Thursday, February 25, 2016
After a day at sea we entered the Amazon in the wee hours of
this morning and later made the second of our three crossings of the equator.
The Amazon is wider than we had expected and is light brown due to all the sand
and silt. We have been asked to conserve water and reuse towels until March 1
because the ship cannot produce fresh water onboard due to the poor quality of
the river water and the sediment that clogs up the ship’s evaporators. We are
covered in insect repellant as we sit on our balcony and enjoy the views of
rainforest, houses on stilts, and the comings and goings of river busses,
motorized canoes, and the occasional pink dolphin.
Amazon river scene
Santarem, Brazil
Friday, February 26, 2016
Our first stop is Santarem where we share dock space with
several river busses. These are the “public transportation” of the Amazon.
Boats are the only means of travel from town to town. Trips on the river busses
take several days and most passengers bring their own hammocks for sleeping.
The decks of the busses are filled with hammocks, next to which are bags and
food for the journey.
River busses along the shore in Satarem
River bus passenger with hammocks behind
River scene in Santarem
Santarem is one of the oldest cities in the Brazilian
Amazon. It was founded in 1661 and named after the historic city in Portugal. A
boom and bust city, over the years the city’s fortunes have risen and fallen on
timber, rubber, coffee and gold mining. Today the city is prospering due to the
global demand for soybeans so there are several soybean silos at the harbor. Acres
of rain forest south of town are now being cleared to allow for planting
soybeans.
The city is located on the Tapajos River. There is an
obvious line where the Tapajos meets the Amazon due to the contrast in water
color. The Tapajos is blue and the Amazon is brown.
Meeting of the waters
As we sailed toward the city we saw pink dolphins (yes,
pink) cavorting near the ship. Once docked, we took the shuttle to the center
of town – the Praca do Pescadores – the walked about two miles back to the ship
along the promenade past craft and food markets. We saw a number of vendors
with literally hundreds of colorful hammocks for sale. As noted earlier, these
are necessary for travel along the river. And due to the humid climate, they
wear out quickly so people are always having to replace them.
As we walked along the shore we saw hundreds of boats large
and small, as well as lots of fishermen using nets. It’s quite colorful. We
also saw the charming blue church – a prominent feature. We rescued a beautiful
large moth from certain death in the busy roadway. Moths are as prevalent as
butterflies here, and just as beautiful.
The moth we saved (we hope)
Blue church in Satarem
When we returned to the ship in the afternoon the river
busses that had been loading people, cars (in some cases) and cargo that
morning were all gone. Later we saw new vessels arriving.
Boca Da Valeria,
Brazil
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Today was our most interesting day so far. Boca Da Valeria
is a tiny trading village along the Amazon with a population of 120 people,
known as caboclos – a mix of indigenous and Portuguese heritage. The dock of
the village sits near the mouth of a small tributary we accessed by tender.
The tender taking passengers to the dock
We were greeted by many children all holding small exotic
pets – baby sloths, parrots, etc. The idea is you take their pictures and pay
$1. I took a bag of some of the chocolates we have left on our pillows each
night and became immediately popular with the children. When tourists like us
visit it is a holiday – the school closes and the villagers come out enmass to
sell crafts, take visitors on boat rides further up the tributary to the
village, and generally make a few extra dollars. Although poor by our
standards, they live in thriving, in-tact families along the tributary. BTW,
the Amazon has over 1100 tributaries, with 17 being more than 1000 miles long.
Anyone who has read Ann Patchett’s book, State of Wonder, will appreciate the
role these tributaries play in Amazon life.
Making friends in Boca De Valeria
We hired a small boat ($10 for one hour) to take us to the
village. Our guide is in his 50s and has 30 grandchildren, four of whom helped
escort us around. We saw the new school and met the principal. The computer lab
was filled with older equipment, but at least there was one. John got the
principal’s contact information to share with local Rotarians in Sharon who may
send needed funds via Rotary International. We made a small donation.
Sailing to the village
With the "grandchildren" at the village
As we traveled along the river we saw houses – most built on
stilts to accommodate the high waters during rainy season. Most also had
electricity and some had satellite dishes. But we also saw outhouses which
leads us to assume that indoor plumbing may be a luxury most do not have. We
did not ask.
