2005 - Amazon Cruise

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Dec 5 – Last night we crossed ‘The Bar’ into the Amazon River. The Bar is the shallowest part of the river south of Manaus and must be crossed at high tide or there is not enough water to clear it. I didn’t feel a bump so we must have has plenty of space.

The Amazon River is 4,195 miles long and has 15,000 known tributaries, 4 of which are over 1,000 miles in length. The river discharges 46,000 gallons of fresh water every second. That’s 6000% more than the Nile. One day’s output of the Amazon is a whole year’s for the Thames in England. It varies from 1 to 35 miles wide and is over 250 miles wide at the mouth. Most of the Brazilian section is about 150 feet deep, but some parts are over 300 feet deep. The average temperature of the water in the lower part, Brazil, is about 80 degrees. The largest island in the river, Marajo, is larger than Switzerland. The 2,722,000 square-mile rain forest covers 40% of Brazil’s area and is responsible for producing about half the world’s supply of oxygen. Only about half of it is well known and much of it is yet unexplored. The land is very flat here so the lower Amazon flows very slowly, about 2-3 miles per hour.

Tomorrow we will be back in Santarém, Brazil. We were here in April at ‘high water’ season. This is ‘low water’ season so we’re anxious to see what difference it makes.

We’re planning to take a 2-hour walk in the Tapajós National Forrest about an hour out of town. It will be interesting to see how I hold up in the heat and humidity. I better take a lot of water.

At Macapá (left) today we had to stop the ship and anchor for the local officials to come on and clear the ship into the Amazon. In most ports this takes about 30 minutes to an hour. Here it takes 5 hours. They are retaliating for the fact that the USA now has strict visa requirements for Brazilians. Ah, the politics of travel. The same Amazon River lecturer that was with us on the World Cruise, Jean Paul Dössegger came aboard here as well. He’s originally Swiss but has lived in the Amazon near Manaus for 30 years. He’s very interesting and brings on lots of great slides to illustrate his lectures.

It’s easy to tell when you are in the Amazon; the water is tan to brown. The sediments suspended in the water account for the color. If you put some in a glass and let it set for a while the water will be perfectly clear after the suspended materials drop to the bottom. The color of the water is obvious when you are still 150 to 200 miles from the mouth of the river. It flows out so fast that the ocean water doesn’t dilute it for hundreds of miles.

Another successful day at sea.

Dec 6 – This morning we are continuing up the river, which at this point is heading west by southwest. We are due to arrive at Santarém about 10 o’clock.

The Amazon Basin has three distinct types of rivers that flow from the different shield areas of the basin. The Amazon is a ‘White River’ and they flow from the west in Peru where the river has its headwaters. White rivers get their name from the color of the water, which oddly enough is light tan. These rivers carry so much sediment that they look muddy, like the Mississippi in flood. They are actually pale yellow to light tan in color. The rivers that flow south from the Columbian Shield are ‘Black Rivers’. These rivers have a great quantity of dissolved minerals in them and are actually very clear. At most angles they look very black due to the oxidized material on the bottom and they have a wonderfully reflective surface. ‘Clear Rivers’ flow north from the Brazilian Shield land mass. They look a little green because they carry a large amount of small plant life out of the jungle in that area.

We are just passing the city now. We will be docking up river in a small industrial city. It’s amazing to see a city of 300.000 people just spring out of the jungle after hours of seeing nothing but widely scattered small huts and villages. We’re about 350 miles from the mouth of the river at this point.

Santarém is at the junction of the Tapajós and Amazon Rivers. The Amazon is a ‘white river’, has very silt filled water and is quite brown. The Tapajós is a ‘clear river and the water is a pale greenish color. The two don’t mix immediately and for a few miles down the river the water on the northern bank is brown and on the southern bank it’s green.

A youth band with about 40 musicians was playing on the pier for our arrival. Our tour doesn’t leave until 1PM so we had breakfast and hopped off the ship to do a little souvenir hunting in the market they set up at the wharf. They had lots of local crafts like preserved piranha, wooden masks, blowguns, straw hats and such but nothing we couldn’t live without. I did buy some postcards and stamps so we’re all set for Brazilian mailings.

