Another hammock picture

It might seem like all we do is lie around, but we'll have you know that some hard-hitting social science research, about the history and possible futures for the communities and forests along the unpaved Br-163 federal highway, is being conducted too! In fact, hammocks are a necessity for such research! We promise! Diógenes Leal, noted cinematographer from Belém, sums of the significance of the hammock this way: “Everything happens in a hammock—from before we are born through the arc of our life, til our friends carry us to the bone yard—It all happens in a hammock.”

That big pan in the background is actually a huge batea, or gold miner's pan. The idea is: run muddy water into the batea, then sift the water out, leaving the gold at the bottom of the pan. This one requires 2-3 miners.