Three live shows to do, two weeks beforehand to prepare, a total of over a month away from home; it’s difficult to be sure that you’ve covered all the bases before you get on that plane again!

Our scouting trip to Manaus the month before did give us some more realistic expectations of how to prepare: bug spray (more), extra changes of clothes in lieu of raincoat, sunscreen, rubber sandals, and dark sunglasses. Sounds like a day at the beach, doesn’t it? A beach with bats and snakes, though.

We arrive back in Manaus after roundabout trips through Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and even Brasilia. From NASA/Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, OH, come Greg Kubat and our old friend John Diamond, who bring with them a full-up satellite earth station and, as John says, “enough spares to build another one from scratch!” The PTK contingent from the New Jersey offices includes not only Geoff this time, but also Executive Producer Erna Akuginow (married to GHS) and all four of their kids—Sasha (who’s appeared in several PTK programs, and who gives a student’s eye tour of Camp 41 in program 2), Nick—who helps out with carrying camera gear, and even shoots some of the ACTS set-up, and Katie and Max—who serve as a surrogate audience, oohing and ahhing at sloths and monkeys!

Brian returns again from Virginia Beach, VA, and is now joined by a second videographer, Scott Enlow, from Nashville, TN. Flavio, the Brazilian producer from Rio de Janeiro, is accompanied by his stepson Fernando, who will be a production assistant. And finally, from NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, Ann also returns, figuring record rains in California make it not so different from the rainforest, after all.