The morning was cloudy, breezy and only warm. During lunch a rain shower passed though and the air behind the storm was hot and humid. When the sun broke out it got really warm. When we were here last April it was high water season. Now it’s low water season and the difference is very noticeable at the Santarém pier. When we were here before we walked straight from the ship across a walkway and directly onto the riverboats. Now they have to cross the walkway and go down about 35 feet to a lower pier to board them.

Amsterdam Sauer, a jewelry chain with a store in Manaus, has a girl dressed in an Indian costume (right) on the pier. Deal is you get your picture taken with her and then come to the store when we get there and they give you the print. I got a friend to take my picture with her with my camera. When we came back later the official pictures were being taken and Diana and I will have to go to the store if we want to get it.

After lunch we boarded a bus to take us to the Tapajós National Forrest. It’s about an hour drive up from the river to the hiking trail. The bus was not air-conditioned but with all the windows open and the driver flying low, we were cool enough during the drive.

The rain forest is preserved old growth but the drive up was mostly through secondary growth forest. The main difference between the two is that the old growth forest has some very old, large trees and the new one does not. Otherwise their composition is the same in this area.

On arrival at the park we were met by two Forest Rangers that will guide us on our hike. Unlike the USA these rangers did not have a uniform but did have a side arm incase we ran into anything hostile. Panthers, of which the Amazon has four types, are often encountered in the old growth and one of the four is a very aggressive cat.

Inside the forest it was very humid and hot. It’s dark because the canopy high in the trees cuts off the sunlight but it also stops any breeze from coming to the forest floor. The lack of breeze has me soaked in no time. The simple term ‘hot’ is really inadequate to describe the feeling. Even roasting over a bed of hot coals does not completely capture the sensation.

Nevertheless, the walk was very interesting. The ranger would stop every now and then to point out a tree, bird, nest of wasps or termites of various varieties. He also cut the bark, leaves or wood from several plants for us to smell, feel or taste. We found a cohoba tree from they take cohoba oil. They just drill a hole in the trunk of the tree and out comes the oil. They jam a stick in the hole to stop the oil flow. They use the oil on cuts as a disinfectant and on insect bites to help heal them.

They had one tree they call the ‘Cow of the Forest’. If you cut the bark a white substance comes out. We could wipe some on our fingers and taste it. It actually does taste like milk, although it’s thicker. He says if you use it in coffee you would never know it was the sap of a tree. He cut a branch off a palm tree that, when cut at both ends and split, had layers about the side of a Venetian blind slat that felt like plastic. You could split these layers and weave hats, fans and other items that are usually made of straw. If you didn’t disconnect them from each other you can bend them at 90 degrees and weave a mat. The actually use this system to thatch the roofs of their houses.

We saw various types of bird’s nests. The neatest one, and the easiest one to photograph, was the nest of a weaverbird (the long dark thing hanging on the right side of the picture above). They weave the nest of straw and twigs. It hangs down from a branch and looks like a Christmas tree in shape. Very cool.

It is so damp that various fungi are growing everywhere. Any trees that fall to the forest floor are quickly turned into compost. I found a fallen tree that was covered in tiny (1/2 to 1 inch tall) mushrooms. It looked like a miniature forest (right).

We walked for about two and a quarter hours in the forest. It was hot, sweaty going but lots of fun and very interesting. At one point the guide showed us how Tarzan could have swung from the vines that hang everywhere. Of course, Jane (Diana) couldn’t resist showing that she could do it as well (left).

The guides supplied us with lots of water before and after the walk and we all drank every bit of it and more.

