Chapter 2: The Journey

The next day started very early for the Gunderson family. They were preparing for a long journey ahead of them, thanks to the calculations in Blu's head remembering how far the Amazon is from Rio he calculated that they should reach Linda and Tulia by the evening. He himself was looking forward to it very much. Like a small child who can't wait to unwrap his Christmas presents, he got up the earliest of the family, even making it before sunrise! It was still too early to fly out on his journey, so he took the time to find some fresh and ripe mangoes to soak up most of the day. Without a meal, it was not worth going on such long journeys to avoid risking health or life.

Blu went to a nearby grove where the ripe mangoes and nuts that Jewel loved so much grew. He himself was not very fond of them (nuts), they were quite bitter in taste and too dry to eat with pleasure. In order to find them reasonably good, he had to drink them with something! He was not the only one who did not like them, Bia and Carla also did not like them very much and avoided them. Tiago, on the other hand, enjoyed eating them as much as the mangoes.

When Blu was looking at the fruits and deciding which one to take, he wondered what their stay in the city would be like. He couldn't wait to feel at least a little bit like he used to. He with Linda - whole days of being together and various games and conversations reminded him of every time they were to fly to Rio. What touched him most was the thought that it had been 10 years living in Brazil! This thought was electrifying for him, he remembered until now how it had started, how Tulio had come to visit them, how the man had thrown him (which even made him laugh now), he remembered his first meeting with Jewel and how she had tried to attack him. It all seemed so recent, and already there are 10 years ahead on his neck and, most importantly, 10 years of relationship (marriage) with Jewel! He was curious to see what Nico and Pedro would prepare for their 10th anniversary. To be honest, even if they had forgotten he wouldn't be angry with them - anyone can forget, but knowing them something told him they wouldn't miss such an opportunity to celebrate.

Blu tore himself away from his thoughts and snatched 3 manga fruits and 2 nuts, then started heading towards home. Sunrise was already visible on the horizon. It promised to be another sunny day, which was good news for Blu. Everything looked like the journey would go according to plan and there would be no complications.

On reaching the nest, his family was still sleeping - he hadn't woken them up for the time being. He guessed that when more sunlight fell inside the dwelling they would eventually wake up. Most of the herd woke at sunrise, it was a tradition of sorts, as Blu had found out, the day and night cycle looks a bit different in the jungle than it does for humans. In the jungle, everyone woke up at sunrise and went to sleep at sunset, while with humans, they decided what time to go to bed, thanks to the hours. The 24 diurnal system helps them to plan the day and night according to their needs, everyone adapted this cycle to themselves, in the jungle this was unfortunately not possible.

Blu took one mango fruit and leaned against the entrance to the flat watching the sunrise. When he stuck his beak into the fruit he immediately felt the juicy flesh and the distinctive taste of the mango. He felt he had chosen a good fruit - it was young, fresh. Mangos were actually his most favourite fruit since he had arrived. Jewel tried to convince him of other fruits, but mangos appealed to him most. From time to time he would turn around behind him to see if anyone was awake. The sight of the sunrise was always satisfying, but on this day Blu enjoyed it doubly so. He was waiting for the moment when they would finally set off towards Rio. Part of the journey was also part of the anticipation, making Blu have more energy to fly to be in Rio sooner. This translated a little to Jewel, who had a slightly slower pace than Blu, causing the latter to have to slow down. The youngsters didn't have that problem - their age was perfect for such journeys. Their teenage age gave them a lot of strength and little sense of fatigue, which meant they could fly much longer than they had a few years ago when they first flew to the Amazon.

As Blu managed to eat his fruit he heard footsteps in the flat. Out of curiosity he went inside to see who was awake. He was positively surprised to see Jewel waking up the youngsters. He had been worried that he would be alone waking everyone up as they would not want to get up early, but as he could see Jewel shared his enthusiasm of flying out to the city where people live. Blu stood at the threshold of the entrance to the room where the siblings slept and watched Jewel, who woke the youngsters one by one, telling them to get up to eat breakfast. They reluctantly, as they were still not fully awake, greeted their dad and walked to the kitchen where breakfast was already on the table.

