Floating on a cloud up the Amazon.

[drron29]

 

 

[jpalbny]

Nice!

 

Thanks for all the work you're putting in to share your trip with us... Enjoying the chance to see all of these places. The Amazon River cruise would probably be too long for us to take now. So, glad to be able to live it through your pictures and descriptions!

[RachelG]

Wow, really enjoyed hearing about the trip and seeing all the great photos.. Like the food picas lot. We stayed at the Barbados Hilton a few years ago. Great room, but we definitely went elsewhere to eat.

[drron29]

Re: Up the Amazon Without a Paddle.

 

And still they continued-

 

But sometimes we were being photographed-

[drron29]

So the last set of photos from the narrows.I hope I have conveyed what an absorbing day it was.

 

 

The barges-this one had 80 truck trailers on board-

and then an old fish trap-

 

But most of all it was the kids-

[drron29]

At the conclusion of an absorbing day I went up on deck for the sunset.There was a lot of grey sky and smoke haze but that made for some wonderful colours-

 

We had dinnerWith 2 English couples.It appeared that there were more passengers from the UK than USA.Again a pleasant evening followed by a deep sleep.When we awoke we were in the Amazon and the scenery had changed-

[drron29]

As became usual there was a lot of smoke haze around the Amazon.As we approached Santarem we noticed this-

 

 

Yes a meeting of the waters-not the famous one at Manaus.At Santarem the clear waters of the Tapajos river.They also flow side by side for a considerable distance before mixing.In fact the meeting of the waters happen with many of the tributaries of the Amazon.

So today I have seen the breadth of the Amazon.It is a much mightier river than I ever imagined.I have seen a meeting of the waters and with the pink dolphin sighting yesterday I have acheived my aims for this cruise.The rest is a bonus to be enjoyed.

Next-Santarem.

Edited December 26, 2012 by drron29

[drron29]

So we docked at Santarem.There any idea that this was a cruise of remote areas went when behind us was this-

 

The AIDAvita that can carry 1266 passengers.Caters for younger Germans but is part of the Carnival Group and comes under Costa cruises-I wonder if the pax know that.

Despite that there is wildlife right beside the ship-

 

Yes another pink dolphin.There were again both grey and pink dolphins who put a show on for about 30 minutes.This is the only time I had my camera pointed in the right direction.I deleted about 50 shots of Amazonian water.

The tour of Santarem was of the cultural highlights again so we passed.Unfortunately the dock was over a Km from the city centre which meant we really didn't want to leave the ship.So we had a nice lunch on the ship with our friends from Vermont and joined them again for dinner in Le Champagne.The 2 of us had the rack of lamb for mains.The complimentary red was disappointing so the Maitre'D brought us a bottle of an Italian Cab Sav-it really was a perfect match for the lamb.

Tomorrow we will be in Boca De Valeria.That next.

[drron29]

Boca De Valeria is a collection of small villages where the Rio Valeria meets the Amazon.There is no paid tour today you just go ashore and do as little or as much as you want.There is a fair bit of discussion amongst the passengers whether this is a real village or just one where everyone comes in for the day a ship calls in.I thought it was a real village though probably some extra kids for the day.

So after breakfast we go ashore by tender.Even then there are canoes waiting-the theme for the day is a picture,a dollar.Couldn't resist this little fellow-

 

The sloth was a real character!Once on shore you are greeted by a whole lot of kids-

 

Most of whom know 3 words of English-money one buck.There were mainly children,some in traditional(?) dress holding sloths,birds,snakes,caiman,monkeys and the most distressing was a log covered with the hide and head of a jaguar-that I could not photograph as it should be discouraged.I had no hesitation giving out my dollar bills even though I got shouted at by a woman passenger who accused me of child exploitation.As 10 cruise ships per year go up the Amazon and some may not stop here I thought that was a pathetic argument especially as the woman still took photos but didn't pay.

Now there were some crafts for sale-

 

But most of the activity was the kids with the adults watching on-

[drron29]

here are some of my exploititave photos-

 

This little girl had been ignored by most and was crying when I came back wanting to get out of her costume.She soon brightened up as I handed over my dollar.mum of course very quickly had it in her hand.And this next one was standing a little away from the crowd.After I took her picture she gave a little dance of joy as she ran to dad to give him the money-

 

More to come.

[drron29]

The village certainly isn't up market-

 

 

I did open my wallet.I was in the room at the same time my accuser was and once again noted her tightness.

Again notice the satellite dishes-

[drron29]

At this next house you can see the fellow that lives there talking to a group of passengers.I paid up my dollar and went in side.He had many books-most were a pictorial on Amazon Owls signed by the author-apparently the fellow helped in some way and was paid with signed books.Didn't have the heart to tell him that people interested just in owls are in pretty short supply.

 

He was very proud of his new freezer and showed me it's contents,unfortuately 2 litre bottles of Coke,Sprite and orange Fanta.This was more of an argument for not giving the kids money as this is what it normally buys.The next place I thought would be popular but then we could get it back on the boat for free.

 

Still more to come.

[drron29]

There were paths leading to other villages-

 

And evidence that the village indeed was being used-

 

The poultry must taste good being fed on mangoes-

 

But this fellow would just not take my advice that it was only a couple of days to Thanksgiving and he should take off-

[drron29]

All in all an interesting stop.When we got back to the ship we noticed a lot of canoes at the stern-

 

This cruise was the second since the Cloud had been in dry dock.The old pool furniture,carpets etc were being given to the village.As well we later learnt they also supplied them with cereals and other healthy food alternatives.Well done Silverseas.