Back at the pier we were walking from the bus to the ship, about 200 yards, when we passed two girls in the t-shirts of the guide organization we had been with. One of them looked very familiar to me so I asked her if she new a girl named ‘Krishna’. Her response was just what I had hoped for. She said, ‘I’m Krishna’, and then ‘I remember you!!’ I called Diana over and she recognized her immediately. During our last trip to Santarém, we took the Jari Canal boat trip and Krishna had been our guide. She and Diana had talked a lot during the trip. I’m pretty jealous, Diana got three hugs from her, and I got zip! She told us in April that she was studying physical therapy and her report now is that classes are going well and she is learning a lot.

Author’s Note: Most of you know that I have some trouble with names. You may not know that I have an uncanny memory for faces. I’ve spotted people I haven’t seen in 40 years and knew them immediately. I guess that’s to compensate for the fact that I might not remember their names for 40 minutes.

I think Krishna had changed her hair color a bit but Diana says not. I still think I’m right; after all, I was the one who spotted her. (That’s Krishna with Diana in the picture on the right, from the Jari Canal tour in April)

We got back too late to make dinner in the dining room so we trekked up to the Lido and had a great meal. The entertainment tonight was a variety show featuring the last three performers we’ve seen doing a short program each. They’ll be getting off in Manaus and some new ones will be getting on.

Tomorrow we stop in Boca da Valeria, Brazil. A city so small there are no tours. You just ride the tender into town and interact with the locals. This should be great!! That’s what I like most about travel. We have a Portuguese crib sheet to help us with the language.

Dec 7 – Here we are in Boca da Valeria (left). It’s a small village on the southern bank of the Amazon. They call the people who live on the river ‘Caboclo’ (River Dwellers). They are generally Mestisos, a mixture of Indian and Portuguese. The village appears to be very small. Because we are stopping here people from neighboring villages are also here bringing wares to sell. They set up a small arts and crafts center of thatched roof, open-air booths in which they displayed their handicrafts. Wood carving and weaving seem to be popular. There were some clay pots and handmade dolls also.

There’s only a rickety wooden pier (right) so we have to tender in. The tenders have to be careful because if they hit the little pier very hard they’ll destroy it.

There are lots of people out to see the tourists. Children are everywhere. As we walked up to the village from the waterfront we accumulated a small crowd of children. As we continued walking and it became apparent that we weren’t handing out anything all but four left us, three boys about 11, 9 and 5, and a girl about 11. They walked with us the entire day.

All along the way from the tender to the village there were people dressed in native Indian costumes waiting for us to ask to have picture taken with them. All ages were there. One man had is 3 children dressed up as well as himself. I took Diana’s picture with the group (left & below-right).

After some shopping we came to a round elevated open round building that appears to be the village restaurant and snack bar. Diana, our four escorts and myself went up and I bought three cokes and one orange soda. The man at the bar gave me four cups and we all had a cold drink. It didn’t take long for the kids to understand that they had a choice of coke or orange. Two of the kids opted for each one. We sat at a table and tried to pronounce their names and get their ages. The names were not Spanish or Portuguese so they must have been Indian. They all had sounds that do not come easily to the tongue of a native English speaker. We did the best we could to their great amusement.

After our rest we were ready to head up the hill and into the rainforest. With our four guides in tow we headed out. Part way up the hill we encountered a lady with a pet toucan. At first it was in a tree (below, left) but later she had it in her lap and was feeding it. A little further up the hill we met a man of about 60 and he invited us to take a little side trek off the main path to his house. It was about 20 yards up a path, built on the side of a hill.

The house (below-right, with the homeowner and our 4 guides) was a simple affair made of wood with no way to close the doorways or windows. They had some curtains that were all pulled aside that they must use in the rain. It was all elevated off the ground, the front about six feet and the back about two. It was divided in half forming two rooms running lengthwise. One room was apparently the living and sleeping space; the other had laundry hanging in it and appeared to be workspace. The living room had two hammocks hanging in it and that seems correct because the man said only he and his wife live there.

Just out the rear of the house and uphill about two feet was a covered area that contained the kitchen. On the end closest to the house was a fairly large stone and concrete oven. There were tables at standing height to prepare food and a table at sitting height at which to eat. There was also a hammock where the lady of the house was sitting.

Back on the main trail we continued further into the rain forest for a few hundred yards and then returned to the village.

