Thursday 26th January - Icoaraci for Belem

Old Dockyard Cranes at Belem

We're not so close to the rainforest anymore, so I didn't get up early to go moth chasing.  This meant I didn't wake Peter and he finally got a lie in.

The ship let down anchor outside Icoaraci a little after lunchtime and the crew did the usual thing of checking the pier. Guess what?  That's right, once again the tender was too low for passengers to disembark onto the pier.  That set of steps they built in Alter de Chao came in handy for a third time (or is it the fourth?).

Peter and I are escorting the Belem Transfer which should be easy.  A bus out to the city, everyone has three hours there, then a bus ride back to Icoaraci and the ship.  The ship operation was slick, passengers checked with Susan from Shorex, she gave them a tender ticket to match their tour, and then everyone on that tour was sent across the river at the same time in the same tender and then directed onto their bus.

Except it wasn't as well organised at the other end. In fact it was chaos.  The bus driver let the passengers on before the guide could check tickets, and he opened both bus doors so that we had no idea how many people had climbed on it.  I'm shouting "stop" at one door, but people were still getting on at the other.

Eventually it was calm. But there's always one isn't there. We'd counted the passengers, checked tickets numbers and counted them again.  We were just about to set off when a couple shouted that thought they were on the wrong bus.  Honestly!  So now I'm off the bus, on the bus, talking to the tour manager, looking for Merle and trying to work out whether the passengers should be elsewere or not.  Other passengers kept chipping in "helpfully", as well as complaining.  In the end, we decided the confused passengers were on the right bus, but what a palaver, it took me the whole 45 minutes of the drive to cool down.  This escorting lark may have it's perks, but we sure have to earn them.






Anyway, we reached Belem and went off for a wander.  The bus had set us down at one of the main tourist areas, Estacao das Docas, a cultural centre of artisan craft stalls, restaurants and cafes. Old warehouses and dock buildings have been converted and the old cranes on the shore side are iconic to the city.

Palm Tanager

We didn't get far, because we found fast free wi-fi in the refurbished buildings. We spent our time gorging on it.

Once we'd had our fill we had less than an hour to look around before it was time to stand ready with the sanitizer for the returning passengers.

Belem Cranes

Micro Brewery inside the old dockyard warehouses.  We nearly bought some Amazon beer. 

We got back to pier by about 7pm.  We had to wait a few minutes for the return tender and used them to have a look around. Despite the fact it was dark, Icoaraci looked really interesting.  We've decided that if we come this way again, we'll dip out of any escorting duties and spend some time investigating the town.

Tomorrow is a sea day and Peter will be back to work.  It'll be Isle de Salut after that, one of our absolute favourites. Awesome. 

Friday 25th January. Sea Day

Although it seems that little green grasshoppers have taken over the ship this morning, this dragonfly is my bug of the day

I'm also really pleased to have seen this silk moth. It's not very big, but up till now I'd not seen one.

Peter is still out of work until the customs and immigration folks are gone, so we have the day to ourselves. Sadly, it's the last day we'll have to to watch the Amazon forest go by. The ship is heading east out of the delta and once out at sea will turn south, then west to sail up the river Para to Belem. Although the rainforest will be all around us, we'll not get close enough to the shore to see it. So I've been on deck, trying to soak as much of my surroundings up as possible as it all starts to move away from us.    

I think these are weaver bird nests.  I could see them high in the tree with my binoculars, and the camera is on full zoom.

We'll get to Icoaraci about lunchtime tomorrow.  We're escorting the "Belem Transfer" so we'll get a look at the city. Bring it on.

Tuesday 24th January - Santarem

So this morning, as a bit of a change from the moths, there was a butterfly on board.  Again I dunno what type it is.

As usual, I'd done the early morning tour of the decks looking for creepy crawlies then enjoyed a cup of coffee on the back deck, and this morning I watched as the ship docked.  I discovered something new, something wish I'd sussed out earlier.  As the ship pulled in to the shoreside, the birds came over, doing exactly what I'd been doing half an hour ago.... Bug hunting.  The birds have obviously learnt that the decks would be covered in scarab beetles, mole crickets and moths and they popped on board for breakfast. I went up to watch on the top deck.  Kiskadees tossed moths in the air to eat them the right way round, an Oriole Blackbird skittered across the helicopter deck, Tanagers nervously checked out the deck edges and Sparrows spread out in the fashion of a police search and swept the deck for anything the bigger birds had missed. It was like a clearance operation.  I managed to get some good photos.

