My Father was a Pink Dolphin

My mother-in-law, an expert on Afro-Brazilian religion and Amazonian myth, once told me a story about the "boto" and how much she wanted to see one in the wild to attain some of it's spiritual powers.

I just couldn't believe in such things. Pink dolphins that are exclusively native to the Amazon River? I decided to do some research and found that they do exist, the only discrepancy is if they are magical or not. Further investigation found that the "boto rosa" (pink dolphin) is widely regarded in Amazon villages as an "encantado" or enchanted one. Partial to late night parties, the dolphin comes to land as a suave bachelor, wearing a white suit and a broad-rimmed straw hat (to cover his monstrous forehead), wooing the ladies in the village with dances moves he learned in Encante (his origin) and taking one under his spell for a night of romance. It is rare that he will take this lucky lady home with him, instead impregnating them and leaving them without a father. While sightings are rare, it is common that when a mother has child and the father is unknown the birth certificate will read "boto." It is also common for Brazilian people, particularly from this region and the Northwest, to refer to drifters and gifted musicians as the "children of boto."

Encante, the boto's river Atlantis, must be paradise. Imagine a place that you want to leave only because you are curious about the hardships and follies of mortal man. Sounds like Amsterdam.