We just finished three cruising days, two on the Atlantic and one on the Amazon. Life on board is slow paced and casual. Lectures on various topics including shopping, future trips, cooking demos, and Thai massage. That one inspired us to get a Thai massage the next day-- muscle and tendon stretching made Sue taller, or so she says. We watched "Now you see me" in the lounge complete with popcorn, went to the evening magician show and hit penny slots on occasion--playing with house money at the moment. Crossing the equator involves an initiation ceremony for polliwogs, folks who never crossed on sea, become shellbacks after kissing a fish and being baptized by King Neptune. We have crossed about ten times but always enjoy the show.The Amazon is 120 miles wide at the mouth, wide and brown. We couldn't see the shore from either side. Customs came aboard to clear the ship and we set off. Butterflies and lots of bugs have found their way on board. We arrived this morning in Santarem. It has 250 thousand people located at the junction of the blue waters of the Rio Tapajos and the Amazon. The waters meet here and and flow side by side, the Amazon muddy, brown, earth colored cold water meets the warm deep blue of the Tapajos yet they do not mix. The area is surrounded by lush forests, the economy is driven by agriculture, cattle and mining. Henry Ford built a rubber plantation here to make rubber tires but is was a disaster and failed.
Our boat tour, since we have not been on a boat lately, took us in front of the city for quite a while and along the line where the rivers meet. Depending on temperatures the Amazon can push all the way into town or be held off. As we moved along we observed life along the shore line, first in the city and then in the countryside. We went past an island made by the Amazon floodwaters. People live there for seven months and move to drier land for five during the floods of 15-18 feet. The river is 4,000 miles long and during the floods can be 120 miles in width. There is only one bridge across the Amazon which supports 3000 known species of fish with new ones being discovered all the time. It also contains anaconda, one of the largest snakes in the world as well as pink and grey river dolphins. We saw several of each color as we made our way up a smaller tributary. Passing farms with crops and cattle, fisherman, and numerous species of birds we headed for Lake Maica. At this time of year the lake is confined but during the floods it spills over the land into the tributary, again the people move for five months of the year. On the return trip we stopped to fish for piranha. Several passengers were successful in this endeavor. More pink dolphins on the way back, a closer view of the city shoreline and back to the dock to catch our tender. One interesting thing we learned is that people in the rural area do not have wells. Instead they have filters to clean the river sediment from their water. Kids go to school from 7-1 or 1-6 so we saw lots of kids playing and/or hanging out with family at home.Capped off the day with a lovely dinner in Toscana, the Italian restaurant on board.
8:00 am found us at the entrance to the Valeria river and the village of Boca da Valeria. Tendering ashore we were greeted by the village and neighboring village kids who wanted to be our guides. They quickly grab your hand and off you go. The village is tiny and contains a few wooden houses built on stilts, a small one room school for 36 students and a small church. Also the village was full of kids showing off local wildlife, monkeys, sloths, birds, caiman, parrots, turtles and a toucan. Several people wore traditional Indian dress of colorful feathers, paint and head dresses. The people here are called Caboclos, descendants of the Portuguese settlers who intermarried with the local Indians. They live off the land by fishing, raising chickens and pigs, and selling local crafts to cruise ships. The total population is 75-100 though it swells when the ships come to town. The crew brought donations for the school and came ashore in a small parade of boxes and kids following behind. We walked through the village several times observing the local painters, wood carvers, jewelry makers, and regular village life including a game of football. We agreed with many that this was our favorite stop to date. Unfortunately, this village demonstrates that there are two seasons in the Amazon, hot and hotter. Not such which we had today, 91 degrees with 91 percent humidity. That is the only reason to rush back to the ship after a few hours.We are continuing west to Manaus, the largest city on the Amazon. We spend two days here and will see another meeting of the rivers, look for caiman at night and visit this city of 2 million which boosts a world class opera house.
Early departure for our boat cruise on the Rio Negro. Along the city shore till we turned up a tributary to switch to motorized canoes to take us further upstream. Pink dolphin sightings and then lots of birds along the shores. The egret is to this area as the sparrow is to home. Two boys motored up to show us a four foot caiman and to pose for pictures.
