heggy

Tickby and I landed in Manaus early in the morning.

Staggering out into the terminal, we saw materializing a distractingly beautiful youth holding a sign with the name of our hotel on it. He looked like male Zoe Saldana in Avatar but you know, not blue.

When we approached him and identified ourselves, he grew very excited, telling us what a great time we would have at the Ariau Towers.

"It is very nice!" he beamed. "Any time, you can call to the front desk from your room and ask for - if you want - a hammock and some cheese. They will bring it to you!"

It was probably three hundred degrees celsius and the idea of swinging in a hammock while eating cheese was a question mark, but this dude's joie de vivre had a way of flooding your mind with sparkles. For example, when he explained that we had to stay there at the sweltering terminal for another two hours because more hotel guests were arriving on a later flight, I felt a surge of euphoria.  He flourished his beautiful, attenuated arm around the dirty room featuring the Brazilian equivalent of Amtrak snack cart food, and said, 'You may sit, relax and enjoy something to eat!' And Tickby and I became downright giddy at the idea.

Also, if memory serves, his name was Stefani. Like gwen.

All morning we rode the waves of Stefani's bliss and bathed in the rays of ecstasy projected from his impossibly large almond-shaped eyes. By this I mean we sat at a filthy table that was nailed to the ground and crusted with old cheesebread and drank Coke Zeros, periodically laughing and waving to our irrepressible new friend.

Stefani's joy eventually carried us to the shores of the Rio Negro, where a a boat was waiting to take us on into the jungle and the Ariau Towers.

We noticed an enormous concert stage being erected on the beach, complete with posters for caffeine energy drinks, Coca Cola, and I think beach balls (?).

'Yes!' Stefani exclaimed as though we had asked aloud, 'Tonight will be a Heggy concert. Do you like Heggy?'

the radiant stefani

Heggy, Heggy, let's see now... nope! Don't know who Heggy is. Feel dumb. Certain she's a very important Brazilian pop singer. Or maybe it's a he? Or a band?

'Who is Heggy?' Tickby asked.

'Heggy! Like Bob Marley, like Ziggy Marley. Heggy music.'

Ahhhhh yes.

Reggae.

Still getting used to these R sounding like H shenanigans.

PS. My Portuguese teacher kept telling me to visit the 'Museum of Hockey' here in São Paulo the other day. He was in fact recommending the Museum of Rock.