Fork Tailed Flycatcher

Tropical Kingbird

No tours today, which we were quite pleased about to be honest, because it gave us a chance to explore, something we've not done for some time. So today's blog is a photo diary of our wander.

The first thing we passed as we left our dock was this riverboat equivalent of a Boeing 747.  The riverboats take everything, cargo, livestock, people and vehicles.  The people bring hammocks and set up home on the upper decks and it may easily take four days to get wherever they're going.  Watching these things load and unload is fascinating, especially when it's a truck that won't fit through the deck space.

And just past the riverboat before we saw this Yellow Headed Caracara, I've seen a few now, but this is the first time I've managed to get a photo of one that looks like a Yellow Headed Caracara.

Then we walked for about 15 minutes, out of the dock and then left towards the town centre and the fish market. It wasn't long before we reached a stretch of waste ground alongside and went in to explore

I think this might be a Thyrida glasswing.  (It's taken me ages to work that out, and I'm still not sure).

Black bellied whistling duck

30 minutes or so later we back on the road. The river, which is the real access to the town, was always on our left, and a constant source of entertainment and amazement.

We eventually reached the fish market which stands on stilts over the water. We stood at the back, watching and filming the pink dolphins for some time.  There were easily 8 or more of them, lazily circling, waiting for the land locked bipeds to throw them unwanted fish. Fascinating creatures.







Back then onto the path and into the increasing heat we walked on. Santarem has floating market made up of riverboats tied together. Loading and unloading is constant, people using all forms of transport.





There are Great Egrets everywhere.

And vultures.  Most of the vultures are black or turkey vultures, but I did get to see a few of the lesser yellow headed vultures.  I feel dead clever now I know the difference.

We finally reached the general market and the church.  What is it about markets in foreign countries?  They always seem much more colourful and lively than our own.  Perhaps it's the lack of wind and rain, or maybe it's just that we british are boring.  Anyways, you can always buy a colourful hammock in Santarem.

The church was closed, so we sat in the shade for a while, cooling off as best we could before the return walk.  We didn't have any Reals with us, so no beers in a local bar today, but we looked into all the shop fronts to see what was for sale.  Machetes, water tanks, combat gear and balaclava's, flip flops and t shirts, 25 litre drums of drinking water, fishing nets, timbers and toothpaste,  children's underway and pallet loads of foodstuffs.  Everything you could possibly need for a life in an Amazon village where you build your own house, catch or grow your food and only visit the town about once a month.

And the wildlife sightings didn't stop either. Peter managed to get an absolutely awesome picture of a Blue Grey Tanager on the way back. Sadly I didn't because my camera battery was flat. (Humph!)

So that was our fantastic day in Santarem.  We finished it off in the Marco Polo show lounge watching the passenger talent show.  Christine gave an excellent poetry reading, and Micheal Kieren who is a professional story teller, told one of his stories.  It was brilliant. 

Monday 23rd January - Parantins

Bug of the day from my early morning walk around the decks is this yellow black moth. I have no idea what it is, but it's pretty.

Ad, I don't know what type of moth this is. It's quite small and very pretty.

The ship was due to arrive at Parantins at about 11 o'clock and I spent most of the morning watching the river and the rainforest go by whilst Peter worked in the cabin.

Taking a bus trip on the Amazon

e approached Parantins and the captain made an announcement, (you know it's bad news when he comes on the tannoy system). We were told that there were problems with the usual pier, tenders would have to travel further and that there would be a shuttle bus into town from the pier we were going to be sent to.  As the ship dropped anchor and I looked across, I realised why we couldn't use the usual pier.  It wasn't there anymore!   

But the next pier had issues too. Once again the water was too low for passengers to climb out of tenders onto.  Once again the Marco Polo team pulled through and once again the steps that the joiners had built for Alter De Chao were put into service, as was a local riverboat. 

Peter and I hadn't rushed to get ashore, and ended up amongst the last passengers going across.  It was nearly 3pm, and I watched as the empty shuttle bus drove away from shore just as we were a minute or two away from arriving.  Odd?  I wondered if the next one would arrive quickly.

Nope! Once we were on dry land it took a good half hour before the bus came back, I was happy enough, I had my binoculars and camera and spent my time looking across the wastleland at the birds.  But it meant that by the time we got into town we had less than an hour there.  We took a short walk around anyway.

A busy street in Parantins. The preferred form of transport is two wheeled, either a motorcycle or a bicycle. 

As we arrived, so did about 300 others from the main excursion of the day, the Boi Bumba folkloric show. With only two shuttle buses, craft stalls took a lot of money in the hour following. I bought a very pretty pearly set of earrings.

