This is an amazing trip, Lynn. You really covered a lot of territory and saw more of the country than most of us here know. I've been following this thread with interest.
I took a similar trip through Brazil in 1973. A friend and I were traveling all over Latin American, between January and June, and we started by flying to Belém, Brazil, on the mouth of the Amazon River. From there, we spent the first 7 weeks of our trip traveling down through Brazil, leaving the country at Iguaçu Falls. I was blown away by Brazil and its people, and I resolved that I would find a way back. I recorded my trip with an Olympus 35 RC on Agfachrome CT18.
I found my way back to Brazil and lived there for two years, 1975 ' 1977, mostly in the upper Amazon. I rented a very rustic little house on stilts, with a tin roof and shutters/no glass on the windows. We had an outhouse in the back, nestled under a banana tree, with just a hole in the floor. I went out there at night with no light until I heard that someone in the tiny town had been bitten by a snake in their outhouse. After that, I took at least a candle with me to make sure it was safe!
Although it was long ago, I´ve seen way more of Brazil than I have of the US. (I also subsequently lived in Portugal, 1978 - 1981.)
Thanks again for sharing your trip with us, Lynn.
- Murray