HERE THE WATER BUFFALOES ARE TAME

With a land area of 40,100 km² (15,500 sq mi), which compares to the size of Switzerland, it is the largest island to be completely surrounded by freshwater in the world. The island sits almost directly on the equator. Yes, we are speaking of the Marajó Island in the northern state of Pará. Large parts of the islands are flooded during the rain season, because of higher water levels of the Amazon River along the coast and of heavy rainfall in the interior. The east of the island is dominated by savanna vegetation. There are large farms with animal husbandry. This is also the location of Lake Arari, which has an area of 400 km² but shrinks by 80 percent during the dry season. Nowadays there are large herds of domesticated water buffaloes on the island.And they are surely part of the landscape, as they are part of the populations´ daily life. There are 20 large rivers on the island. Because of oscillating water levels and regular floods, many settlements are built on stilts (Palafitas).

The most important towns are in the southeast of the island: Soure, Salvaterra, and the largest city, Breves. They feature a basic touristic infrastructure and are popular because of the generous lonely beaches.
 The island was the site of an advanced pre-Columbian society, the Marajoara culture. Dates are suggested to be between 800 AD and 1400 AD for the culture.

VER-O-PESO: A SENSORIAL EXPERIENCE

Ver-o-peso market is a market hall in Belém, Brazil located at Guajará Bay riverside.
It is called "Ver-o-Peso" following a colonial era tradition, since the tax collector's main post was located there, which was called "Casa do Haver-o-peso" ("House of Taxes Due over Weight"). It was in the "Haver-o-peso house" that the taxes over goods brought from the Amazon forests, rivers and countryside should be paid to the Portuguese crown, but only after their weight was measured, hence the name, which later suffered a contraction.

Nowadays, the Ver-o-peso complex contains the Açaí Fair, a free open market where açaí berry merchants sell the fruit in natura for açaí juice shops, the Clock Square, with an iron-cast clock tower brought from England, the Ver-o-peso docks, where native fishes from Amazon are unloaded from boats and sold fresh, the Iron Market, a gothic prefab structure where fish is sold, the Solar da Beira space, a colonial building where art expositions often take place, and the neoclassical Meat Market, across the street, with iron-cast stairs and cubicles. There's also the free market, where craftsmanship, natural essence parfums, typical food and native fruits are sold.
It is located a few meters away from Feliz Lusitânia complex, a gathering of 16th and 18th century buildings including a fortress, an old hospital transformed into a museum, and two churches: a baroque one where there is a sacred art museum, and Belém's cathedral.All this area has been declared national patrimony by the National Historical Museum (Brazil).