Back at the pier, the queues continued, and again I took advantage. With my binoculars I managed to spot a ringed kingisher and yellow headed caracara.  No photo's though, they were too far away. 

We ended up on the last tender back, with group from the Boi Bumba.  They'd had an excellent time and were in full party mood.  Even though we had to wait awhile to make sure all passengers were accounted for, our tender boat was noisy with bad jokes and bad singing until we offloaded back onto the ship.

Back on board the atmosphere was sleepy and relaxed and as everyone settled into the routine. We sat in the Captain's club with a book and a drink. Then, at about 9.30pm, the alarm went off!  Seven short whistles and one long one. The alarm telling us to get our lifejackets and report to the muster stations.  And then it repeated, again and again.  Everyone, staff included, looked at each other confused.  We were in the middle of a river?  No-one had heard a bang or a thump, the ship hadn't started listing, the engines noise hadn't changed?  Was it a false alarm?

The alarm continued.  Seven short whistles and one long one.  It repeated and repeated.  And then Susan from Shorex came bustling through the lounge.  "Muster stations everyone!" she shouted, clapping her hands, the Captains Club started to empty.  

Peter and I went downstairs to get our lifejackets, and the alarm continued. Lucky for me Peter was in front and blocking my veiw.  The old indian guy from just down the hall was in the corridor in his underpants, wondering what was going on?

At that point, the message came over the tannoy that it was a false alarm, all down to an electrical fault.   It had taken them about 10 minutes before they'd been able to override the lockout and tell us it was a false alarm.  Hey Ho. It all adds to the fun.  Peter says he'll never be able to get the image of the indian guy out of his head though.   

So that was our Parantins day.  Tomorrow we're in Santarem, and for the first time in several years, we haven't got a tour.  This is actually really good news, cos we get to wander and check out the waste ground and boats and stuff. Another day we are really looking forward to.

Sunday 22nd January - Manaus Day 2

OK, so I was up early bug hunting as usual.  Creepy crawly of the day has to be this.>>>>

I don't know what type of butterfly it is, but it's quite beautiful.

We're escorting the all day Amazonian Experience today, which is one of our favourites.  Setting off at about 9am, it starts with a visit to the "Meeting of the Waters".  This is where the black water of the Rio Negro meets with the white (or tea coloured), water of the Rio Solimoes.  The two rivers don't mix because they are moving at a different speeds, and have different acidity levels and water temperatures.  As a result, the two rivers run side by side for up to 20 miles before coming together as the mighty Amazon.  It's quite a sight, for Brazilians as well as foreign tourists.

The "slums of Manaus" - every time we've come here, the guides have told us this area is due to be knocked down.  

Next we got to see a floating Village.  Apparently, you can't use just any old tree to build a floating house ON.  The logs used are very expensive and only last 20-25 years, which brings a whole new meaning to the word "subsidence".  At the beginning of each dry season neighbours choose each other carefully and their houses are tied together in threes and fours to huddle up at the sides of the biggest rivers.  When the rain comes and the water rises, they all get to move house - literally.  I think I quite like the idea of picking a new view for the front room window every year.

Floating houses

Lesser Yellow Headed Vulture

Village boy with Green Anaconda (we think)

 At Lake January we changed into smaller, 10 person boats and were taken for a short tour.  At one corner of the lake is a small settlement where the guide explained how THEthe families lived.  We had difficulty hearing him as he was drowned out by a loud humming that completely surrounded us. We couldn't work out where the noise came from until he explained that there were underwater electricity cables.  Nobody put their hands in the water after hearing that!

Next was the buffet lunch provided in a large floating restuarants at the side of the lake. Conscious of hygeine and stomach bugs such as Noro Virus, most of the passengers washed their hands before eating. As Peter pointed out, when you see a tap and a sink, you naturally assume the water is clean. But there are no pipes bringing clean water from elsewhere into this restaurant, There is just the river, which also acts as the sewer. I had to keep pointing this out to people as I dashed around with sanitizer.   

Striated Heron, (except it has pink feet and a black bill - needs to be worked out)

After lunch, we dragged the passengers out of the craft market for the last highlight of the tour, which is to walk along a wooden boardwalk through a section of rainforest to see some giant lily pads. The boardwalk is about 20 feet off the ground and probably no more than 200 meters in length. A troop of monkeys live in the area and are often seen from this aerial view of the jungle floor.  But today we didn't get to see the monkeys.  In fact, we didn't get to see anything.  As we approached the lily pads, it started to rain.  Amazonian rain.  We hurried to get our waterproofs on, but in our haste, they got tied up, inside out and upside down, so of course we were very wet in less than a minute. 