Some of the grasses here float during the floods and feed the manatee then as the water subsides the cattle feed on the same grasses. We saw a very rare bird, Hoatzin, that only flies between trees, looks goofy and climbs up and down trees to escape predators with its clawed wings. In addition it is a herbivore and also called a stink bird due to their natural eau de perfume. Grey heron, terns, hawk, vultures and jacana entertained us. It was a pretty landscape and nice ride along the narrow waters. Fortunately, the lightning stopped as did the rain, after a while. We learned that along the rio negro there are no mosquitoes--the ph of the water inhibits their growth. The water has cooper, tannins from the forest leaves of Chile and flows from volcanic rock. The meeting was much like the other day as the muddy waters from the silts in the Amazon meet the black water do the Rio Negro. Again a very distinct line and even as the waters swirl together they remain distinct. The guide got two pitchers of water from the two rivers, the difference was dramatic even in this format. The rivers of the Amazon support 3000 species of fish. The largest of which is the arapaima that can reach lengths of 6.5 feet. They often can weigh up to 220 pounds. They have large blackish green scales that can be used as nail files and will last for 20 years. The tongue is thought to have medicinal qualities and is often used as sand paper to scrape cylinders of dried guarana, an ingredient for some drinks. They also have a feared, tiny fish-- the toothpick fish-- that swims in the flooded forests. It enters the body and attaches its hooks internally. It can only be removed with surgery and it must be done within three days. Turns out it has happened but the hype is more fiction than fact.
Rather than go out to the same place caiman spotting at night we choose to stay on board to watch a local Brazilian dance and singing group called Simetria Norte. Brazilian rhythms, dances and brightly colored costumes made for a festive evening. The fun fact of the show was that the troupe is thirty years old and the founder still sings and has her very adult sons, daughter and grandchildren in the show. She also had a collection of "not sons".
Manaus is about 900 miles from the Atlantic, is the heart of Amazonia and the cultural center of the upper Amazon region. It is surrounded by jungle and the closest major city is 600 miles away. The only way to reach Manaus is by boat or air. Out tour started at a local museum with indigenous artifacts and scenes of daily life. While small, with a limited collection, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Next stop the opera house or Teatro Amazonas. In 1882, at the height of the rubber boom, Manaus was one of the richest cities on earth. Manaus had street lights and trams before most of Europe and they began building an opera house with the plan that it would the grandest opera house in the new world. It was the only building on land at that time as all the homes and boats were part of the floating city on the river. The opera opened in 1886 on New Year's Eve. It's wrought iron staircases where from England, crystal chandelier from France, classical busts and marble from Italy. The wood was Brazilian but sent to Europe to be carved. The 22 marble columns were topped with Greek masks of comedy and tragedy. The residents of the city were so rich that they would send clothes to Lisbon and Paris to be laundered and pressed. Because carriage wheels made so much noise on the cobblestone drive, thus interrupting the show, new bricks were made with rubber mixed in to muffle the sound. All was well until 1910 when rubber seeds were smuggled out of Brazil to Indonesia and the Brazilian monopoly ended. The city literally went dark as they could no longer afford to import coal. Rubber barons went back to Europe and the theater was left empty. Two renovations took place, one in 1990 without opening and the second just four years ago and upon completion the first opera in 90 years took place.From the opera to the zoo. The local zoo is owned and operated by the military. We were especially interested in seeing the cats--panther, jaguar, and puma. Lots of other local birds, monkeys, caiman, snakes and animals were also intriguing. Tour is over, back to the ship and set sail for Parintins.
Two more sea days on the Amazon to go and we will turn north on the Atlantic headed for Devil's Island, Barbados and more Caribbean islands. Devil's Island is six nautical miles off the French Guiana coast and was a pleasant surprise. The island and Ile Royale were once the home of the notorious French penal colony opened by Napoleon in 1852, it closed in 1946. There are three islands close together, that held political prisoners, thieves and murderers. A great many of the 80,000 prisoners sent there were never seen again. Alfred Dreyfus was wrongly imprisoned and eventually released. The movie, Papillion, was based here. Strong currents and shark infested waters made escape virtually impossible. We had a delightful morning walk around Ile Royale, through the grounds of the penitentiary, including the demarcation of where the guillotine was located. Also governor's home, lighthouse, hospital and chapel. There is a modern hotel overlooking Devil's Island. On the mainland is the Guiana space center. The island must be evacuated during eastward launches over the sea. It was a great day out in the middle of nowhere. Another sea tomorrow before Barbados.
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