The water level of this small river changes by as much as 8
feet, so the boats have outboard motors with extended propellers that can be
raised and lowered to adjust to the depth of the water.
This opportunity to get up-close and personal with residents
who live in isolated, difficult-to-access areas along the Amazon was very
special.
Manaus, Brazil
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Monday, February 29, 2016
We are now deep into the Amazon, approximately 850 miles
from the mouth of the river, docked at Manaus, the “Paris of the Amazon,” for
two days. It is located four miles from “the
meeting of the waters” where the Rio Solimoes meets the Rio Negro to become the
Amazon. Population is 1.6 million.
Manaus skyline
Settled by the Portuguese in the 17th century,
the city boomed in the late 19th century as the sole source of
rubber world wide. That brought many very wealthy Europeans who built
magnificent mansions and the world famous Teatro Amazonas, the Customs House
(built with bricks used as ballast on the arriving ships), and the Mercado Municipal
Adolfo Lisboa, a public market designed to look like the Les Halles market in
Paris.
Teatro Amazona
Inside the teatro
Our tour the first day included drive-bys of the major
landmarks, a tour of the Teatro – where world-famous opera stars performed –
and a visit to the beach and hotel on the Rio Negro. This was a Sunday, so
traffic was light. The Teatro – which still features performances – is located
on an historic square surrounded by buildings that have been restored. The
government pays of all up-keep on these buildings, all of which are privately
owned. Also on the square, kitty-corner from the Teatro, is a lovely old church
with a single spire instead of the usual two. This church was for the poor and
the slaves, as opposed to the more ornate church with two spires for the wealthy.
After slavery was abolished and a bit more societal equity realized, the monks
who run the church were encouraged to erect the second spire. They refused and
used the funds instead to feed the poor.
The single spire church on the square
The harbor is filled with the river busses alluded to
earlier. Unfortunately, other buildings in the port area, some covered in
beautiful Portuguese tiles, are no longer in use and have been allowed to
deteriorate. Manaus, like the other Brazilian cities we have visited since Rio,
is shabby and showing the effects of this massive Brazilian recession.
On the second day we walked through busy streets lined with
shoe stores up the hill back to the square where the Teatro and church are
located. There we had what may have been our best meal on the entire trip –
grilled Piranha. Really, it was delicious!
Now we will turn around to head back toward the Atlantic. We
have one more stop on the Amazon.
Parintins, Brazil
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Today we arrived at our final Amazon stop, the small city of
Parintins. This little city’s claim to fame is the largest Boi Bumba
competition/festival in Brazil. The special 35,000-seat stadium, built specifically
for the festival is in the shape of a bull’s head. Boi Bumba involves a parade
of human and animal characters, and fanciful creatures from Brazilian Indian
mythology, and celebrates a 19th century fable about a resurrected
ox. In the competition two teams, Garantido and Caprichoso, compete in extended
retellings of the story. Each team attempts to outdo the other with flamboyant dances,
dazzling costumes, singing, and parade floats.
There are no roads to this 200-year-old city of 100,000. We
anchored in the river and took the tender to the pier where we were greeted
with not only a very modern terminal building, but a modern convention center
across a street filled with artisan booths. Up the road a short way is the
municipal market with fish, meats, vegetables and assorted herbs.
We had a small misunderstanding when John and Bob went off
to find cachaça, a Brazilian brew made from sugar cane, while Toya and I waited
in the artisan area. At one point we saw them crossing the bridge on the way
back, and then we didn’t see them again. When it was time to take the last
tender back to the ship we couldn’t wait any longer and returned to the ship
where, guess what, we found both. They had assumed that we were going back to
the ship, so they didn’t even look for us when they returned. All ended well,
however, with just a little anxiety.
Tomorrow, March 2nd, will be our last day
cruising the Amazon. During that night the ship will reach the mouth of the
Amazon. This is truly one of the most amazing rivers anywhere. The flow of its
water exceeds that of the next seven largest rivers in the world combined. The
river’s water enters the Atlantic in such volume it extends 120 miles into the
ocean and takes six hours for the ship to reach natural salt water.
Next stop is Devil’s Island, French Guiana.
In preparation for sailing to the Caribbean, our resident penguins got into some "island life."
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