There was a viewing platform at the end of the walkway. It is built on stilts, with a wooden plank floor about 20 foot above the water of the lily pad pond.  It has a roof, which meant shelter from the rain and every passenger on the tour headed for it.  As more and more of us squeezed in, and the platform began to feel just a teensy bit unsteady. There were over 60 of us after all, could it take the weight of us?

Giant Lily pads - and a lot of rain!

We stood there for around ten minutes, waiting for either the platform to collapse or the rain to ease, but we got attacked by mosquitoes instead.  I'd forgotten how prolific mosquitoes are at the lily pads.

Several bites later, the guide announced we couldn't wait any longer, we'd have to make our way back. Heads down, we hurried along, rivulets of water running down hunched backs onto trousers that slopped and shoes that squelched. We reached the craft market and the amused stares of the stall holders, dripped our way through the restaurant and slapped sodden shoes against the painted floor of the river boat as we climbed aboard. The riverboat staff ran around behind us, mopping the floor repeatedly.  "Yep", I thought, definitely an "Amazonian Experience".

Back at the ship, our cabin looked like a chinese laundry with coats, shoes, bags and clothes hung everywhere to dry out.  Fortunately, the day ended on a much dryer and happier note, with the comedian Andy Leech in the show lounge.  Tomorrow it's Parantins.  Cool.

Saturday 21st January, Manaus Day 1

Peter is out of work at the moment, because the customs/immigration guys are squatting in the conference room. He wants to take advantage and stay in bed.  Trouble is, I'm up at about 6 am to go bug hunting. This wakes Peter up, and he ends up having an early start too.

When I get out onto the decks they are wet.  Ship management has obviously ordered the crew to hose them down in the early hours before daylight to wash away the creepy crawlies.  It's understandable, there are hundreds of them bumbling around the decks, mostly scarab beetles and mole crickets.  They are big, all legs and wings when they are flying, and no-one wants one in their face or hair.  Almost as bad is the crunch when you stand on one.

There are always a few escapees however, and always something that I've not seen before. This is especially pretty and reminds me of a night sky.







We didn't arrive at the port until about 12.30.  The piers are floating, designed to rise and fall with the height of river and our ship looked massive, surrounded as it is by riverboats of all shapes and sizes.  Vultures sunbathed on the roofs of the surrounding warehouses, noisy terns and silent cormorants flew back and forth on the bird equivalent of spaghetti junction.

So after lunch we've got ourselves ready to go ashore. Because we've been before, and because Chris (the creative writing tutor), is on her own, she joined us for a little wander.  Peter led, and within about 15/20 minutes of leaving the terminal, we'd reached the Opera House.  We took a few photo's and were discussing whether we should go inside when we met Barbara, one of the craft instructors.  So now we were four.
In the end, Chris and I decided to go in.  It is built entirely of bricks, tiles and materials brought piece by piece from Europe and completed in 1896. It always makes me think of Mrs Haversham out of Great Expectations. The wealth and opulence of its creation is very obvious, but it is now faded, old and worn.

The stage.  The front section can move backwards to reveal an orchestra pit.

The ceiling inside the Opera House

One of the many crystal light fittings in the hall upstairs. 

That is not entirely true of course, the hall upstairs is absolutely beautiful.

After that, we found a pizza parlour, "Splash", close by, and made use of the free wi-fi before making our way back through the city.

So it was a pleasant afternoon.  The day was finished with the most spectacular thunderstorm.  We all sat on deck watching and filming, until it reached us that is!   Tomorrow we're on tour, "The Amazonian Experience".  Keep your fingers crossed that it's a good one. 

Friday January 21st - Boca Do Valeria

Surprise, surprise, I was up early again bug hunting.

Our port today is Boca Do Valeria and we'll be tendering ashore.  The ship let down anchor and pink dolphins (or Amazon River Dolphins as they are correctly known) entertained us whilst preparations where made. In a fit of madness, Peter joined the queue and waited for at least 45 mins to get tickets for the first tenders across to the village.  His sacrifice meant we had more time there.  My hero.

Boco Do Valeria means mouth of the River Valeria apparently.  The village sits on the confluence where the Valeria joins the Amazon.  The people there wear western clothes, have limited electricity produce by generators, and watch television via the many large satellite dishes about.

