Careful Cruising

During our trip, we've seen several of our fellow passengers need the care of the doctor.  We've heard of how a fit and healthy passenger felt a little peculiar.  A trip to the doctor revealed she'd lost all the salts and inerals in her body due to the heat and humidity.  Her treatment included being put on a drip.
We've seen and heard of passenger trips and falls resulting in quite nasty cuts and bruises.  One poor lady was left behind after quite a serious incident in Santarem.  Rumour has it that she suffered a collapsed lung.
A little while ago, Peter and I witnessed a gentleman trip on stairs at one of the ports.  The blood on his leg and the distress on his wife's face made it obvious that this wasn't a little graze.  A few days later, I asked the wife how he was.  She was full of praise for the medical care he'd received from the ship's doctor.  He'd need quite a bit of care, including loads of stitches on the day, followed by daily changes of his dressing.  Today we saw the same couple at reception in a heated discussion about European Health Care Insurance, and guessed that they'd received the bill.   EHCI cards cover health care in Europe, but not anywhere else, including the ship.  Wherever possible, you look after yourself, bringing a supply of paracetamol, antiseptic creams and plasters, and stay away from the medical centre.  But health insurance is must.  A pre-existing medical condition may put the cost up, but I am sure it is nowhere near as expensive as paying the medical bills yourself.  I wouldn't like to guess the cost of a doctor's consultation, or for antibiotics, or a drip.

On a different point, (where I am not brow beating or lecturing), here's a curious thing.  The ship has been rolling about a bit over the last 24 hours.  Enough for the sick bag fairy to have had to make her rounds up and down the stairwells and halls.  After a while, you get used to the motion, and when concentrating on something, you forget about it entirely.
Therefore, if it's dark, and you are sitting on the rear deck and look up into the sky, you may be completely confused by a tiny light that appears to twinkle and move about in circles above you.  No, it is not a UFO, nor a plane, or anything else flying in our atmosphere.  It's a star!.  What you've forgotten is that it is not that little twinkling light that is moving, but yourself and the ship.  Quite bemusing.  Especially when there is a sky full of stars, and a moon, and it all moves above you, like someone is pulling the blanket around,

Tomorrow we are in St Georges, Grenada.  Peter's been here before, and it sounds lovely.  I can't wait.

Iles Du Salut – “Salvation Islands”, also known as Devils Island

Devils Island from /Royal Island

Salvation Islands were so named because a load of missionaries fled a yellow fever outbreak on the mainland and were subsequently saved.  However they came to be used for the most notorious penal colony of French Guiana, used for a century until 1948

The three individual island names trnslate to Royal Island, St Joseph Island and Devils Island.  The book and film Papillon tell of one inmate’s experiences and escape here.  Royal Island was used by e main island community, prison wardens accommodation, asylum, hospital, church, etc were all here, as well as cells for the common law prisoners.  St Joseph Island was were the most troublesome convicts were sent for hard labour, solitary confinement and inprisonment in cages.  The smallest island is Devils island, which is virtually inaccessible by boat.  A cable and pulley were used to transport wardens and supplies the 200 metres between Devils island and Royal Island.  The sea surrounding the islands was full of sharks, enticed there by blood and gore from the slaughter house running straight into the water and the fact that convicts that died there were “buried at sea”.  According to my calculations that would be about 1200-1300 a year. 

This morning, we looked out of the porthole to see the idyllic scene of the islands surrounding by beautiful blue green water.  On the right, St Joseph’s island, Royal Island, where we were to be taken by tender, right in front of us.

When we got there and climbed out onto the pier, we looked around, amazed.  Royal Island is a paradise.  We had a quick look at someone else’s map and worked out we could walk all the way around the island (ship’s blurb said it would take about an hour), and then move into the centre of the island to see the buildings and remains later.

It is hard to believe this beautiful place could have been used for such a brutal, cruel system.  Now the islands are covered in palm trees.  (These had been removed in penal colony days, so that the convicts couldn’t use the wood to make boats). There are gorgeous flowers everywhere and we saw monkeys, palm rats (large guinea pigs) and birds.  The coastline was as expected, very rocky, with loads of crashing waves and surf, which sounded fantastic. In some of the calmer areas we were able to stand and watch turtles surface for air.   We often heard a curious high pitched, loud sawing noise, which would develop into a crescendo of sound before tailing off.  We’re told it’s the local beetles, rubbing their wings together.  Noisy creatures!  As we walked around the shoreline, we could see across the lovely green water to Devils and St Joseph islands.  It was all just stunning. (And no sharks in sight)

Then we got to the centre of the island, and the buildings of the penal colony.  There was so much to see, and so little time.  We did manage to get a look at the convicts quarters, and if the cells we saw were for the common prisoners, I would hate to see what they put the guys on St Joseph’s Island in.  Everything we’d seen in the film Papillon, was there before us. We could see the rails and the metal rings used to chain the convicts at night. 

