Monday, February 27. The Amazon Illusion...

Cloudy early, torrential rain later then cloudy, then light rain then...

We are now in Manaus, the furthest we will go up the Amazon. 

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I am sorry to report that the Amazon is not at all like I thought it was, from when I was a small boy until the day we entered it a few days ago. It was all an illusion it appears. 

The Amazon is like the Mississippi or the Fraser or any other big river in the world: it was populated then developed. Sure, there are small dots along the rivers where some folks live between cities and Megalopolises. Here, the small settlements are called villages, elsewhere they are called towns. 

All along the Amazon every so often there are large ugly industrial complexes that could be in Germany, Canada or the USA. My mind does not want to see them so I often look the other way, sometimes to a far shore of bushes or trees, anything except an oil refinery or oil storage tanks please. 

It also takes a while to get used to the weather here. One minute it can be muggy and cloudy, the next a rain that would soak you to the skin in one minute flat. 10 minutes later it can be blue sky and you wonder where the sun screen is! (Remember when we used to call it Sun Tan Oil!)

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Now to today and us four...

We walked off the ship and in about three minutes we were on a 50 passenger speed boat. Yup, there is such a thing. It is comfortable but a bit noisy and clips along at a 70 kilometre very nippy speed. [42 miles and hour].

We were full and plowed up the Rio Negro river, before it joins the Amazon, somewhere near Manaus. We zipped under the very long [3.6 kilometre] bridge, the first between here and the Atlantic Ocean.

Within 90 minutes [!] we are swimming with the Pink Dolphins. I asked Fellette why we were doing this and she said 'We have swum with sharks and sting rays with the Cutler's so we have to do the pink dolphins". 

Swimming is a misnomer really folks. There is an underwater platform about 4 1/2 feet under the tea coloured water. The dolphins, who are not penned, but swim freely in the ocean, come to this location naturally and periodically a person will feed them small fish and the people on the platform can be beside the feeder person and stroke and feel the dolphins as they are trying to get the fish from the feeders hand. It is indeed a cool sensation to touch such a big and wild wonderful creature.

After all those that ventured in had had a shot at it, about 18 of the 50 on the boat, we were invited to feed the very beautifully fearsome giant pirarucu. Now this giant fish has no teeth but just sucks the food in and swallows it whole.

There apparently 17 of these giants in a cage like apparatus about 2 feet square. They tie dead herring-sized fish onto a 15 foot pole with1/4 inch rope and we dangle it in the water. Remember the water is tea coloured and you cannot see beyond six inches down. Suddenly this six foot long giant sucks the fish off in a vacuum-like motion and presto, it is gone. It is like a shotgun going off in your hands when you do not have your finger on the trigger, you just know its going to go off> Great fun.

Now these fish have giant scales, and I mean giant. The scales are about 2 inched long and 1 1/2 inches long. They are dried and sold as finger nail files!!!

After that we piled into our PT boat and went to a village, toured the village and ended up with a drink and had an explanation of how rubber was tapped and processed into latex.

Then the journey home in our PT Torpedo boat and quickly into a hot shower, a change of clothes and that was our day. Great day, a bit too much Torpedo Boat but a great experience.

Sunday, February 26. Our visit to an Amazonian village...

Cloudy, very humid...

A place called Boca da Veleria is where we anchored a by 8.00 AM this morning. It is called a village. It has a church, a school and about 20 houses. The ship stops here for us to get an idea as to what a typical village along the river is like.

I have no doubt that the village has changed as a result of the ship stopping here over the years. For good and for bad. For good, as the money that we spent here in the form of donations to school and church as well as the income for river rides. The children, unfortunately come to town when the ship comes in with little animals bugs and reptiles, for a dollar you can take as many pictures as you want. It is cute but turns the kids into props for dollars. [My opinion only.]

Some parents dress up their kids an all sorts of get ups to get some income. It is quite a sight to see, and is a peek into their lives. My concern is that after this the next step is to put out your hand to any tourist and expect some money. There was a bit of this today.