The most attractive items in the little craft mart were carved tablets that have figures of local sights on them. There were about 6 booths with carver’s wares and in most of them the carver was working. Diana chose a fairly large on that has two parrots, a monkey and a toucan. Parts of the wood are completely removed making the carving fairly light considering its size. It’s ocoùma wood, the same one they get the oil from that has healing properties. The carver and his entire family posed for a picture (left) with Diana holding her purchase.

Traveler’s Note: One of the great things about digital cameras, besides those I gave you in my last report, is going into primitive areas and showing the subjects of your photos their own picture. This was true here for sure. Children are often pleased to see their picture, but here adults were equally eager to see the results. The carver from the next booth came over to see the picture I took of Diana with the other carver’s family. He got the biggest grin when he saw himself standing in the background of the shot. Often a big and somewhat shy smile was the response. I was wishing I had a battery-powered printer to give them a copy.

We stopped by the nicest building in the village the school. It also serves as the government offices here. School was not in formal session in honor of our visit, but there were still a lot of kids there for Diana to interact with (right). After a leisurely stroll through the village and the craft booths we boarded the tender for the trip back to the ship and lunch. We’re leaving here at 2PM.

As we sailed away from the little town several canoes of kids came out to bid us farewell (left).

At 3PM the Amazon lecturer gave a presentation on Manaus and Parentins, our next two stops both in Brazil.

The lead singer of the ship’s cast, Jen Mize, was tonight’s performer. She also did a solo show on the World Cruise and we were eager to see her again. She has a great voice and did not disappoint us in the least.

Tomorrow we arrive in Manaus for a two-day stay.

Dec 8 – Today and tomorrow we are in Manaus, Brazil. Manaus is the capital of the State of Amazonias. Manaus was founded in 1669 by the Portuguese and was a rubber boomtown from 1890 to 1920. It’s a city of 2,000,000 people in the heart of the Amazon Basin. After over 1,000 miles of small towns, villages and lots of just plain rainforest, it’s an amazing sight to sail around a bend in the river and smack into a large city with tall buildings, large factories and all the elements of urban development.

One really surprising thing here is the Teatro Amazonas (left). It’s a European style opera house that seats over 1,000. That in itself wouldn’t be surprising, but to find that it’s been here since 1896 when the city was very small and that everything in it was imported from Europe except the woodwork. Now that’s surprising. While the wood may be Brazilian most of it was sent to Europe to be carved and then returned to Brazil. The marble and glass are from Italy, the ironwork is from Scotland and the whole thing sets here in the middle of the Amazon rainforest and has for 110 years. The interior is beautiful and the acoustics are wonderful.

It has not been continuously in use for the entire 110 years. In the late 1800s Brazil had a monopoly on rubber production and Manaus was known as the ‘Paris of the Tropics’. Twelve very wealthy families, known as the ‘Rubber Barons’ paid for the opera house and their names are inscribed on the front. The greatest entertainers from Europe and North America came here to perform. This boom may have lasted longer but in 1876, Henry Wickham, a British adventurer, managed to smuggle 70,000 rubber tree seeds out of Brazil and take them to England. These seeds were germinated and then sent to the Far East to plant and formed the basis for very successful and much cheaper rubber source. By the 1920s, cheaper synthetic rubber put the entire rubber industry here out of business.

As the result, Manaus sank into decay and obscurity. Wickham became known as the ‘Executioner of Amazonas’. During this time the opera house was unused and fell into disrepair. It was renovated in small ways over the years but it wasn’t until the 1970s when Brazil declared Manaus a duty free zone that the city began to regain its former prominence. Coincidentally in the 1980s with the collapse of state funded institutions in Russia and the Eastern Block countries two events happened that made the opera house a very special place again. A Russian orchestra came to play there and loved it so much they stayed. A year later a Bulgarian orchestra came to play and also decided to stay. Now the opera house has a permanent orchestra made up of mostly Russians and Bulgarians that is the best in South America. The opera house was completely restored and is in wonderful condition today.

