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.