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2
Days & 1 Night (Coxim River)
or 3 Days and 2 Nights (Coxim and Jauru Rivers, including the Diamonds
Village)
The unique eco-cultural travel on middle-western Brazil. Aluminium
boats with 15Hp engines. Campsite in the river sides, ranches or villages
(according to the weather conditions and season). Full board. Experienced
guides (fishermen). Exuberant geologycal formations, flora and birds.
The
Monsoons Path was the way that the Bandeirantes, Brazilian colonial
scouts, took in their expeditions from Araritaguaba harbor (today
Porto Feliz - SP) through The Tietê River in the direction of the
Cuyabá gold mines navigating by rivers of two main basins: The Paraná
and The Paraguay, linking the coast to the isolated backlands. These
expeditions were called "monsoons" in analogy with the Indian monsoons.
Through these, they expanded Portuguese America from the small limits
of the Tordesilhas Line to roughly the same territory as current Brazil.
This expansion discovered mineral wealth that made the fortune of
Portugal during the 17th and 18th centuries. In Middle-western Brazil
the main rivers where these expeditions took place were The Coxim
and The Taquari River which still holds very strong remains of that
historical period.
Monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months.
The term was first used in English in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan
and neighboring countries to refer to the seasonal winds blowing from
the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall
to the region. In hydrology, monsoonal rainfall is considered to be
that which occurs in any region that receives the majority of its
rain during a particular season, and so monsoons are referred to in
relation to other regions such as in North America, Sub-Saharan Africa,
Brazil and East Asia. The English name Monsoon, was derived from the
Arabic word mausim meaning 'season', referring to seasonal winds experienced
by sailors in the Arabian Sea.
These expeditions allied Indians to find precious metals and stones,
enslave indigenous people and capture runaway slaves. Portugal had
a limited interested in exploring the vast lands of Brazil; for decades
after the discovering, all that Portugual did was to establish some
trading points along the coast, barely enough to store the goods (mostly
wood, minerals and stones) which would be sent to the metropolis.
Besides, Portugal was restrained by the Treaty of Tordesillas, which
determined the boundaries between Portuguese and Spanish domains;
the bandeirantes had no limits to respect.
The bandeirantes were, above all, greedy men. They wanted the wealthiness
that the Portuguese didn't bother to explore. Their goal was not to
conquer land (as it was happening in the US), but to find gold, stones,
and to imprison indians which would be sold as slaves.
There were over 2.5 million Indigenous peoples in Brazil in 1500.
By the middle of the 18th century the number had dropped to between
1 million and 1.5 million. Many tribes living close to the Atlantic
coast had been exterminated. Others had fled into the interior, and
their flight created an ever-greater need for slaves, one that was
not entirely satisfied by importing them from Africa.
A typical monsoon would consist of 2-3 hundred men, who would stay
for months or years exploring the wild forests and fields, also settling
villages and farms to support the following expeditions. Each monsoon
had to be organized and paid for by someone who had to be rich and
bold; on return, these men would become richer and more respected
by the community.
The monsoons were essential in the territorial formation of Brazil.
Many modern cities and little towns grew around the mines that the
monsoons discovered. Camapuã, Coxim and Cuyabá, all in Southern Mato
Grosso, are a few examples of that. Besides, knowing in advance that
the scarceness of food and other resources would be a problem, it
was not uncommon that small communities were created with the purpose
of serving the monsoons in transit.In 1750, by force of the Treaty
of Madri, new borders were adjusted; according to the treaty, the
land would belong to whoever occupied it. So, all those villages founded
by the bandeirantes in the monsoons became Portuguese possessions,
and eventually Brazil; some of the modern States which Brazil owe
to the monsoons: Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Amazonas, Pará and
Tocantins.Most bandeiras started in Sao Paulo; the flag of the State
of Sao Paulo carries the inscription "Non ducor, duco", latim for
"I am not lead, I lead", a reference to the bandeirantes, organizers
of the monsoons. There are also several other monuments all around
the whole Western and Eastern Brazil, including the government palace,
called Palacio dos Bandeirantes in São Paulo, The Monsoons Memorial
in Southern Mato Grosso (Camapuã) and many of the highways going from
São Paulo to other States. Some of the most famous bandeirantes: Bartolomeu
Bueno da Silva, Fernao Dias Pais, Antonio Rodrigues Arzao, Antonio
Pires de Campos, Bartolomeu Bueno de Siqueira. The boldest of all
bandeirantes was Raposo Tavares; from 1649-1651, he lead a bandeira
which reached what today is Paraguay, then moved up across the Amazon
forest, and ended up reaching the Amazon river.
Nowadays people from all
over the world can be part of these fantastic epoch adventures through
these Eco Thematic Tourist Package well elaborated by Paiaguá
Expeditions, the Brazilian Tour Operator responsible for the development
of sustainable tourism in the region.