Our ship is docked at a floating pier to assist in docking in both high and low water seasons. It was built in 1906 and is still in use today. It’s connected to the shore by a long arm that has a roadway and walkway on it. During high water season that arm is almost level, right now it’s about a 20-degree climb at the steepest point. Riverboats of all sorts dock across the pier from the ship. (ms Prinsendam and a riverboat-right) When we arrived in the morning trucks and vans were on the pier loading goods of every type on them. Most of them are 2 or 3 decks above the water. They load cargo on the first deck and passengers on the 2 and 3 decks. They were loading produce and all types of dry goods all day long. The cargo has to be carried on one box or bag at a time because the configuration of the ships doesn’t allow for mechanized loading. People can travel for as long as 4 weeks to get to their destinations on these ships. The decks are completely open. They use molded plastic chairs like you can get for outdoor use in the US. The decks have hooks all along the ceilings. The passengers hand their hammocks from these hooks for sleeping. You have to bring your own food on board or buy it at stops on the way.

Our first venture from the ship was out to a resort on the edge of town. After a 10-mile ride we arrived at the Hilton Hotel & Resort. It’s a very nice place for sure. It has botanical garden like grounds, a small zoo, complete spa and a fantastic beach, clothing optional of course. We looked around and had lunch. These guys are great!! They make a very American style cheeseburger with one addition. They put a fried egg on top of the cheese. It was fantastic!! I wish I had taken a picture because it looked great also.

Traveler’s Hint: There’s a small advantage in traveling to areas of the world that have malaria. If your medical professionals are up to date they will not give you anti-malaria drugs, they’ll give you 100mg tablets of doxycycline. You take one a day starting 2-3 days before you get to the malaria area and from then until 4 weeks after you’re home. This has several advantages besides the obvious malaria protection. It helps you ward off any bacterial infections that may be passed around the ship and also prevents traveler’s diarrhea. I eat local food off the ship whether or not I’m taking it but taking it gives me an extra sense of security. You just have to be more careful about water, ice, produce and unpeeled fruit if you’re not on it.

After doing a little shopping in the very upscale shopping center at the resort we returned to town. We walked all over. We went to the opera house first. It is a very beautiful building. I forgot to mention before that they used tiles and other decorations from France. The Palace of Justice, their courthouse, is a colonial building directly behind the opera house. It’s in very good repair also. From there we walked to the handicraft market so Diana could see if she’s missing out on any local craft bargains. From there we went to the Mercado Adolpho Liboã (left). It’s a smaller copy of a famous French market that has since been destroyed. Looks very art deco in the manner of the Paris metro station. The ironwork was fabricated in Scotland.

From there we walked to the central plaza and saw the Nossa Senhora Conceicão Cathedral and the Custom’s House (right). The Custom’s House was built in Britain in 1902 and then disassembled, stone by stone, and moved to Manaus. Gives a whole new definition to pre-fabricated. There’s some talk of selling it to a hotel chain for use as a downtown hotel.

It was a hot, sweaty afternoon hiking around town. We headed back to the ship for a shower and some rest before dinner. We have a night tour this evening.

This evening we are boarding a riverboat to head out to Lake January. The lake is a nature reserve formed by the confluence of the Amazon and Rio Negro (Black River). When we arrived at the lake we transferred to small canoes (below-left) to search the lake for Caiman. They’re in the alligator family and some species get to be about 12 feet long. We’re searching for smaller, young caiman that feed earlier in the evening than the large ones. They do this to avoid being eaten by the larger ones. That’s right, they eat anything meat including each other.

The plan is that 10 of us will go with each guide, helmsman and caiman hunter. Our guide is in his late 20s but both the helmsman and the hunter are teenagers. The ride though the waterways of the lake was fantastic. There’s half a moon on a partly cloudy night and there’s enough light to see pretty well. The sounds are unbelievable. Insects and frogs joining in an impromptu concerto that rises and falls in seemingly orchestrated crescendos. Various groups chiming in like the sections of an orchestra. As we searched for the caiman the pilot would occasionally shut his motor off completely allowing us to hear the concert in its fullness.

