Amazon River
We are cruising the Amazon River; never thought those words would come out of my mouth. It’s hot and humid as you would expect being just 2-3 degrees south of the Equator and we would not trade this experience for anything. The Amazon is the largest river in the world by volume and by some definitions the longest. The Nile is a close second or first depending on how it’s measured. It flows through 6 countries including Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. It originates in the Andes Mountains in Peru.
The Amazon has been called the “river sea” because of its width. During the wet season, parts of the Amazon exceed 120 miles in width. It holds a staggering diversity of life, from freshwater dolphin to piranha fish and the Anaconda snake. It has accumulated waters from more than 1,000 tributaries and as you sail along you witness one of nature’s most fascinating natural phenomena; the Meeting of the Waters, where the dark waters of the Black River (Rio Negro) run side by side along the brown waters of the Amazon. Yes, it’s weird. The Black River is very acidic and has NO mosquitos. Cross over a foot into the Amazon and you better have your bug spray on the ready!
Brazil has an interesting history, unlike much of South America. In 1500 the Portuguese discovered and claimed the land that is now Brazil. Sugar was the first cash crop, then gold and silver, then diamonds, rubber, and finally coffee. Free labor was needed for each of these commodities, so the indigenous people were “recruited.” Many died from imported European diseases, and many from overwork. Next came other Europeans from Italy and Ireland as indentured workers, meaning that they worked off the cost of their transport to Brazil. African slaves were taken to Brazil for labor in numbers far exceeding those to the US. In the early 1800’s the entire Portuguese monarchy and nobility fled to Brazil ahead of Napoleon’s invasion of Portugal. Brazil is a country as large as the continental US with as much complexity and history.
Santarém
Marcello is our guide. He is studying civil engineering and takes us on our journey of panoramic Santarem. We start at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral which is not fancy at all. However; until a year ago the walls portrayed the history of Santarem in vivid wall paintings. The entire Cathedral was covered in painted stories. The citizens loved their painted Cathedral. The city puts on an annual festival and the governor decided the walls needed to be freshened up with a coat of white paint. The stories are gone, the church looks naked and the citizens now hate the governor!
We walked across the road to a major port to view the confluence of rivers where the clean, clear Rio Tapajos meets the muddy Amazon. It’s hard to believe that you are actually looking at two rivers flowing side by side and they do not mingle. One is blackish water with an acidic PH that inhibits mosquito growth and is cool. The other starts in the Andes Mountains and contains red sediment erosion which absorbs the sunlight. The result is two different waters in temperature, PH, mineral content, and clarity. For these differences, the waters mix after a long distance travel.
We visit the Town Hall Museum where the hated governor’s office was located. We found a kind of art deco painting of fish that you will see displayed in our home very shortly.
The highlight of our excursion was visiting the Casa da Farinha, an old cassava flour mill where local people once produced flour using traditional methods. It’s now an agricultural farm. We witnessed how latex is extracted from rubber trees, music and dance by the locals, how brazilnuts grow and are cracked, enjoyed many different fresh fruits and coffees and saw how the cassava flour was milled.
My father was an avid fisherman; his passion was not adopted by me. When I first read about piranha fishing, I just laughed. Later, I reconsidered it as a means to cruise to the ‘meeting of the waters,’ then to Maica Lake, and an opportunity to view nature from a couple of feet above water through the jungle. The journey on a small fishing boat through a beautiful Amazon tributary provided impressive photographic opportunities. Others were determined to catch dozens of fish. About 5 fish were caught, kept in a bucket and later released. Many two inch fish were immediately released by the anglers, mostly quietly and in disgrace. The trip was great with many species of birds spotted along with the elusive pink freshwater dolphin.
Parintins
Street Scenes
Because of the strong currents and the dry season low river level, our captain had to perform a couple of maneuvers just to get us close enough to tender to shore. We had to board a tender which pulled alongside one of the island boats which was docked. We climbed out of the tender and onto an island boat, walked straight through to the dock and finally the shore. The good news is there were no accidents. Our crew is amazing!
We are in Parintins to see a spectacular folkloric performance called Boi Bumba which means “Beat the Bull”. This annual event is Brazil’s second-largest celebration after Carnival, and like Carnival, this festival features ornate floats built by competing teams. Combining costumes, drumming and Amazonian, African and European rhythms, it tells the story of a resurrected bull. The music is heart-pounding, the costumes ane Carnival-style and the choreography makes you feel like you’re looking through a kaleidoscope. None of us could believe this little town could put on this gigantic Las Vegas style show, and this was just a portion of the entire production. All of the performers are amateur.
As we walked the town after the performance, we were approached by a tuk-tuk driver who offered a picture taking tour for $10. One of us thought that was a great idea and headed out. The other of us tendered back to the ship.
The air temperature was mid-90’s with very high humidity. The young man had a simple tuk-tuk with the seat not attached to the frame and thin sheet metal for the passenger foot rest. He insisted that I remain seated while another tuk-tuk driver assisted in pushing me up the steep hill at the onset of the ride. He spoke no English, and my Portuguese is nil. Never the less, he narrated the ride with overwhelming pride. We stopped ate the main stadium for the yearly Boi Bumba called “Bumbodromo.” At the stadium was a special exhibition on cleaning up and prevent plastic pollution in the Amazon River. Countless pieces were removed, cleaned, and incorporated into art. A classroom and learning material is used for teaching small children about the Amazon River. The problem of plastic pollution is common to ports around the world.
After an hour and a half, my tuk-tuk tour guide peddled me back to the river terminal. I was given limited dollars by my spouse and was only able to pay the driver $15. I felt really bad for the small tip. After taking a few more pictures behind the scenes at a market, I found my young driver waving the $15 proudly in front of his wife. It was a big deal for both of them.