"Good morning darling" greeted Jewel giving a kiss for Blu on the side of his beak.

"Good morning. Thank you for waking them up. I was worried to be honest that I was the only one getting up early like that" confessed Blu sincerely at once.

"You're not the only one who wants to go to Rio. This is a special year, remember?" Jewel said. Blu smiled. That agreed, it was a special trip to Rio, not only to be around Linda and Tulio, but also to reminisce about the good old days and remember what happened 10 years ago.

"You don't even know how much I'm looking forward to it," replied Blu.

"Me too Bluey. Let's not waste time, let's go get something to eat and get going " suggested Jewel eagerly. It looked like she too wanted to be in Rio already and enjoy meeting her friends.

"Oh, I've already eaten. I'm waiting for you and we can go" communicated Blu. Together they headed to the kitchen, where the siblings were already eating their breakfast. Bia and Carla took one mango each and Tiago took one nut. Jewel also took a nut like her son, sticking it in her beak to split the shell.

After 20 minutes, breakfast was finished and the Gunderson family was ready to depart the Amazon. Blu and Jewel were excited about the event, always the trip to Rio was a nice time and it was hard to go back to the Amazon where life was much slower than in the city, but on the other hand in the Amazon there was the advantage that life was quiet and nothing bad happened.

Bia, Tiago and Carla had also managed to gain strength during this time, they had stimulated themselves during this time, certainly helped by the sun that had started to intensify and now there was a full-fledged sunrise that lit up the land. Although they were up quite early, this time was even earlier, even so, they knew that in order to make it to Rio in one day they had to set off first thing in the morning before everyone was awake.

"So, are you guys ready?" Asked Blu one last time. Jewel leaned against her husband watching the three children, who although they confirmed they were ready there were signs of fatigue on them.

"Oh, take it easy Blu. They're bound to get aroused during the flight, then let's not worry," Jewel communicated.

"You're certainly right. At their age I could watch YouTube all night and sleep for 2 hours afterwards...let's fly!" Announced Blu. The Gunderson family flew out of the nest for the last time this holiday by flying over the Spix Macaw tribe.

Flying through the jungle in the morning was something special because of how empty it was. The place looked deserted, everyone was still immersed in sleep, only single individuals could be spotted, no one wanted to get up at this time of the day, and no wonder to be honest - the sun was just rising. In some places it was quite dark, especially where there was high vegetation, and the morning dew had not yet come off, causing dewdrops to fall from the treetops, but that did not stop the Gunderson family from flying over the next kilometres of jungle by flying over the Amazon - it was the best landmark for getting out of the jungle without getting lost. It was harder to navigate without a GPS, but Jewel had an excellent sense of direction that allowed her to lead the family into town. Besides, after so many years, even Blu had learnt how to orient himself without a GPS! Even Jewel had to admit that life in the jungle had changed Blu, any change is good, but no matter what Blu was she would still love him.

After an hour of flying, the family flew over the first 'checkpoint', Manaus - there was a water transport to the jungle depths from here 5 years ago they had taken a boat because their children were too young to endure so many hours of flying, but now they didn't need such means to reach their destination. Yes, they decided to take breaks (after all, a non-stop flight of several hours can be tiring), albeit not so many and so long as to not waste precious time. Flying at night can be even more tiring due to the lower temperatures and general fatigue.

After flying over Manaus, the family continued their journey to Rio. The sun was already rising more and more, the sunrise was practically over and in the human settlements it was evident that everyone was waking up to life. More or less, it was apparent that the day had started in earnest for everyone, according to hunter's calculations, Blu calculated from the position of the sun that it was around 8 a.m.