When our hunter spotted a caiman he would use a flashlight to signal the helmsman to steer one way or the other, slow down or cut the motor off. When we got close to one he would lay down on the bow of the boat and reach down to snatch it up. He then gave it to the guide who would bring it back along the side of the canoe to show it to us and let us take pictures. We caught a small one first and then a large one, about 4 feet. They are about half tail. While we were on the canoe I was the only one who wanted to hold him. It was weird because they pretty much play dead when you have a grip on them. I relaxed my grip a little too much and he tried to get away. Fortunately, I was able to keep him under control.

Our guide knew we had a large one so he took it back to the transfer point, a floating restaurant, for others to see. Also, he wanted to make sure everyone would see on in case some canoes didn’t catch one. When we were in the lights of the restaurant Diana decided, at my urging, to get a grip on one (above-right). She was looking at it like it was from Mars but she did hold it.

After that we reboarded the riverboat and returned to the ship. All in all it was about a 3-hour trip and a fantastic experience. When we got back to the ship the cruise director had brought on a local folkloric show (left) so we rushed up to the Queen’s Lounge to catch part of it. I will have to admit that the dancers we’ve seen in Brazil, both this time and last time are among the most energetic we’ve every seen. I’m sure it’s due to the hot weather here, but the dancers wear the smallest costumes that modesty will allow. Some might say much less, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

Dec 9 – Our second day in Manaus we have booked an 8-hour tour that goes back down the Rio Negro to the confluence with the Amazon to view the ‘Meeting of the Waters’. Then we will go back to Lake January for some sightseeing on the canoes and a walk in the rainforest. After being there last night I’m anxious to see it in the daytime.

Once again we boarded a riverboat for the trip down the Rio Negro. The view of Manaus from the boat confirmed the fact that this is a big city in the heart of the Amazon Basin. We passed the floating gas stations (above-right) that service the riverboats. They not only float, but they are out in the open water, little islands of gas pumps. We returned to the Lake January floating restaurant where we boarded the small canoes for the nature trip. The lake itself is quite overgrown with water hyacinths. It looks more like a marsh with channels running through it. The floating mass of plants will support birds and some other small animals but a human would drop right through it (left). When we were here in high water season, large rafts of the plant were washing down the Amazon. The heavy water flow breaks pieces off the larger areas like icebergs off a glacier.

Lake January and its environs have small villages of homes on land and groupings of floating homes scattered here and there. There were birds all over, from large white egrets to small dark birds that nest in the floating islands of water hyacinths.

We saw several raptor type birds, sea eagles or hawks of some sort; I couldn’t identify them. Passing through one small village three small dugout canoes came out to greet us. Each canoe had two or three children in it holding animals for us to take pictures of or hold. They had Anacondas, Boas, caiman, turtles and sloth. I took pictures of several. One little boy held his sloth out to see if I wanted to hold it. I love being up close with animals so I took it (left). They have huge claws but they are so docile and move so slowly the claws are only good for grasping. They are like little children. They get a hold on you and just look around, very calm and serene. It was a lot of fun. Reluctantly, I have it back after Diana took a picture. We gave every kid a dollar, for which they seemed very grateful. At one stop, Diana held a little girl’s Macaws (right).

We saw lots of local fishermen setting nets or line fishing. One was on his way home (right) and stopped by our canoe to show us his fish. He had several species, one of which looked like a plecostmus; you know those sucker fish you put in an aquarium to keep the glass clean. Through our guide he told us that they were all very good to eat.

A little further on we stopped at a small group of floating homes for a closer look. As we were floating by a woman came to one of the windows (below-left). The guide greeted her and she invited us to stop and chat. She looked to be almost 70 and was very friendly. Through the guide she told us that they had moved to Manaus years ago but moved back to the lake after a very short time. Too noisy and dangerous in the city, she and her husband much prefer the simple life on the lake. Just on shore they had a small garden of manioc and other vegetables.