The cells, five paces long, with only a hole in the ceiling for light. I think I even worked out where the guillotine was.  Horrific!  We wanted to see more, such as the church, the children’s cemetery, the asylum and the hospital, but we had run out of time and had to make our way back to the tender.

We really wished we’d had more time there, (and a map).  The place was so beautifully idyllic, you could spend hours just looking out to sea, or turtle watching, or feeding the monkeys.  And then there was all that history in the penal colony buildings.  So much to see and just not enough time.

If we get the chance, we would definitely, definitely come back again.  And so would every other passenger on this ship it seems, judging by what we’ve overheard.

Tomorrow is another sea day, and then we get to the Caribbean.  Sun, sand, sea and Bob Marley.  Class!


Isle De Salut 2013 - 1st Post
Isle De Salut 2013 - 2nd Post
Isle De Salut 2014

Leaving the Amazon

We’ve had a couple of cruising days.  The first day has been to travel downriver heading for the open sea.  I can’t really explain how it feels to sit on deck watching the jungle, river boats and Amazon life go by, except that I feel privileged to be able to do so, and very sad that we are leaving.  Maybe we’ll be back. 

We are back in the normal sea day routine, and I’ve decided to use this post to update on little bits and pieces of interesting stuff – just because:

We learnt that one of the main exports from the Amazon area is soya.  Massive cargo ships visit the cities to collect it about twice a month.  In the meantime, the soya, which is produced about 60 miles away from the city, is stored in containers of the type we are used to seeing on trains and ships.  These containers are kept on huge barges which are parked in the middle of the river (which is several miles wide, so why not?), and therefore save space on the dockside.  Ingenious

Brazil is making a serious attempt at protecting it’s wildflife.  If you suspected of killing a man, you can pay the bail and stay out of jail until the trial jury makes a decision.  But, if you are suspected of killing one of their protected species, you go straight to jail, no bail options available. 

In Manaus, at the end of St Sebastion Square, is St Sebastion church. It should have two small towers, one on each side of the main entrance, but it only has one.  It seems that the church was built during the rubber boom and the bricks and design were imported from Europe.  Unfortunately, the ship carrying the left hand tower sank leaving the church looking a little lopsided.

About 40 cruise ships a year visit the Amazon and stop at the big cities like Manaus and Santarem, but places like Alter De Chao and Almeirim very rarely see them.  Us white folks where definitely a novelty.

Tomorrow we arrive at Iles Du Salut..  Brilliant

Santarem

The ship had docked by the time we woke this morning, and over breakfast we could see the port we recognised from last year.  We were going Piranha fishing this morning, so when called, we joined the rest of the passengers queuing to get onto the riverboats. 

This tour took us out to Lake Maica, which was probably about an hour away (by riverboat) from the main port.  On the way, we crossed over the meeting of the waters Santarem style.  Here it is the Tapajos River meeting up with Amazon, and, for the same reasons as before, (acidity, speed and temperature) the two rivers don’t mix for some time. 

From there were taken along a small quiet river towards Lake Maica, which it turns out, is only there in the wet season, and not quite deep enough yet for our riverboat, but that wasn’t an issue, because we went on further to river inlets to fish.

The riverboat ride there and back was lovely with so much to see.  Cattle and buffalo farms, huge pigs, horses and goats (very rare here), great egrets, a blue heron, green parrots, a massive iguana, the plants and trees.  It was a real pleasure just to sit and watch it all go by. 

When the boat stopped we all had a go with our little bits of meat on a hook to see if the piranha would bite. Not the most successful of fishing trips, but our boat did manage to catch  two.  I think the plan was to cook what we caught on the barbecue, and share among everyone, but two small fish amongst 36 people didn’t work out very well, so they abandoned that idea and we got back to the ship for a late lunch.

We decided to go out in the afternoon for a walk around the city itself, but it was exceptionally hot, so we held off for an hour until the day started to cool down a little.  Then we walked out of the port and along the riverside road of Santarem as before.   At the start, before you get to the main city, it is very shabby, there are black vultures everywhere, and plenty of rubbish too.  

But it gets better.  If you have the time, you can wander around the fish market, which is only open in the mornings, looking at all the different and strange fish. If you are really lucky, there may be a boy at the back of the market, enticing pink dolphins to follow the bait so that you can photo them.  We carried on past there and looking at all the shops which mostly seem like cash and carry, or selling provisions for boats.  

