If you really want to unwind, plan on staying for a few days in Alter do Chão at the BeloAlter Hotel, or one of the pousadas (small hotels).  Stretch your hammock out between a couple of trees; swim in the clear water of Lago Verde or the Tapajós River; explore what used to be a major Indian settlement; eat "finger licking good" fish under a mango tree and gawk at "The Caribbean of the Amazon."

 If you are lucky enough to be in Alter do Chão during September, participate in the annual week-long Sairé (Çairé) folklore festival. You will delight in seeing a variety of folk dances performed by the hospitable villagers of this riverside community.  Take along your tape recorder to document original songs and folk music presented by the Espanta Cão (Scare the Dog/Scare the Devil) Band.  In recent years Sairé has broadened the scope of presentations by adding the dueling dolphins, referring to the boto (pink dolphin) and the tucuxi (smaller dolphin), dances in quest of the popularity of the dueling bulls in Parintins in the State of Amazonas.  These are beautiful people performing traditional dances with a twist of commercialism.  The dance depicting the seduction of a young village girl by the pink dolphin (from Legend of the Boto) is quite sensual and always a favorite among participants of the festival.

 Don't take your checkbook to Alter do Chão. You may be tempted to buy a riverside lot on which to spend the rest of your blessed days.  Seduced by the enchantment of the village, the spectacular beauty of the area and the charm of the people, it is not unusual to have clients fantasize about buying the whole village.

Image:  Steven Alexander

Wing of the BeloAlter Hotel in Alter do Chao

Image:  Steven Alexander

Tree house at BeloAlter Hotel in Alter do Chao

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