The flight of five turned out not to be so boring when there was something to talk about and not to feel so tired. They were lucky as far as the weather was concerned, as it was windless and clouds covered the sun later in the flight, making it not as hot as the morning promised. Of course, even with these good weather conditions, they had to take a break, stopping in Puerto Rico to rest from the flight, replenish fluids and have something to eat. Blu took a look around the town and quickly spotted a fruit stall that was quite fresh in appearance, so Blu decided to buy some. He knew from experience that a lot of money usually lies under the food vending machines, and so it was. He reached under the vending machine and managed to dig out enough money to buy 3 fruits. Yes, he could have "robbed" the vendor and simply taken the fruit, but he abhorred stealing. With the money in his clutches, he flew over to the stall, put the money on the cash register and took the three mangos. The reaction of the man who was standing behind the cash register and took the money was cheeky! Saying nothing he took the cash in his pocket looking at the bird with surprise on his face as he paid him for the fruit he had taken.

Blu returned to his family, who were resting by a nearby fountain, landed by it and spread out the fruit. He drank water from the fountain - after so many hours of flying, water tasted wonderful and was Blu's only need for the moment.

At the urging of Jewel, who asked him to eat at least half a mango he agreed, splitting the fruit in half with his wife. The mangoes didn't taste as good as in the jungle, but they weren't of the worst sort. It was quite good by city standards.

After a rest, the family moved on to Rio. It was starting to get warmer, flying was becoming a little harder due to the higher temperature, but it was reassuring to know that they had travelled quite a long way, by midday, maybe a little after noon they should be halfway there assuming they didn't take any unscheduled breaks in their flight. The journey over open terrain that was not limited to tall trees and narrow rivers also appealed to the children, who roused themselves and began to get a sense of humour by laughing and joking. It was a relief of sorts, in front of them was an empty, open horizon. The terrain over which they flew changed all the time - for a few minutes they flew over a motorway, then through human settlements in the form of villages or towns, and finally they came across forests, where they rested in the shade while drinking crystal fresh water from the river. Such a journey was certainly not easy, but they were able to admire the beauty of the whole of Brazil!

Crossing the Palmasu border Blu and Jewel knew they had crossed halfway to Rio. Their orientation in the terrain informed them of this subconsciously, looking at the position of the sun Blu was right, it was slightly past noon and they are half way. Flying first thing in the morning they didn't feel so tired, their flight wasn't the fastest, there was no wind, with time the clouds came over the sun making it not so hot. It was ideal conditions for such a long journey. The only worry really was the time they would be there - both Blu and Jewel wanted to head to Rio in the evening to see Linda and Tulie some more. They arrived at the same time every year, so they are probably expecting them.

The next point that announced where they were was a town called Juiz de Fora. There they planned their last, longer stop to fly the rest of the route without interruption. As in Puerto Rico, Blu 'bought' fruit for his family so they could eat and drink so they wouldn't feel dehydrated during the flight. The rest of the time they simply talked to each other and made bets with each other on whether they would make it to the city before it got completely dark. Blu as a realist was convinced that they would be in town when it was early night, Jewel however was of a different opinion. She was sure that if they sped up even a little they would make it before the sun went completely down. In fact, no one was sure what time they would arrive, the sun was slowly heading in the direction in which it was setting, so they would witness the sunset in no more than an hour and a half. Wasting no more time they headed for the final stint of their journey.

The sun started to set more and more, it was practically not visible anymore, the sky was already dark blood red only where the sun was setting, the rest of the background was filled with stars on a dark blue background. It also began to cool down with the course of the sunset, the temperature dropping considerably. However, this did not spoil the mood for the Gunderson family, who, after a day-long flight, arrived at their destination, flew over the monstrous Christ the Redeemer statue and before them appeared the skyline of the city bathed in moonlight.

"Welcome to Rio!" Blu said ceremoniously.

I know that a trip in one day would be moderately not possible, but I figured our darling parrots had a good enough pace to make it ;) Thanks for reading and see you there!