Eventually we reached the market with all the hammocks, and the local cathedral before we ran out of time and turned to walk back.  Santarem is colourful, and different, and interesting: we watched a man drag a very reluctant sheep from a river boat over to the road.  There, another man (presumably the buyer), tied it’s legs together to stop it struggling and then loaded into the back of a very old and rickety looking VW Beetle!

We also met a couple of students from Santarem University who wanted to practice English on us, which was delightful.   Lovely, lovely people.

So that’s it.  The end of our visit to the Amazon.   I’m quite sad about that, but it has been absolutely brilliant being here.  We have loved every day and all our experiences, and Peter is wondering whether or not he can find a way of getting us here again.

We have a couple of sea days now, and then Isle De Salut......... Devil’s Island of Papillon fame.  Peter can hardly contain his excitement!

Santarem, Brazil 2011
Santarem, Brazil 2103
Santarem, Brazil 2014

Boca Do Valeria

Before I go on to talking about the village, I just have to mention that in the morning, as we were travelling down river towards our next destination, I managed to see three toucans on the riverside.  Very pleased with myself.

Boca Do Valeria is supposed to represent a true village on the Amazon. I think it probably does, in as much as the buildings are authentic, including the school, but I am sure that most villages are not full of kids with their hands out for whatever you will give. 

To be honest, it’s the fault of the tourists.  It’s become traditional to take gifts for the kids, and most people do.  Passengers where climbing out of the tender with carrier bags full of crisps and sweets and pencils for the children.  However, with so many children, who can be quite demanding, most bags full of goodies disappeared in minutes. We’ve been here before, we loved it the first time around, and we absolutely loved it all over again this time.  For visitors who do not have bags full of sweets and gifts, the trick is to make sure the kids do not grab hold of your hands, otherwise you may find you have adopted them for the duration of your visit.

Like last year, we knew we wanted to ride out on the canoes again, but I was also determined to visit all the little stalls and buy one of the wood carvings produced by the villages.  There were a couple of reasons behind this, the first being that I regretted not doing it last year, and secondly, because I personally believe that us buying their crafts is a better way of giving, other than to give in to the begging that is common.  There are many wood carvings, an artist, little pots and dolls to buy, as well as people posing in feathers and with pets for photographs.  They will accept any small donation for a picture, but the norm is a dollar.  You can also easily donate to the church and to the school in the boxes provided. We bought a wood carving of a heron with a crab in its beak, one of the best ones at the village and admired by every passenger who has seen it.  I’m dead chuffed with it.

We walked through the village, admiring the children in their feathers, the pet lizards, capibarra, caimen, monkeys and all the crafts available.  Then it was time for our little canoe trip.

We were joined by a couple of ships lecturers, the Bonners, who had heard me talking about the fantastic time we’d had last year, and wanted to join us on this year’s ride. Once again, the man who took us in his canoe did not speak a word of English, but he was a perfect gentlemen.  He took us on more or less the same route as last year, and once again we were awed by our surroundings,

We ended up at the wonderful little village, (whose name I have forgotten sadly), which is where our guide lived.  We’ve been here before, and I was dead keen to see the school again.  It was all locked up but they found the keys for us and we were able to see inside.  As well as the classrooms, there was an IT room with a couple of rows of computers, a well stocked room of text books, and the room with the “artifacts” that had been dug up by an archaeologist who had previously visited the area. He’d given them to the school which used them as part of their educational program. 

It is obvious that the people are proud of that school, and so they should be.  The children were delightful, and took great pains to help Peter film a large iguana up in a tree that they pointed out for us. Sadly, in no time at all, we had to go back to Boca Do Valeria, but with very happy smiles.

   Hot and thirsty, we headed for the tiny bar set up for us with refrigerated drinks.  Bliss. From there, we noticed a path behind the bar, and like many others, and after a good lathering in insect repellent, we took a walk to see where it went.   Now we really did get into the Amazon jungle.  OK, we didn’t see any jaguars, or monkeys, or even birds for that matter, but the noise of the insects and those invisible birds, and the humidity, and all the little things that bit my feet made the experience as real as possible. Awesome.

Finally it was back to the little bar, which by now had sold out and only had bottled water, which we guzzled anyway, and then back onto the tender for our return to the ship.  As before, towards the end of the day, there were canoes at the back of the ship, with occupants waiting for whatever donations came their way from the crew.  They are such lovely people it is impossible not to want to give. But we resisted.

And now it’s the end of another wonderful day.  Tomorrow is our last Amazon port, Santarem.  We’re going Piranha fishing!  Oooooer.

