Zoo

Today I walked to the zoo to clear my mind. It is a great hour walk along the coast and there was a nice breeze so it wasn't too hot. I ran into Edison my favorite jewelery vendor along the way. He immediately cheered my mood. The Zoo also picked up my spirits. I was prepared for very dreary conditions for the animals but the park was very lush and green and not depressing. Though, I'll admit many of the animals were living in some very small spaces. Especially the bigger non-Brazilian animals. The jaguar, for example, was in a cage the size of half of my dorm room. But the jacare (small brazilian alligator) was in this huge swampy space that had a lot of vegetation. There were tons of types of monkeys and some great parrots. There was a hippo and some small bears. All the animals were SUPER active. The monkeys play fought and ate, the jaguar paced, the birds preened and flew,the bears climbed around,the baby warthogs nursed while others rolled in mud, even the tortoises were walking around hither thither. It seemed as though the animals hold the same sort of Brazilian life mentality...Even though life is extremely hard, only God can improve it, so they take time to find pleasure in life and are always good-spirited and enjoying it. (This is completely contrasted to the American mentality which is, you has the power to improve your life so you are constantly analyzing life critically and fighting for change, and you have this negative energy about life's shortcomings and can never relax and enjoy).

Anyway here are some pictures from the afternoon
Salvador's Jesus Statue

Speaking of cultural differences--check out this cannon of beauty as compared to the USA


The pacing Jaguar

Macacos!

Its tito!