PS: Note my matrix-like formal attire, the family penca de balangandans (relatively visible) & a Native American bracelet from the Amazon (less visible).

PS: You can also follow the livestream on YouTube at
www.youtube.com/@QuantumBattles (live chat is open for subscribers).

9) The lesson is that sometimes you have to build bridges across differences to common goals, which isn't easy, and know how to listen, which is even harder and gets worse with age. Now it's time to get on with life and put my photos on a hard drive. But the lessons remain (and perhaps the bridges).

8) I will miss the huge rivers and a lot of people, but it's great to be back, and enjoy the silence & the space. There's a lot of noise everywhere. This prevents people from having more than superficial conversations, which is generally a pity. But in some cases, it might be a blessing in disguise.

7) There are animals & birds everywhere, coming from the jungle, eating fish in the city lakes, or unfortunately in zoos. This made me wonder who decides who is free to fly away (and come back whenever they want), who has their wings clipped, and who is completely trapped.

6) People are proud of #COP30, but there's a lot of gentrification in the city, with the usual victims (riverside communities, quilombolas, etc). This is a huge, century-long social & ecological problem. However, a sustainable culture cannot be achieved w/o social justice & they need our support.

5) I was pleasantly surprised by the many t-shirts with the (red) Pará flag en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of.... I bought one for myself. I didn't see any BR t-shirts for sale, and I wouldn't buy them. After Bozo, I can't walk around in those colours. The South+Southeast of BR also see us as a colony.

4) The herb stalls with #medicinefromtheforest at #VeroPeso market are an institution per se. Below a picture with Beth & Cibele Cheirosinha, who work with #ervasquecuram for generations and are local celebrities. Note the red flag of the state Pará on the background & the biojewels.#saberancestral

3) There are many more indigenous people selling their art than there used to be, so if you want to support them, I recommend Praça da República on Sunday. I bought some fantastic Ticuna biojewelry & some (already gone) Genipapo paintings which, according to the artist, serve as protection.

2) For the first time, I saw a real Muiraquitã. It's shocking that something so present in Amazonian culture isn't in every museum in the city. Jade was present in pre-Columbian cultures, and we are no exception. The Jade Museum in Costa Rica has similar pieces en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muiraqu...

*damnedest creature*