Boca da Valeria, Brazil, 2014
Boca da Valeria, Brazil, 2013
Boca da Valeria, Brazil, 2011

Manaus Day 2

We were booked on the “River Cruise to the Meeting of the Waters” today.  We knew this tour would be a shortened version of the one we did last time we visited Manaus, which we absolutely loved the first time round.  We weren’t disappointed.  First the riverboat took us to the point where The Black River and the Amazon meet and run side by side.  

Once again it was all explained to us, that the black river was slower, more acidic and at a higher temperature than the Amazon and this was the reason the two didn’t mix and ran side by side for about 5 miles.  Our guide also explained that the reason the Black River is black and acidic is because of the amount of plant material that has fallen into it.  The Amazon flows from the Andes and is full of clay which explains its tea like colour.

We were then taken to the floating restaurant on Lake January where we climbed into smaller 10 man canoes, and were taken around the tributaries running into the lake.  Wonderful.   

The water was around 2-4 metres deep we were told.  And growing through it and up beyond the surface was the local wild rice. We were shown the lily pads, which sadly are not in flower at this time of year, and then the  driver of our little boat took us into a little inlet right into the edge of the jungle proper.  Every one fell silent listening to the sounds.  A wonderful experience.

We managed to many different birds including loads of Great Egrets, the local moorhen type bird, and an eagle or two.  How cool is that? 

From there we returned to our river boat and then back to the ship.  Like last year, we passed the industrial part of Manuas, the ship building yards, the power plant, cargo docks and the wonderful floating petrol stations.  Once again a thoroughly wonderful trip. 

For anyone visiting Manaus on a cruise, on paper, the shorter tour seems as good as the longer one, (the *Amazonian Experience”), less a local meal.  Our half day tour was excellent, but given the choice again, I would definitely opt for the all day excursion. It was better than excellent.

After that , it was back to the ship for a bit of lunch and then we went for another wander out into the city.  Yesterday, during our visit to the Opera House, the young tour guide had found us a load of little information sheets of places to visit, and we decided to try a couple of art galleries and the Justice Palace, which are all very near to St Sebastion Square and the Opera House.

Manaus is an incredible place..  Just outside the terminal building, and in our path on the way to the St Sebastion Square, is the most lively and colourful market ever.  The place is absolutely teeming with people.  The stalls cover the market area and run up and down the streets.  There are hundreds of them, and they seem to go off in all directions.  The shops are full of clothes and shoes, the stalls full of lingerie, kids books, toys and mobile phones.  Amazing!

We walked through this colourful, bustling, occasionally smelly, but fascinating place heading first for the Justice Palace.  We weren’t very sure as to whether or not we wanter to go inside, but as we approached, the sky went black, the stall holders pulled plastic sheets over their stands and big heavy raindrops started to fall.  Decision made then.

We stepped inside, unsure of costs, our right to be there, and whether or not we wanted to be. Then we gasped.  This place is stunning!.  The receptionist signalled us to come in, told it was free, and then indicated that we should go have a look round downstairs.  There was a photographic art exhibition on, which was interesting.  But for me, the building was even more interesting.   We investigated all the rooms filled with pictures and a few few bronze sculptures then headed for the fantastic staircase leading from reception, but were stopped, being told to wait a couple of minutes and then someone would escort.

Someone was a delightful young Brazilian girl whose English was not brilliant, but was certainly better than our Portuguese.  Full of smiles and enthusiasm, she showed us around the stunning rooms upstairs, explaining them as best she could.  It turned out we were actually in a court house, which had been used for trials up until 2006.  All the rooms, including the actual court room and the Judge’s chambers were stunning.  

Apparently the same architect that designed the Opera House also designed the Palace of Justice.  And it showed.   Somewhere else I recommend to everyone visiting Manaus.  (If only to get out of the rain).

Sadly, we couldn’t get into the art galleries after that as they were closed.  So we made our way back through the hustle, bustle, sights and sounds of the market to the ship. 

I think we are both really getting to like Manaus.  You have to be careful, people do get jewellery, cameras and valuables stolen, but the city is absolutely alive, and we have been very lucky this visit to see the sights we have.  We felt that we landed on our feet whichever way we turned.  And so ends another fantastic day with so many new experiences.  Wonderful.

Tomorrow is Boca Do Valeria.  We loved it here last year, and I am so looking forward to seeing it all again.