Manioc is the main starch along with rice. One species has a natural poison in it that repels insects, perfect for growing in the rainforest. When they harvest it, they peel it and then load it in a canoe filled with water and let it soak for days to remove the poison. Then they pound it and dry it to remove the last of the poison. The dried manioc is ground and used as flour for baking or cooking. They mix rice and beans and then sprinkle the flour over it. They have a small plot of sugar cane as well. Right next to the house they had a small floating garden of cooking and medicinal herbs.

Her husband came out to talk to us as well (right). He showed us the garden and talked about fishing and life on the lake. It’s a very simple life and they seemed to love it. In the background we could hear a battery-powered radio playing softly.

From there it was back to the restaurant for lunch. This is the same place we used as the canoe transfer point last night and today. It’s entirely open air with simple tables and chairs. Lunch was buffet style (below). They had rice, beans, manioc, salads (onions, green beans, beets, eggplant and tomatoes), beef stew, yams, arapaima catfish. the largest freshwater fish in the world and a type of cod found in the Amazon. The cod was battered very lightly and fried. The catfish was poached or steamed. Both were delicious. The zebra catfish is a large fish and it was served in big chunks of meat like a salmon steak. I put manioc flour on my rice and beans. When I asked the guide how much to put on he said that it varies by person, ‘but the more you put on the more it gets like cement!’ After he told me that I was very judicious with my application. For desert they had fruit and fried plantains, large harder bananas that are wonderful fried with a little caramelized sugar.


After lunch we reboarded the riverboat to head for the area where we were going to walk in the rainforest. The main attraction to see here is the large Amazon water lily (right). The leaves are huge and certain types of small birds build their nests on them to avoid egg snakes and other predators. It’s a whole separate ecosystem floating on ponds just off the lake. On the way there we passed through the Meeting of the Waters (below). This is where the Rio Negro (a black water river in the foreground) and the Amazon (a white water river in the background) meet. The Rio Negro comes from the north and the Colombian Shelf, one of the oldest rock formations on earth. The water is very alkaline (ph 4.7), very clear and very warm, averaging 87 degrees. The Amazon comes from the west and the Andes Mountains. The water is of normal Ph, about 7, very full of sediment and cloudy, and much cooler at about 80 degrees. For about 9 miles downstream the southern half of the river is cloudy Amazon water and the northern half is clear, dark Rio Negro water. The differing Ph levels and temperatures keep the waters from mixing.

An amazing animal lives in this environment, the pink freshwater dolphin. We saw several on the trip. The adults are a bright pink while the young are grey. The sides turn pink first then the top and face. They are very active in the meeting of the waters area because they fish in the black water and the fish won’t swim into the cloudy water. They use the Amazon water as a barricade to corner and eat fish. If only the fish knew they could swim into the cloudy water and hide. Ouch!!

Editor’s Note: I know, I know!! The Brazilian Rum is very good and they make this delicious drink with rum, sugar and limejuice. Tastes like limeade but packs a real punch. I have not been overindulging; the dolphins are freshwater and very, very pink! They are so unpredictable and don't really leap from the water so I could not get a picture of one. You'll just have to use Google to look them up. Actually, I’ve done that for you and included the picture I found on the right.

After that it was back to the ship for dinner and sailing. As our riverboat pulled into the floating wharf we passed a riverboat getting set to sail upriver (left, you will have to click on the picture to see the hammocks). The second deck had so many hammocks hanging from it that you couldn’t see through the deck to the other side. The first deck had cargo and some hammocks, the third deck had those molded plastic chairs. What a way to travel!

The ship’s cast performed a show of mostly Latin music this evening. Jen Mize, the lead singer has a very beautiful and versatile voice. This cast is by a big margin the best I have ever seen on a ship.

Tomorrow we are in Parintins. From what I’ve heard this is a very unique city.

To continue our voyage click here:http://r-d-am4.blogspot.com/2006/01/dec-10-to-dec-14-cruising-down-amazon.html

(c) Rodney Longenberger - 2005 All Rights Reserved