Our adventure started with a boat driver who cast off and then could not get his motor started. We rowed around a bit and we had to become quite insistent for him to bring us back to shore. He kept trying to start the motor because it meant the loss of his income from tourism until the next big ship comes up, maybe in six months!

Our second driver did an excellent job, without speaking, of giving us a great 3/4 hour tour of upstream of the Valeria river. It is in flood now, but has been higher, as we can still see the stilts of the houses and debris on the branches some 10 feet over our head. 

It was bit eerie when he took us down a little channel and it kept getting narrower and narrower, and when we went into another channel and it was full of giant lily pads somewhere around four feet in diameter, it was so quiet there and some very interesting birds were doing their thing there.

The village played a loud music, which seems to be everywhere in South America it seems. It appears the louder they play the music, the more you enjoy it ]???] Just about everyone on the ship took a trip to the village except those severely mobility challenged. There was no food ashore but we did have a Fanta and a beer.

It was an absolutely wonderful day for us and short enough so the heat did not drain us and there was not one square foot of concrete or asphalt to be seen today.

We are now snug in our floating palace and on our way to the comfort of our modern houses with all the  latest conveniences, but those poor souls are stuck in that village forever. I suppose that many there are content and happy, but what about the children,  teenagers and young adults? Where does their future lie, but that is true all over the world, and not just in undeveloped countries. 

Perhaps it is a blessing not to have TV and cell phones. Some would say yes, but would they like to live there?

Us four were on the ship by 11.15, showered, had a light lunch and rested the rest of the afternoon. Actually Jim skipped lunch today, except for ice cream!] We sailed around 2.00 upriver to our furthest port on the Amazon, Manaus, where we spend two days there before sailing back down to the Atlantic with one more Amazon stop, Parintis.

My biggest problem today is picking the limited pictures that I can put on the blog. I took over 150 today!

The view from the anchored ship. That is the Valeria river blending into the Amazon. The village extends from the green house on the left to the orange tender boat on the right.

Church on the left, school on the right. The steps to get up to the church is a pilgrimage in itself, steep, high steps and narrow treads. The height is so the high flood water does not get inside.

Cool sight, a deep sea ship in the shallows.

Our party carefully boarding the first boat, that we shortly abandoned. 

It was rather intimate in the boat, periodic bailing helped stop our feet from getting wet.

More locals rushing to town. Originally I thought for church until I saw all the families in town: today was Pay Day with a ship in.

I was fine with the flooding until my friend Ted asked, "Is that where they have snakes hanging from trees?"

The river channel we were in got smaller, and smaller. That chap on the right formed the third couple on the boat. [His hobby is making Traditional Norwegian Fiddles.] Go figure.

Those are on flooded fields. 

That is also water. Spooky, spooky.

Here we have a little girl, dressed by her parents, cannot speak a word of English. A dollar, all the photos you want. Note the bird, not purchased at a pet store!

Two kids, dressed for tourist appeal no doubt. The eldest has a cayman, like a small crock.

There were many three-toed sloth about today. I don't think they like ship days the way the kids man handle them.  Jim's camera battery died today, that is why have so may pictures of him.

Pretty young girl, over the top costume. What is her future in this little village I wonder.

That is the most magnificent bird, it almost looks plastic. I could cut your finger off with that beak, so it seemed to me.

There, I am here after all. Taken by Fellette

The ship, taken from the home we visited, for one dollar each. There was a table and chairs in the kitchen. No furniture in the bedroom, every one sleeps in hammocks and their extra clothing is kept in big bags on the floor?

The local bar, pop shop. Fellette is trying to navigate the sloping, angled, irregular steps with the handrail about a foot to high and still look dignified. Good luck hon. On stilts for flooding of course.

There were three small boats with kids and sloths that thrust themselves into the tender when we came back aboard, before we had even stopped. Mom and dad in the boat collecting the dollars.

Saturday, February 25. Santarem, hot and humid...

