, which had decimated other species in the local river. The prize for the tournament was an outboard motor. But “most fishermen were content to go home with plenty of the reputedly aphrodisiac piranha”, claimed then town spokesman Nelson Custidio.
Piranha, earning their notorious reputation by reportedly killing 1,200 head of cattle every year in Brazil, is some of the best eating in South America. Whatever name you call them and no matter where you try them, when cooked in a variety of ways, their firm light flesh with its smooth, slightly nutty flavor, is a taste you’re sure to enjoy.
Larry M. Lynch is a writer and photographer specializing in business, travel, food and education-related writing in South America. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape From America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines in print and online. He travels researching articles throughout Latin America and teaches at a university in Cali, Colombia. To get original, exclusive articles and content for your newsletter, blog or website, contact him at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com
Tags: brazil, Colombia, delicious, fish, piranha, South AmericaJanuary River
Posted at 10:38 am | Filed Under brazil
Once having been the capital of Brazil, in 1959 Rio lost this status but is still one of the centers of the country - with the offices of the large corporations, the first airport in Latin America and, of course, its carnival!
The city is separated into two parts - the north and the south. The southern part is inhabited by the rich white people. White, beautiful building rise above the golden beaches It’s separated from the north by the hills Tijuca and Pedra-Branka. The north is populated, as you probably guess, by poor black people. There are no Chinatown, no little Italy in the city.
The event, Rio-de-Janeiro is famous for is its annual Carnival, the most renowned Carnival in Brazil and, may be, in the whole world. The origin of the carnival lies in the ancient African and Portuguese traditions. The incomparable fusion of these two traditions led to the birth of the Brazilian Carnival. In the beginning of the XX century the first samba schools appeared and in 1916 the first samba was created especially for the carnival.
Nowadays Rio Carnival is the most impressive and the best-organized carnival in Brazil. The 100-thousand enchanted crowd watch the parade of the samba schools. Each school devotes its performance to one theme - politics, nature, sport, art, music - all the themes should be Brazilian. The school creates its own song, costumes and choreography. The rehearsals began several months before the carnival. Rio Carnival - beautiful carts, a lot of musicians, bright costumes and the harmony of music and dance.
Beside samba schools the groups united by the district or theme, or something else take part in the Carnival.
The Carnival begins with the performance of 10 best schools, then come different groups. Some of the groups perform in suburbs. The category of the school can be decreased depending of the performance results. The procession begins on Sunday at 19.00 with the performance of the first-category schools. At first you see the name of the school, then come the members of the schools and the celebrities in the carnival costumes, after that - the thousands of dancers and the hundreds of the museums.
Carts are decorated with plumes; in carts there are VIP-persons and 8 allegories statues or big puppets. The height must be less then 10 meters. Nearby dance the so-called passistas, elite dancers almost without clothes. The procession stretches up to half a kilometer. The last school finishes its performance by 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning.
Rio is very famous for its beaches too. They are very different from each other.
Flamengo is situated in the Guanabara gulf and isn’t very clean.
Botafogo is dirty too and is not often visited.
Urca - nice, pleasant beach, especially in the morning.
Leme, Copacabana - notorious names, three kilometers of paradise. The only disadvantage is strong stream.
Arpoador - the utmost point of Copacabana. Swimming here is a risk. Big waves, a challenge for the surfers.
Ipanema, Leblon look like Copacabana. Popular place among well-to-do people.
Pepino Sao Conrado - big, picturesque beach. Good for surfing.
Barra da Tijuca - located near favelas (ghettos). Nothing to add.
Recreo dos Bandeirantes - surfer’s beach separated from the city by the rock.
Grumari - one of the most beautiful beaches.
For booking a hotel, please, go to Rio De Janeiro hotels page.
Tags: brazil, history of brazil, hotels, pedra branka, rio de janeiro, rio janeiro, tijucaRobinho, Robson de Souza
Posted at 6:51 am | Filed Under brazil
Date of birth: 25.01.1984
Country: Brazil
Club: Santos
Height: 170 cm
Weight: 60 kg
Role: forward
Biography
A so-called “new Pele” appears in Brazil every year. Football journalists often give this name to good, but not super-talented, footballers. Recently we have an opportunity to watch a birth of a new football “miracle”.
And Pele himself has opened this “miracle”. In 1999 a great guru came back to his dear Santos to be a couch for growing youth. During the first day of his work he noticed a 15-years-old guy named ROBINHO.
After training Pele came to a boy and told he reminded him of himself in his young years. And really, they physically resembled each other a lot - both swarthy, thin and with cheeky smiles, that throw into confusion.
Pele was very glad to such a windfall. This teenager coped with a ball capitally. Pele invited a boy’s father for the next training. A great player worried that atmosphere a boy was brought up in can damage his football carrier.
Brazil - is the largest manufacturer of beef, sugar, coffee and professional footballers in the world. Young guys from all cities do want to be footballers - this dream is probably the most popular in Brazil. Ability to play football - is one of signs of their nationality. But social inequality is also widespread in Brazil. Whereas middle class earns money, comparable to European, the poorest groups are just leading a beggarly life. Football is one of few ways to escape poverty for millions of Brazilian boys. There’s also sad alternative - crimes and sale of drugs.
ROBINHO had to come through all these troubles. He was born in one of the poorest district of the city. His father was a usual plumber, mother - a charwoman. His family had no money. His only passion was playing with a ball since morning till night. ROBINHO managed to avoid traps of poor Brazilian youth - drugs and delinquency.
But let’s return to that training. Father came with his son the following week. Pele was asking a boy’s father about his son’s behavior at home and in school for a long. Soon the “Football King” had to change his line, but his admonitions were not lost on them.
Three years later, being 18, Robin made his debut in Santos main team. His team friend Diego and he became starts of the season. In 2002 this couple leaded Santos to a champion’s title in national Brazilian championship 20 years later. Diego showed his worth as a creative half-back, but Robinho eclipsed everybody. Young forward managed to score 9 goals in 29 matches.
He showed striking dribble and confused rival’s full-backs with almost offensive ease. This footballer even had his own trick