Today we woke to rain. So much rain that we couldn't even the shoreline as the ship dropped anchor. Welcome to Alter do Chao!
The ships information sheet describes today's port like this:
"The rustic beach community of Alter do Chao lies on the bank of the Tapajos River... The sandy bay, overlooked by two hills, is not what you would expect to see in the middle of the Amazon... The beaches of Rio Tapajos are pockets of paradise, and better still, they are mosquito free!... Relax in the shade of a palm tree and watch the locals and tourists go about their day"
I missed out quite a bit of the text, but you get the gist, it's Amazonia's answer to Scarborough. We've enjoyed a day on the beach here before, watching the Brazilians play volleyball, sunbathing (I got sunburnt), and swimming. It's a tender port, so we had to wait before we were able to get ashore. We managed to get on a tender about 10 o'clock, just as the rain started to ease off. Last tender back to the ship was 12.30, so we only had a few hours.
Because we didn't have much time, Peter intended to relax in a bar and use the wi-fi (he always has quite a bit of work to catch up on), and I planned to go looking for wildlife as there are always plenty of birds and insects here. Last year, we came across a magnificen iguana and since I've not seen one yet on this trip... Peter settled down in the Mango Bar on the beach front, and I wandered off.
I never have to go far to see something different in Alter Do Chao. I only walked up and down the main beach a couple of times to see these:
I kept checking back on Peter, to see if he was ready to leave or anything, but he was beavering away and I left him to it. As it got closer to the time for him to leave, I started to hang around the bar. There was some waste ground next door, and I stood on a stage looking over the wall, looking out for birds and butterflies. Then I saw a long nose and a pair of little black eyes come out of the grass, they looked up at me and the nose was pulled back slowly into the long grass. I dunno what it was, but the grass stopped moving, and it had gone.
A few minutes later, I saw it again. I tried to take a photograph, but my pictures were so hit and miss I decided that a film would be better. I am now the proud owner of 45 seconds of video of an Opussum sneaking around the undergrowth and then up over the bar. David Attenborough eat your heart out! OK. Mebbe it won't get me a job on Blue Planet or the like, but I'm dead pleased of it. This picture is a still taken from the film, which is why it looks a little blurry.
What was amazing was that there were easily 30 or 40 people in the bar, completely oblivious to this amazing little creature. I showed the film to the bar manager, and even she was surprised that I'd seen it. Now all I have to do is work out what type of Opossum it is, (apart from a wet one).
It was back to the ship shortly after that. Queueing for the tender, we watched dragonflies, butterflies, and a massive black bee forage through the flowers on a bush beside us.
The entertainment continued as we moved down the beach, but this time it was a musical band of enterprising Brazilians who filled our ears with Brazillian dance music as we waited.
Once we were all back on board, the ship set sail for our next stop. Weirdly, we will have to exit the mouth of the Amazon, sail south for a little while, and then turn back into the Amazonia but this time we will be sailing up the River Para to Icoaraci. The journey will take around a day and a half, so tomorrow is a sea day and Peter will run his art classes. Icoaraci here we come.
The ships information sheet describes today's port like this:
"The rustic beach community of Alter do Chao lies on the bank of the Tapajos River... The sandy bay, overlooked by two hills, is not what you would expect to see in the middle of the Amazon... The beaches of Rio Tapajos are pockets of paradise, and better still, they are mosquito free!... Relax in the shade of a palm tree and watch the locals and tourists go about their day"
I missed out quite a bit of the text, but you get the gist, it's Amazonia's answer to Scarborough. We've enjoyed a day on the beach here before, watching the Brazilians play volleyball, sunbathing (I got sunburnt), and swimming. It's a tender port, so we had to wait before we were able to get ashore. We managed to get on a tender about 10 o'clock, just as the rain started to ease off. Last tender back to the ship was 12.30, so we only had a few hours.
Because we didn't have much time, Peter intended to relax in a bar and use the wi-fi (he always has quite a bit of work to catch up on), and I planned to go looking for wildlife as there are always plenty of birds and insects here. Last year, we came across a magnificen iguana and since I've not seen one yet on this trip... Peter settled down in the Mango Bar on the beach front, and I wandered off.
I never have to go far to see something different in Alter Do Chao. I only walked up and down the main beach a couple of times to see these:
 |
| Blue-grey Tanager |
 |
| Oriole Blackbird |
 |
| Gulf Fritilliary |
A few minutes later, I saw it again. I tried to take a photograph, but my pictures were so hit and miss I decided that a film would be better. I am now the proud owner of 45 seconds of video of an Opussum sneaking around the undergrowth and then up over the bar. David Attenborough eat your heart out! OK. Mebbe it won't get me a job on Blue Planet or the like, but I'm dead pleased of it. This picture is a still taken from the film, which is why it looks a little blurry.
What was amazing was that there were easily 30 or 40 people in the bar, completely oblivious to this amazing little creature. I showed the film to the bar manager, and even she was surprised that I'd seen it. Now all I have to do is work out what type of Opossum it is, (apart from a wet one).
It was back to the ship shortly after that. Queueing for the tender, we watched dragonflies, butterflies, and a massive black bee forage through the flowers on a bush beside us.
Once we were all back on board, the ship set sail for our next stop. Weirdly, we will have to exit the mouth of the Amazon, sail south for a little while, and then turn back into the Amazonia but this time we will be sailing up the River Para to Icoaraci. The journey will take around a day and a half, so tomorrow is a sea day and Peter will run his art classes. Icoaraci here we come.
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