Manaus
Street Scenes
It’s Sunday, so once again everything is closed and the rain is threatening so we take an excursion through the “Metropolis” of Manaus. Its prosperity comes from the rubber trade and was primarily built by the wealthy rubber barons. We drove by some historic buildings like the Palacio Rio Negro, a cultural center that was originally the home of a German rubber baron. And there was the opulent Opera House. Other than that, the “Metropolis” didn’t impress. We drove by the Mercado Municipal, a bustling marketplace that sells fish, produce and medicinal herbs and every kind of tourist trinket known to man.
We also toured the Brazilian Army Zoo, a sanctuary for endangered species such as jaguars, monkeys, sloths and numerous birds and fish. It was small and very inexpensive. Why is the Army operating a zoo you ask? There was no civilian authority taking care of injured animals and the government decided to offer money to the Army to nurse them back to health and house them until they were ready for release. Some will never be released so this is where they will live out their days.
Day #2 – Today we hop on a speed boat that takes us an hour down the Rio Negro to meet some indigenous Amazonians. They do not speak English and they do not wear clothes; however, today they did put on enough clothing to cover the important parts. Men have briefs and women are wearing leis that are meant to cover their breasts. There are 28 people in this tribe and they are a mix of 5 different ethnicities. We witnessed a traditional tribal celebration and they offered us a snack of fried ants wrapped in roti – yum! They live on the banks of the river in huts. They hunt and fish for food and they drink water from the river. Illnesses are treated with herbs. If you see a white flag flying, visitors are allowed in. If you do NOT see the white flag, and you do not want trouble, you best not get out of your boat.
Next, we’re taken to a rubber museum. Rubber had its boom in the 20th century. We saw how the wealthy barons accumulated vast fortunes and lived an extravagant lifestyle; while the rubber tappers (first indentured workers, then African slaves) dreamed of escaping but really had no way out. There were stories of the dangers they faced in their everyday lives. The rubber sap flows heaviest at 2 AM to sunrise, so the tappers have crude headlamps on their heads and venture into the Amazon rain forest in the dark. Some are killed by animals, some by indigenous tribes, and some by workers of rival rubber barons. The collected liquid is converted to a solid mass the size of a watermelon using a wood fire in a waterproof hut. The smoke kills the workers before age 40. The barons live in luxurious houses and even send their laundry back to Europe for cleaning because the Rio Negro stains their white undergarments and bedding a brown color.
Recife
This section is easy to write. We did not go to Recife. To reach the ocean from Manous, sailing took almost 3 days downstream with the current and under ship propulsion. The ships propulsion had to be limited due to the low Amazon River level. This caused us to arrive at the Recife region hours too late. Another missed port due to weather.
Salvador de Bahia
Street Scenes
As our guide explained, the city has a historic and a modern side. As we exit our coach, we see the Sao Marcelo Fort which sits in All Saints Bay on a bank of reefs about 980 ft from the coast. Previously, it served as a prison and was compared to Alcatraz because it’s surrounded by water and chances of escape were nil. Next, we see the 191 foot high Lacerda Elevator that links the lower and upper cities. This manmade landmark was rebuilt in the 1930’s with a number of art deco features.
We had lunch at a Brazilian BBQ which was out-of-this-world. I’ve never seen so many types of food; meats served from very large skewers, salads for miles, wheels of cheese, vegetables that I can’t even name and of course desserts. And no one spoke English; pretty funny trying to order drinks.
Our final stop was a brisk walk (and boy, did we need it) to the Barra Lighthouse. We couldn’t go inside, only able to walk around it. It was part of the fortress built to protect Portuguese colonists from Dutch attackers. It was surrounded by white beaches and green grass. There was a light breeze and shade and we could have stayed there for hours; however we had to return to the ship.
Rio de Janeiro
Street Scenes
Day #2 – It’s 6am and we’re ready to go. Again, rain is threatening. Our excursion is to Rio’s most famous landmark, Christ the Redeemer Statute and the Tijuca Forest. A cog railway takes us to the statue’s base. We travel through one of the largest urban forests in the world. This dense, tropical rainforest suffered from deforestation in the 19th century when much of it was cleared to accommodate coffee plantations. A century-long reclamation project planted more than 100,000 trees, and today the Tijuca Forest/National Park is a favorite spot for locals and visitors alike. The temperature drop while riding through the forest is amazing. Good thing too because the train has no A/C.
We reach the top of the railway station, then climb 220 steps to the escalator which deposits us to the granite-domed peak of Corcovaco Mountain, where Christ the Redeemer spreads its arms out in a welcoming embrace to the city below. Covered in more than 6 million soapstone tiles, the art deco statue is 98 feet tall and has an arm span of 92 feet. It took 5 years to build and was completed in 1931. One hand was struck by lightening so rods were installed in the fingers to prevent future strikes. The head and hands were built in France (not a gift) and the rest of the statute was built on site. If it wasn’t for all the selfie sticks, it would be emotional. Now it’s starting to rain. We can’t believe the rain has held off all morning. Now to descend those steps without slipping.
We went back to the ship to deposit some of our stuff, have lunch and pick up the Viking umbrella which is golf size. Good idea because it rained all afternoon. We walked the main street and felt very safe so veered off into smaller streets and alleyways. We were surprised at the crowds. It was a Thursday; why wasn’t everyone at work or in school? We tried to get iced coffee (rainy but still in the 90’s) but there is no ice in Brazil and no one understood us anyway. We were also surprised at how few people spoke English. We finally found a café with a menu that we could point to and had coffee’s and those little bread rolls made with cheese that they are famous for, yum. Walked some more. Found another café outside with an awning and had more coffee with pastry this time, yum. By now we’re pretty full and wet and head back to the ship to say goodbye to Rio.