Very hot, really, really hot.

Day 53 of 67.    14 days to home.

We arrived her around 3.00 in the afternoon. The odd time is a result of navigational issues, tides and distances between ports. The early part of the day sort of wasted away, it was too hot to walk outside and the anticipation of the late visit sort of took the edge off the day.

As soon as we docked we four were off then ship onto a shuttle that took us about two miles to the other side of the town of 110,000 people. There were no really ugly skyscrapers here, but not much of interest either.

It is obviously not a tourist destination, that is good, but as a result we just saw a typical uninteresting medium sized town without anything spectacular about it. 

The most memorable thing today was the heat. Where we went really depended upon where the shade was. The market, which we all love to stroll had an endless supply of hammocks, rucksacks and simple household items, many ankle socks etc. This was not a tourist market. The fish market was shut, too bad, as that is always interesting. 

We did come across the odd kiosk directed to us tourists, with blowguns, masks, stuffed piranha fish and catfish and the like. Jim succumbed to a catfish purchase, we restricted ours to some giant fish scales to be used for finger nail honing. We also bought some crayons to give to some kids along the way in the next day or so.

It was a short day, a hot day but not the most interesting on the trip so far. We did not have a meal ashore, just two Fantas and Jim and I split a beer.

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A tender ride tomorrow morning to a little place called Boca da Valeria where there are no organized tours, we hope to visit a local village by small boat while there. Short stay there, we head upstream at 2.00 PM, heading to Manaus.

Those are boats that go up and down the Amazon. The lower level is for cargo, the upper decks are for people. They swing their hammock in the decks and that is where they sleep, day or night as the ship moves along and stops at little settlements, villages or individual homes. 

Welcome dancers as we went ashore. Could be Mexico eh?

Anything to get around...

Seeking refuge from the heat. I asked the sock vendor to stay there, with sign language.

I have a theory that those cardboard pieces are 'rented' on site by a person who 'owns' that stretch of road. I suspect that nasty things may happen to your parked car if you do not 'rent' his cardboard.

Fellette waiting for me under a lovely fruit tree of some sort. Mango?

Lots of tourist stuff in this specialty shop. Some of the merchandise is available on the street as well, often at lower prices.

One of those Amazon boats docked near our ship. I imagine they are quite safe, they just look a bit dodgy.

Dried, mounted and varnished piranha, $10.00 each.

Friday, February 24. Sailing up the river...

It is only 84 F out but too hot to be on deck or even in the shade.

Today is a sea day on the way to Santorum, up the Amazon a bit. The ocean/river has been brown since dawn. It is the silt from the river that goes out for many, many miles into the Atlantic.

At one of our talks we were told that the Amazon dumps about 100,000,000 cubic feet of sediment a day into the ocean. I find that hard to believe but who am I to question a professor?

The river is the longest in the world now, previously the Nile was. They have traced the origin to Peru on the west coast of South America. It is 4,258 miles and has 11 tributaries that are over 1000 miles in length.
                                                         
Today there is nothing of interest to me in the way of lectures so I/we took advantage of that and had a leisurely morning, a leisurely lunch with some Aussies, a leisurely afternoon of reading, trying to sort out pictures, some interesting conversations and writing emails. Gail gave me a great book today and that took some time. Now that is what I used to call a wasted day, but today I call it wonderful! Fellette went to crafts in the afternoon.

Tomorrow we four walk off in Santorum, a town of 110,000. [Better than 1,500,00.] We were here once some many years and went on a tour that ended up with a swim in the river and a boat ride. How tomorrow will be is anybody's guess.

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We got a note from the captain tonight requesting conservation in water use. The ship cannot take in the Amazon water and turn it into fresh water because the silt plugs their evaporators. The ship can normally produce up to 145,000 gallons per day at sea and we use 92,000. So, reduced laundry and conservation in use of towels etc. for several days. 

Sunset last night. The old adage about 'Red sky at night' etc. Means nothing here: it can rain anytime. Hence the term 'Amazon Rain Forest'.