Manaus visit day 1 2011       Manaus visit day 2 2011     Manaus visit day 1 2012

Further ports and mosquitoes

To everyone interested, there are three more updates again.  Hurrah for free wi-fi.  I hope you enjoy.  We have another day here at Manaus, plus a visit to Santarem, and Boca Do Valeria before we leave the Amazon.  Brilliant.
In answer to some questions, mosquitoes haven't really been a problem for us.  The ship is air conditioned, and therefore once off the outside decks, you are quite safe.  Mosquitoes are not normally out and about in daylight hours, which reduces the problem.  On the jungle walks and trips on riverboats that will take us away from the main river, we use insect repellent, (despite the faces Peter pulls about it).  We are also taking anti-malarial tablets.  We know the risk here is quite low, but why take even that?  Here in Manaus, apparently Il Negro, or the "Black River" is too acidic for insects, so there are very few mosquitoes. We've both had a couple of mosquito bites, but so far, nothing too bad.  Watch this space for the update on the fantastic river boat ride we had today.  Awesome.

Manaus - Day 1

Sadly the ship didn't arrive until 4pm.  far too late for our Manaus city tour.  It's been rescheduled for tomorrow, but because of the way the times work out, we won't be able to do that plus the Amazonian Experience tour in the morning, so we've had to cancel the city tour.  Which was a shame.

Actually, it worked out rather well. Knowing that we wouldn't see the Opera House via the tour, and also, because we know where the Opera House is and how to get there, we decided to belt it into town and find out guided tour times, costs,opening hours etc. 

 I think we were dashing in the vague hope that we might get there in time for a tour.  We walked in, asked, and it turned out that a) the was dirt cheap, about £5 each, and b), an English tour had just literally started, one guide and two Americans.  We grabbed our tickets and dashed over to join them.

The young tour guide was lovely, not the best english speaker, but he got his point across, and the building is quite amazing.  Inside the main theatre, he explained how the building was air conditioned in 1896 (when it was built) and now.  He explained how the stage was motorised so that it could recede to provide spacing for a 60 piece orchestra, he explained the ceiling paintings and so much more.  Everything we could see was beautiful and opulent.  

He showed us the reception room upstairs where the wealthiest and most important gentry would collect at interval, or for functions.  Marquetry floors, marble, opulent plaster and chandeliers with crystal glass shades from Italy. 

An amazing place, with a lego model of itself inside.  Turns out the model started in Denmark, was sent to the lego factory/shop in Manaus which then closed.  Coca Cola took over the building, found the model in one of the rooms and donated it to the theatre.  What a brilliant story.

So after our bonus visit, we made our way back to the ship and to find the wi-fi here in the terminal that we had been promised.  Hey presto, here we are updating our blogs.  

We stay in Manaus overnight, and have a tour in the morning.  It's the same as the one we did last year, less lunch. We had such a brilliant time before, we had to do it again. I can't wait.


Manaus visit day 1 2011         Manaus visit day 2 2011        Manaus visit day 2 2012

Parintins (eventually!)

10.30 am  As usual, I am awake dead early.  I think my body clock is still on English time, so I woke at 5.30am (Brazilian time), which is actually 9.30 in England, and probably about right for me.  I dozed for a while and got up about 7.30, just as the power went off!   The loos are very very dark when there is no light in them!  And the power has been off since.  We’ve had several announcements advising of a “small electrical fault”, and rumours are flying, but so far no sign of electricity.  This means that the ship has had to stop, and anchor here in the middle of the river.

I have to say that the crew have managed really well with us so far.  Breakfast was served, although they couldn’t keep producing toast , but everyone has eatenl.  Tea and coffee has only just run out, (me n Peter are sitting with the last two cups served), and the activities scheduled have been rearranged to suit.

We are supposed to be in Parintins right now, enjoying our Boi Bumba concert.  I will be quite disappointed if we miss it to be honest, but unless they resolve the problem really soon, I think we have lost that one. 

It makes you realise how much the ship relies on electricity.  Obviously we have lost lighting, (I feel really sorry for the people in cabins without portholes,) but the loos won’t flush, the water is only just dribbling out of the taps and of the water dispensers in the lounges have had to stop.  People are generally in good spirits, despite being forced inside by the persistent heavy downpour which was there when we got up, and hasn’t slowed for a minute.

 10.40 am We’ve just had an announcement telling us they’ve worked out what the problem is, and they think it will be about an hour and a half before it is fixed, i.e. by 12-12.30ish. We’ve been told that they are negotiating with the locals to use a couple of large river boats to take us ashore, and hopefully get to our little festival show.  The final part of the announcement also told us we can drink the bottled water in the cabins at no cost.  That raised a cheer throughout the ship, the water costs £2.20 per bottle.  Lunch will be salad n cold stuff, and it’s still raining!

18:45 pm Well what a day we’ve had.  Shortly after the paragraph above, the Boi Bumba tour passengers were asked to meet in the main lounge for 11:15 ish.  Everyone arrived, and we were told that a large riverboat had been organised to come and collect us and take us across to Parintins for the show.  It turned out we were not even half a mile away from our destination!  This made us wonder why the lifeboats hadn’t been used as tenders to take us there earlier?  It turns out that the gangplank walkways need power to be lowered into position.