But their lives are very different from our own.  They hunt and fish for food.  The teacher at the small school is self taught, and now passes on what she has learnt until the children can go to the surrounding, better equipped schools. The people live in cramped wooden houses on stilts and during the rainy season, have to share that space with their livestock which take over the "balconies".

According to the information sheet from CMV, Boca do Valeria only recieves about half a dozen or so ships each year.  This means that when one does stop to visit, the schools in the surrounding villages close and whole familes climb into their boats and travel down river to meet us.

Which means as passengers climb out of the tenders, they are inundated with curious children who attach themselves in twos and threes, hoping for sweets and treats from the wealthy tourists. Despite our experience at avoiding them, we ourselves gained a couple of teenagers who followed us as we walked up and down the paths around the village. The boys worked eventually worked out what we were looking for, and started to point out butterflies and creepy crawlies.

We have no idea what this is, but it was cute.  And very fast. 

In return, Peter showed them how to make several different popping noises and tunes, and had them laughing out loud with his imitation of a sloth. We decided they'd earned a dollar each at the end of our wander, as a thank you for finding stuff.
Back in the village the adults were waiting with their small boats and crafts. I think the standard of the crafts is getting better year on year.  If it wasn't for the fact that we already have so many keepsakes, I'd have bought loads, but I settled for a necklace which is complex and well made.  It would have cost a lot more than $5 dollars elsewhere, and I'm really pleased with it.

Peter and I always take a ride on one of the small boats for $5 each.  It's the luck of the draw as to where the boat owner takes you, but we've loved the experience everytime.  There is something we've nicknamed "the boatyard" which Peter particularly likes as source material for his paintings. Our driver today was very happy to accommodate us, spending some time close by so that we could take loads of photographs.

The "boatyard"

Local houses along the Valeria river

Back again at the village, we visited the bar for an ice cold drink before going back to the ship.  As always, we've enjoyed our time here, but we were grateful to get back to the relative cool of the ship and have a cold shower before lunch.  The afternoon was spent chatting with other and watching the Amazon idle by.

We'll continue sailing now until we reach Manaus tomorrow afternoon.  Something completely different again then.

Thursday 19th January, Alter do Chao

I was up early again, bug chasing. Fellow bug lovers are suddenly realising their passion and like me, they've risen before dawn to get the best pictures of moths, beetles and all manner of creepy crawlies. And there was a good selection today, topped off with a couple of giant water bugs.  Fascinatingly ugly creatures.

Giant Water Bug

Today's port of call is Alter do Chao, described as a "rustic beach community".  We leave the Amazon to travel up the Tapajos River for around 20 miles or so.  The flow of the Tapajos is what they call "black water", unlike the milky tea coloured Amazon, it's a dark peaty colour and relatively clear.  It's also more acidic, which means mosquitoes can't breed in it and makes it bite free. Cool eh?

We arrived about 10.30.  The ship let down anchor outside Alter do Chao and the zodiac (inflatable dinghy with speedboat engine) was sent ahead to check the pier for safety etc.  We were expecting to be able to start disembarking by tender at around 11 o'clock but an announcement came over the tannoy system with bad news.  The water was too low for passengers to climb from the tenders onto the pier.  "We are working on it." we were told.

Love Island at Alta Do Chao.  You can see why the Amazonians call this the Brazilian Caribbean

Peter and I looked at each other.  We know the tenacity of the Marco Polo crew from old and knew they'd find a way, which they did.  Joiners were sent to build a set of steps into one of the tenders.  That tender was left in place next to the pier.  When we arrived, we climbed out of our tender into the one with the steps, and then used the steps to climb up onto the pier.  Good ole Marco Polo, they don't give up easily.

But this all delayed the disembarkation process and it was lunchtime before the first passengers were walking into town. We didn't get tender tickets until late and got ashore with only a couple of hours before we had to return.  But we enjoyed our time there nevertheless.  First priority was to get some superglue, (I broke my sunglasses yesterday), and free wi-fi.  The superglue was a success, the wi-fi not.  I was in charge of getting glue, and Wi-fi is Peter's area of expertise. So what does that tell you?
After that, we just wandered.  I was looking out for birds and wildlife and Peter helped. Some of the most colourful finds are the Blue Grey Tanager (sorry, slightly blurry).

and the Oriole Blackbird.

This one is a Great Kiskadee

and here's a picture of the Marco Polo taken whilst we were waiting for our return tender. She does look pretty good eh?

So that was our afternoon in Alter do Chao.  Tomorrow we're in Boca Do Valeria, a lovely little place that we always enjoy.  Class.