The Amazon colour. This extends out 100s of kilometres into the Atlantic.

The shore is getting closer as we move up into the funnel as the mouth narrows.

Tropical Night tonight so Fellette put on her Hawaii Dress. She gets lots of oohs and aahs, particularly from the crew in the dining room as they are all attired in tropical clothing for the night. 

Thursday, February 23. Belem: Not what we expected...

Overcast in AM, turning hot and muggy...

We pulled into our anchorage around 9.00 AM to see a high rise city of some 1,500,000 souls on one side and forest or jungle on the other side of the bay about two miles away.

I think that I am safe to say that I think most people are surprised or disappointed to see the size of some of our ports we have visited. This close to the Amazon. These started as small towns in the Rubber Boom Era about 100 years ago. The frontage of the city is still the original stylish classy buildings with ornate architectural features but the whole area behind appears to be high rise buildings. From two miles out it could be any North American city.

Once we landed on the the waterfront, the high rise building were so far back we never saw them again. We were ensconced in a second world feeling of tropical, semi-run-down shops and markets with all the smells from the sweet smell of fruit to the essence of fish, albeit fresh fish.

There was a presence of police everywhere, I would swear that a couple of officers followed us around as we veered off the main drag and headed into the side streets. I also sensed the staring eyes of locals looking at my small bag clutched in front, strap over my shoulder. I suppose they were wondering what treasures may be in there for them. We always felt safe, but I felt a bit out of place, not sure how the others felt.

It was a photographers paradise, I took scores of pictures and was held back a bit at the bustling markets because I knew that I was being watched, not a fearful feeling but I just did not like to be the subject of the locals.

We took in about all we could in three hours and then the heat got to us a bit. Fellette does not do well in heat and It was difficult to find a decent place to sit and get a safe drink or a bite to eat. The language barrier here is a real problem. What people we met or tried to communicate with were pleasant but there was a wall regarding communication.

We ended up at a waterfront establishment for a rice and fish banner with safe drinks. It was interesting as the street hawkers came right to the table peddling their wares. It was not obnoxious and we enjoyed our lunch more because of the atmosphere.

One interesting thing that we noticed was a Beggar came by, he had a turban-like rag on his head, bare chested, sandals, shorts, he was carrying a small basket with a sack in it.

Inside the bag he had a clean white bowl that he put in front of a couple who had just finished their meal and they scooped up their unfinished food and put it in the bowl. Then, off he went, eating as he went to some other understanding people down the road a bit.

We were advised twice by locals today to watch our bags. In Recife the other day a Canadian passenger apparently had her hand slashed by a mugger who tried to cut her shoulder strap and bungled it. She was patched up by the ship who suggested she return home and get hospital help as it was more than just a cut. Apparently other passengers were also mugged by the same deranged person.

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We sailed out at 8.00 PM and tomorrow we will be in the mouth of the Amazon which is 240 kilometres wide!!! The massive river dumps 7,000,000 cubic meters of fresh brown water a SECOND into the ocean. The river can rise as much as 34 feet in flood season.

An excess of pictures today...

The quaintsy village of Icoaraci, Bellem, Brazil, Located 1 degree south of the equator.

More unidentifiables.

Now I know this is salted and cured fish, or at least salted.

Vegetables, all of these identifiable.

Down to the fishing boat harbour. Note the armed officer talking to the man. Jim and Gail on left.

Hmmmmm.

Don't be repulsed but those are a type of small vulture, they eat the fish scraps.

These guns were protecting the city I suppose, at the fort. Note the Prinsendam in the background.

Cool picture, I have no idea what goes on in there. 

Beautiful cathedral, and just as nice inside.

More smells.

Interesting to think about the history of that building...

Our Haute Cuisine for today. Waiting for our order. Gail looks like the only one not suffering from heat exhaustion.  Back to the ship for Fellette and I after this. Gail and Jim soldiered on to do more exploring.