Bristow Photos

[Dave Ed]

TIGO in Brazil 8

10 should do it!

In part one I put in a link to an amazing set of pretty good quality black and white images taken by someone who was stationed at the airfield in 1945. The airfield was constructed in the Second World War and was used as a base for Search and Rescue airships that would look for crews of American transport planes which had to ditch off the coast of Brazil or in the jungle. They also flew anti-submarine patrols. The whole airfield is now a permanent museum. Most of the old relics lying around the airfield have old rusty signs offering descriptions of those times.
The guy(s) who took the pictures 56 years previously obviously had the same idea as me and captured the whole experience of being posted there. The work, locals, social life etc.




It is amazing to think that some of the elderly residents of Amapa 2001 were probably little kids when these guys were stationed there.
There are some great shots of the airships, aerial views and bringing supplies into Amapa jetty.

So, click on the link on part one and take a look!

One of the airship mooring masts was still at the airfield and we had considered using it at one point as a gantry but it was just a little bit too rusty!!


Back to the TIGO story.

During the last two of the six months of the operation, rumours were rife about when the operation would wind up and this caused no end of stress especially as KS and G extended their tours to see it through to the end. And the end never seemed to come!

I think GPC did just the one tour and as a thank you to everyone, before he left, he sent me and Grahame around town with a shopping list for a curry he intended to make that evening - he was in bed with a hangover!! Cheers mate, I wasn’t feeling exactly brilliant myself. Managed to get most of the ingredients and set to work in Sorayas restaurant kitchen preparing a pretty good curry I think - I don't think we poisoned anybody which was the main aim




Soraya was a good host to us all - the whole team - and Talita often helped around the place. She was a lovely woman and was quite willing to sit with us and "chat" and was patient enough to help us along with our dire Portuguese .






And the first two words I learnt? - Sandwich (luckily it was sandwich) and Kayjo (Cheese) That meant we could order a morning snack at the airfield terminal café, as imitating a cheese sandwich with sign language was too difficult to say the least.
Then "Obrigado" and all those sorts of words to say hello, goodbye and how are you. Phrases to chat up girls were not a priority in the early days - eating was!




Thanks, mainly to the lovely Sylvia, one of the Aeroleo dispatchers, I managed to increase my knowledge of Brazilian Portuguese considerably by the end of the three months which made things so much easier and more fun. I could talk to the girls




Every weekend, from Friday evening to the early hours of Monday morning, the town seemed to go into party mode with fiestas in the stadium...........






...............and late night dancing and drinking in the nightclub. Huge distorted speakers if I remember rightly.
It was impossible to keep up with the locals though as we had to be up at 5.30 most mornings and they would just be going to bed - the night clubbing having started at 2am!! Although that didn’t stop KS once or twice! We could only really go partying on a Saturday night if there was no flying on Sunday.



As you could see in the town pics, apart from the things that would take a lump out of you the town felt relatively safe with no crime we were aware of and small kids seemed to wander the streets quite happily and safely. Of course we were a fascination to the children as we are anywhere in the world whether it be Malaysia or Nigeria.



........all probably at University now!





I wonder what Amapa will be like if they do start exploiting vast oil reserves. The town could be swamped with outsiders. It will bring money into the town and employment I suppose but a whole host of other problems.

Next time … leaving.