The main dish, not surprisingly, is fresh fish tucunare and jaraque, bony but delicious. In a box by the reception desk is another visitor, a 10-foot boa constrictor found by the grounds crew that morning. Santos will release it far away. A diesel generator and satellite dish at the general store provide a link with the outside world. On the way out, there's a mandatory visit to the crafts store.
Most items are fake Indian beads and feathers, shoddily made.
Visitors usually feel obliged to buy something. After dinner, the program is alligator spotting. As the dugout glides silently under the black sky, the guide flashes a lantern on the water where dozens of coal-red eyes gleam in the darkness. The canoe suddenly seems unstable, and passengers reach instinctively for the gunwales. Safely back on shore, it's time to turn in.