Se we all sat and waited in the lounge for the riverboat.  We waited a very long time.  I think it was around 12.30 pm by the time it arrived, (still no power by the way) and then getting us loaded, across the water and unloaded at the other side took forever.  The show started immediately the last person was in, which was probably about 2pm

But the show was absolutely brilliant.  I knew it was going to be good because of things I’d heard about it last year.  But I didn’t know it was going to be that good!  Spectacular.  Amazing.  Wonderful.  All words that were being used by our fellow passengers to describe it.  Peter filmed the whole thing. And  extract some stills for this blog.  It really was truly awesome, and something I would recommend to everyone.

It was 3.30 by the time the show had finished and we’d had a look at the craft stalls.  We decided against it staying in Parintins a little bit longer, we’ve been here before, and although it is a delightful town, there isn’t a lot to capture our attention.  So we joined the queue for the riverboat back to the ship.  We found out while waiting in line that there was still no power on board, and that the latest update was that it should be back by 5.30pm.  We were back about 4.30, and noticed just as we arrived that lights were beginning to show in cabins.  Power......  Yippee!   Unfortunately the problem is not completely resolved.  We still don’t have full lighting in the cabin, but we can flush the loo.  (Phew!)  So we had a very late lunch, no coffee yet, but I will find some soon.  As a minor compensation, we are to be given a complimentary glass of champagne at dinner tonight.  As Peter says though, it all adds to the adventure. 

Twilight zone It should be noted that weirdly, the Fred Olsen ship that we were on last year broke down in very nearly the same place.  On that occasion, it happened just as we were leaving Parintins.  Something went wrong with the steering and we ended up going round in circles.  It took the Fred Olsen ship about 7 hours to fix the ship that time.  Spooky or what?  (Peter’s calling the place the Amazon Triangle).

We are due to arrive in Manuas tomorrow afternoon, about 1pm, (perhaps, we left Parintins about 4 hours later than scheduled, which might have a knock on effect).  We are book ed on a city tour which should include the Opera House.  Brilliant.

Afternote  It turned out that the whole thing had been caused by the downpour I mentioned earlier.  It was absolutely bucketing it down when I got up, and stayed that way till about 12 o’clock. Turns out water got through a ventilation duct and onto one of the main circuit boards.  Most of the systems worked, (sort of), until we got Manaus.  But in order to get the lights working properly and other systems back to rights, the whole electrical system has to be rebooted by switching it off and then back on again.  Sounds familiar!

Parintins visit 2011

Alter De Chao

A new day and a new place to explore.  Each town we have visited has been so different from the last, and we could see from the ship, anchored in the middle of the river, that Alter de Chao is going to somewhere completely different again.

It is called the Caribbean of the Amazon, and we could see the white sand beaches, and the thatched roofs of the craft stalls and bars.  The little town actually lies on the shore of the river Tapiojas, at a point where a sandbank known as the “Love Island” separates the river and the Lago Verde (Green Lagoon). The sun was out and weather was warm, so we donned our swimsuits and went to have a look.

Alter de Chao is where the Brazilians go when they want a day at the seaside.  It really is lovely.   Full of craft shops and stalls, bars on the beach, with tables and parasols right on the riverside, where, unlike a lot of places where you have to hire the lounger or buy a beer, anyone could sit without obligation to pay for anything.

We took some time so that I could explore the shops and Peter could film our surroundings. 

The crafts there were extensive and quite wonderful, and naturally took me a long time to investigate.  (Peter is very patient).  We spotted a couple of beautiful, brightly coloured birds:  an Oriole Blackbird, which is actually yellow,  a kiskudee (not sure how it's spelt and a Red Crested Cardinal.  We found free wi-fi, and spent a lot of time updating blogs and catching up on email.  The chips were expensive, but the beer was cheap, and the cafe provided good cover from a downpour just after lunch.  We bought a couple of items from the craft shops and then took a wander across the beach to the river. 

Now it was time for a swim.  We’d seen all the locals splashing about enjoying the water, so we had to try.  We picked exactly the right time to be honest, because at that moment the sun came out and started burning down on us, but the water was lovely and cool.   Apparently the water here is the clearest of the all rivers running into the Amazon.  What that actually means is that you can see through the first 12 inches or so, and it’s a dark peaty green colour generally.  The Amazon river itself looks like milky tea and opaque.

We sat on the beach for 30 minutes to dry off,  supposedly in the shade, but as usual, I managed to burn a little more, and then we took the tender back to the ship.  We’d had a wonderful day, and not had the chance to see everything  there, apparently Fordland,  (the remnants of Henry Ford’s project to create rubber plantations) is nearby, there were tours around the lagoon on offer, and I am sure plenty of guided walks into the jungle.  I kept saying, if anyone was to have a holiday in the Brazilian Amazon, here would be the place to stay. 

