Day 18 – 27th Jan
I was out of bed at 6.30 to the wonderful trill of the alarm. On with T-shirt, shorts and sandals – I was off to see if the sunrise was spectacular and check out the decks for wondrous insects.
Well the sunrise was spoilt by cloud on the horizon. The decks were wet from rain and it was quite blowy so the insects were fewer. I still found a number of big beautiful moths and some grasshoppers though.
Then it was time for tea. Having a cup of tea on the deserted rear deck is a delight. Everyone else is still in bed or inside. Outside it is warm with a great breeze. You can sit and watch the river bank slide by with its lush tropical rainforest and wonder about all the exotic creatures who, unseen, are watching us chug past. Very pleasant. An hour of peace and beauty followed by breakfast watching the Amazon and its flora. What could be nicer?
We had to queue for tender tickets to get off the boat, which was a pain. Then we were on deck watching Parintins slide into view. There wasn’t much to it really. It is a small town with a pink church and new cathedral. Its claim to fame is this big carnival that it puts on. Thousands flock from all around. It’s like the Woodstock of the jungle. They have a special arena for it called the Bumbodromo and take it very seriously. People descend on the town for the event in June! They sleep anywhere they can – they even hang their hammocks on the beach! The event seems to involve two bulls – a good bull and a bad bull – lots of dancing and huge colourful floats.
So, we hired pedalocabs and set off in the heat! Our pedalo guy had big thick legs and could pedal fast but I think he was glad to have a stop as he showed us the sights. Some were not worth stopping for, but we respected his need. It was bloody hot!
I took a number of photos of the architecture, people and wildlife. There were a number of bright yellow fly-catchers and vultures everywhere, vultures waddling down the street, lurking on buildings – all watching us intently, weighing us up – ready to pounce.
The interesting thing was that the town was adorned with colourful murals – a lot about the bulls. What struck me was that they all seemed to represent the Amazonian Indians and wildlife – that seemed revered while being systematically destroyed. People are strange, muddled and confused.
We stopped at a café for a beer (Liz had a fruit juice – more on that later!). We were at the seafront. There were birds and boats (all hung with hammocks.
then off to a rather obscure warehouse where they made and stored the huge floats used in the carnival. They were in various degrees of dilapidation but were amazing. We spent a happy hour, after bribing the guard to let us in, studying the archaeology of carnival. There were the remains of huge colourful floats with grotesque characters. They could move and were operated like giant puppets as they went through the arena.
Once again the themes seemed to revere the wildlife and Amazonian Indians. The very things they were destroying.
Santarem (Thurs 23rd January)
The city of Santarem was our first port of call. We were up for the sunrise again while the boat slid along the city seafront.
Once again, the ship was alive with insect life. I spent the first hour checking them all out and taking photos of exotic specimens.
We were all enthralled by huge vultures which circled above the boat sometimes buzzing the decks and appearing to swoop right at you.
Rather than touring the city or trekking the jungle we decided on a trip to Lake Maica to see the wild-life.
Following an interminable queuing for the tenders and fully coated in the double armour of gooey sunscreen and insect repellent (giving our skin a shiny, greasy look and pungent aroma) we transferred to small boats and set off. By now the sun was hot. On the boat the breeze was delicious.
We watched for dolphins but saw none. What we did see was lots of locals out travelling around in their canoes.
We travelled along a stretch of river which was a confluence of one tributary delivering dark clear water, and the rich brown chocolate that was the Amazon river. The two did not mix but strangely ran alongside each other. It was a strange sight. The terns and cormorants were diving into the waters after fish. Still no dolphins.
The lake was more of an oxbow. We slowly wended our way along surrounded by tropical rainforest. We could hear great numbers of squabbling parrots but not see them.
Then we pulled to the bank of the lake. There was a sloth up in a tree. Very exciting. Then we found two huge iguanas up in another tree. By the time we had finished we had a tally of two sloths, five iguanas and a number of birds – including ospreys.
We fished for piranhas (unsuccessfully) and then returned to the ship for lunch.
The local houses were built on stilts (because of the rising waters and had hammocks slung underneath in the shade. People either lay around in the hammocks or under the shade of big trees.)
They farmed cattle which could often be seen wading about in the water – probably to cool off. Fishing seemed to be the greatest activity.
After refuelling we decided to walk into town and boarded another tender. It was now afternoon and the sun was burning hot. We stepped off the boat and wilted. Deprived of the breeze the heat of thirty-seven degrees, coupled with humidity of at least one hundred percent (you could almost swim in the air). I took a few shots of local birds but it was too hot to do anything.
Walking into town was not going to happen so we walked around a little, visited a small market selling tat and (sadly) dried fish, and went back to the boat.
Day Whatever, (Yes – I’m losing track! – somewhere around 12 I reckon!)
We’ve arrived in Brazil
Brazil, land of colours, flair and samba, Pele, football and edginess. Brazil land of the nut and the Amazon.
We arrived at our pilot station at Fazendina in the early morning. We anchored off-shore while the pilot and Brazilian passport control came on board.
We rose at dawn to catch the sunrise and first sight of land. We ate our breakfast on the open deck. Six a.m. and it was warm.
The ship was festooned with insects – big moths, beetles, grasshoppers, bugs, water-beetles, strange insects with fossorial legs, dragon flies, butterflies. It seemed that the Amazon had come to us.
Later that day the temperature was about 30 degrees. We sat on deck and watched the lush tropical rainforest drift by as we headed up river. All day long the vegetation slid past. Excitement was in the air. It felt like the trip had really just begun.
The Amazon itself seemed to be made up of holy water – a rich brown – so thick that you could probably walk on it.
By the end of the day the light was golden honey making the lush vegetation glow.
Then the sun started to set! We sat and watched in the sultry heat of Brazil. Peered out at the thick jungle and imagined the teeming life living in that tropical paradise.
The sunset was wonderful.
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