So tomorrow we have Parintins, and the Boi Bumba show.  I am looking foward to it.

Almeirim

Again, we had no idea what to expect today.  Almeirim is a town with a population of about 31,500, and  without a quay big enough for the ship.  The Marco Polo anchored in the middle of the river and everyone took the tenders across to the town.

And what a lovely town it turned out to be.  Very friendly, colourful, and interesting.  It also had plenty of bars, which is where most of the passengers ended up.  There are no tours here, and like everyone else, we just went for a walk.

It sort of reminded me of an old town of the wild west, Brazilian style.  Lots of little businesses in wooden houses along the streets.  Motorbikes are the favourite form of transport, and speed limits do not apply.   The townspeople were as interested in us as we were in them, taking photographs of us, and even asking us to pose with them.  They all have mobile phones and huge satellite dishes were in abundance, but when we asked for wi-fi, nobody was able to help.  But no matter,it was a lovely, lovely place.

Back on board, we haven’t done much, except watch the Amazon go by.  We’ve also been adding to the collection of photographs of weird and wonderful bugs and moths on board.  The most amazing so far has to be the giant cockroach thing which was huge and ugly and no way do I want to be in its path when it flies.  It was also absolutely fascinating.
 Tomorrow is Alter de Chao.  Also known as the Amazon Caribbean.  Swimming costumes I think.  Awesome!

Santana and Macapa

We had no idea what to expect today, expect that the ship was to moor in Santana, and that people could visit nearby Macapa, (a large, relatively modern city), by paying for the transfer bus.  Santana itself is described as an industrial town.   We decided we did not want to pay the £29 per head for the bus, and instead, thought we would go for a walk in Santana.
The boat docked in what was obviously an industrial dock, not designed with cruises and large numbers of passengers in mind.

There was a large wood chipping plant nearby, which provided a very pleasant scent.  Interesting, although not the prettiest port we visited. 
After spending some time on deck photographing moths and bugs, and watching the dolphins alongside for a while, we disembarked with the idea we would go for a walk and see what there was to see.  As soon as we exited the plant/port gates, there were row of taxis waiting for us.

We teamed up with another couple, and haggled a taxi down to the equivalent of £20 to take us into Macapa, drive us about for a couple of hours and then bring us back to port.  And we had a brilliant time.
 First we went to see the Marco Zero monument which marks the equator.  Here you can stand with a foot in each of the hemispheres.  It was also pointed out that at the start of each solstice, each side of the line is moving into opposite seasons.  When the North starts summer, the South is just moving into winter.  Curious.

From there we went to the Macapa Fortress of Sao Jose built around 1780.  We really enjoyed our wander around the fort, and then inside.  We wandered along through the barrack rooms and accommodation which are interconnected by a line of arched doorways.  The visual impact is striking.  Then we visited a large craft hall, I do love the crafts here, and would like to take them all home.  Sadly there is a cost involved, and  Peter is always more cautious about buying momento’s.  We did choose a lovely little black pot though.  We managed a short wander around the town, with a few purchases from the local shops.  A completely new sight for us were the “Moto Taxi’s” or taxi motorbikes.  The driver or rider has a spare helmet, and the passenger just hops on the back and gets taken wherever he wants to go.   Wacky!  Finally, we got our driver to take us back to port.  A bargain of a day and the driver really was great.  Despite not speaking a word of English, we were well taken care of.
Our afternoon in Santana was spent in the most unlikely of spots:  on a couple of benches outside the port authority offices,  (or maybe it was the office block for the wood chipping plant).  There we sat and indulged in free wi-fi they were quite happy to share with us.   Unfortunately, it couldn’t cope with some things, such as loading photo’s on my blog, (that’s why they have been lacking).  But it did mean we could catch up on email and the news about the Costa cruise ship.  (The Marco Polo news team have not advertised the fact that a cruise ship has sunk.  Their daily news pages haven’t mentioned it at all?  Hmmmmmm............) 
We got rained on a couple of times. The rain sometimes came down heavy, but it’s warm and it doesn’t last for long and so it didn’t bother us.  All in all, it’s been another brilliant day.  Tomorrow we will be at Almeirim which is another new place for us.  Class!

Macapa 2011
Santana and Macapa 2013
Santana and Macapa 2014

Cruising

Yesterday the Marco Polo left Belem and headed out to sea.  Once there it turned North(ish) and cruised slowly for most of today before turning west and sailing up  northernmost branch of the Amazon ‘s delta exits towards Macapa.  This meant that we crossed the equator again and sailed for some time in the northern hemisphere.  
 It also meant that we back out in the gently rolling waves of the sea, which is green near the mouth of the Amazon.  There is a point though, where the water from the Amazon, which is a milky tea colour meets the sea.  The two types of water don’t mix, and a line is formed where the water is brown on one side and green on the other, this line stretching to the horizon on both sides out across the sea.  A bit like the wedding of the waters on the Amazon itself, but bigger, and with more impact.  We watched as our ship crossed the line and moved from the green water to the brown.
Once into the Amazon river, the ship headed south again towards Macapa, sailing on in the dark.  It was here we were joined by hundreds of birds.  We have not been able to identify them, but they seemed to be a type of duck, which made a lot of noise and flew round and about the ship, the noise and the birds continued for hours, and we spent a long time watching and listening.  We are loving all these new encounters with wildlife. 
Tomorrow is Santana.  (Don’t say it out loud, every time he hears it, Peter starts singing “Black Magic Woman”).    We’ve not been here before, and we are really looking forward to it.

Icoaraci and Belem

Belem Skyline from the Amazon River

We woke around 6 this morning, full of anticipation for the day ahead.  Out of the porthole we could see the shores and boats of the Amazon.  Keen to see more and be ready for our tour meet time of 8.15, we went up for a “hearty breakfast”, (it’s gonna be a long time till lunch), and a look outside.  We knew from last year that a few moths may have landed on the ship overnight.  When we looked we found four.  We expect more in Macapa!
The Amazon splits out into many branches as it approaches the sea.  Today we’ve been anchored more or less in the middle of one of those river branches,  just outside Icoaraci.  Our tour was to visit the Guama river and take a short walk through the jungle.  It went as follows: 

We started in the Marco Lounge at the time detailed in the daily blurb. We’d been allocated a tender number, and when it was called, duly followed our escort to the gangway to climb into our transport to the shore. The tenders are actually the ships lifeboats. They all have motors and are pressed into service when there isn’t a dock big enough for the ship.  Getting on and off isn’t too difficult, because the a lot of effort goes into making sure the gangway is safe. The tender took us from the ship to the pier in Icoaraci. 

There, as is the norm apparently, we had to climb off our tender through a river boat that was already moored, to get up onto the pier. Bizarre!
A bus took us from Icoaraci, through Belem to the river boat that would take us along the Guama River. The trip took about 45 mins, through the various sections of the city. 

We saw the muck and squalor of the poorest estates, the many fenced off military areas, and the posh estates surrounded by metal railings, obviously designed to keep the dirty poor out.  Belem itself is full of modern sky scrapers and wide avenues, but still manages to look poor. Graffiti was everywhere.  
We got to our River Boat which was tied up in a very nice, touristy designed area. Once on board, we sat and enjoyed watching Belem, then the jungle and the river go by.

As I said, Belem is full of skyscrapers, and the skyline from the river could easily be that somewhere like Manhatten.
As we sailed along the river, the tour guide gave loads information about Brazil, the Amazon, de-forestation, etc. We didn’t hear most of it though, because of the noise of the engine. No matter, we were thoroughly enjoying the scenery.
At the point where our walk was to start we disembarked onto a pier on stilts, which meant we had to go upstairs to the top deck of our river boat to get off.

Our guide then took us on a short walk through jungle, showing us all the fruits and plants available to eat. It was amazing to realise we were surrounded by food.  It really was everywhere. I can’t remember the names of everything he talked about, but bananas, mangos and cocoa were in abundance as well as everything else. No-one starves in this jungle. As usual, we were all  looking for wildlife. The jackpot today were the cricket things we spotted, Ugly as sin, but really interesting.

The walk culminated in a fruit tasting session, and the showing off of a pet tarantula type spider owned by a young Amazonian lass. No, we didn’t eat the fruit (it was covered in flies!), and no we didn’t handle the spider! We then returned Icoarici by river boat and coach as per the way we came.

The tour had overrun by 1 ½ hours. It was now 3.30 pm and we had about an hour before getting one of the last tenders back to the ship.  We used that hour to get a quick look at the shops and craft stores before heading back.

By the time we were back in our cabin, it was 5 O’clock, and we were absolutely starving.  We’d not eaten since breakfast.  We headed first for the tea station, and then sat on deck until the Bistro opened at 6.  We were two of the first in there. 

All in all, it’s been a thoroughly enjoyable day.  We are adding to our knowledge of this area all the time.  It’s amazing the differences between the culture, lifestyles, terrain and wildlife here and our own. Tomorrow is another cruising day, and after that, many more Amazon ports.  As Peter says, “bring it on”.