At Boca the banks of the Amazon were different to what we had seen up until now-

[drron29]

Now you might notice something in the picture of the Cloud anchored off Boca-

 

Yes another meeting of the waters.So we then started for Manaus.That day we came last at Trivia so had to go to the bar and down a couple of mojitos.Once again we had dinner with our friends from Vermont.The quail stuffed with spinach and foie gras was delicious.

Now some of the scenery as we headed for Manaus-

 

[drron29]

And then as we got close to Manaus first the mixing of the waters and then the meeting-

It was Thanksgiving as we steamed towards Manaus.I doubted we had much to be thankful for with the temperature hovering around 40C with humidity approaching 100%.As we got closer to Manaus the more evidence of industry we saw.Also the smoke haze was now added to with industrial pollution.This is not the glamorous spot in the centre of the Amazon.

[drron29]

Ships left high and dry after the last wet season-

 

Evidence of the military presence-

 

And more industry-

 

And it is a major hub for river traffic-

[drron29]

Arriving at the floating dock we saw these-

 

Yes a lot of young Germans on the Aida-they changed passengers here-and the Semester of the Seas with a large group of young Americans from the University of Virginia.

From the dock there was this nice old building-

 

And a view of the first bridge over the Amazon-

 

Some of the housing was basic-

[drron29]

There was also a local vessel which cruises the rivers-

 

But the most impressive feature is the dock itself,as I said it is floating and this is why-

 

We are at the end of the dry season so the river level is low.You can see how far it rises.This truly is a majestic river.And to end this post there were a few up market vessels-

 

We decided to explore Manaus indepently.The distances weren't great,admission prices low and if it wasn't for the heat and humidity it would have been fine.To get from the ship to shore you had to take a port shuttle to the passenger terminal dodging the freight traffic.The port is just a remnant of it's glory days a century ago but there was one restored building-

[drron29]

Out on the street you had a major bus terminus and street stalls-

 

Interesting buildings-

Some things appeared out of place-

 

But kids are the same all over the world-

[drron29]

The main feature in Manaus is the Opera house-

 

[drron29]

There were some fine buildings around the Opera House-

 

 

 

 

Not all buildings showed signs of maintenance however.

[drron29]

 

This was in fact a shoe shop.Rojaan went into a few but unfortunately it seems no woman in Brazil wears larger than a size 8 shoe.We also called into the Carrefours supermarket.They had a nice display of truck tyres near the checkouts.So we continued back detouring via the cathedral-

 

The bananas at the fruit stalls looked decidedly past their best-

 

But the beer service seemed appropriate for the climate-

 

Back to the ship and we were totally exhausted.Now I sweat-just lets say today I was doing an impression of Niagara Falls.A lot of locals commented.So it was a cold shower and relax for a while.

[drron29]

Another happening today was that we got soft toilet paper back.Up until now we had really rough paper ?cost cutting.For the last 2 days they had been working in our corridor on the sanitation equipment.I suspect the new paper was clogging the system.So perhaps another great cost saving idea.

Tonight was the Thanksgiving dinner and again we were with our friends from Vermont.I started with beef tartare and then of course the traditional turkey dinner.The galley had prepared a special Thanksgiving cake which everyone shared later-

 

 

 

I even went the whole hog and had pumpkin pie.I still dont get why people like it.Rojaan was wiser and had the chocolate dessert.

 

Unfortunately today we found out that instead of spending 2 nights in Manaus and then steaming up the Rio Negro to Anavilhanas,where there are multiple islands and smaller channels, we will be spending 3 nights in Manaus due to a lack of fresh water.The waters of the Amazon are much too turbid to be treated by the ships equipment.

So next-the rest of our time in Manaus.

[drron29]

We are now spending 3 nights in Manaus rather than 2.Had i known this I would have tried to spend 2 nights at a jungle camp.The tours offered were not that inspiring and costly.The only one I had considered was one to a place where they fed pink dolphins.However from Manaus it was now a 75 minute ride in an uncomfortable boat each way.I decided against it.

We therefore considered getting a free shuttle to a jewellers at one of Manaus's leading resorts or using the tour company at the passenger terminal to arrange a cheaper tour.

 

Nature however decided for us.I woke on the Friday with my left foot swollen,red and painful.gout had once again struck.Funny how cruises do that-and I reject the accusation of too much alcohol and rich food.

This day I had ordered the Prime rib for lunch whilst Rojaan ordered the Asian seafood stir fry.However it was spicy so we swapped-the wine waiters from the second day knew Rojaan's preference fo a dry white so she was always offered a sauvignon blanc or pinot gris no matter what the complimentary wine selection was for that day.

 

Dinner was with our friends from Vermont and our new Scottish friends.Every night the women are escorted to the table arm in arm by the Maitre'd or a waiter.this night my favourite waiter,Cherry,spied us walking in,rushed over and so I was escorted to the table as well.Have I told you I fell in love with Cherry?

Tonight i started with the beef tartare and then had the prime rib-

 

Rojaan started with a trilogy of salmon and then had the scallops-

 

We both finished with the cheesecake-

 

After dinner we went to the show-the marriage game.really was quite flat.my new Scottish lady Pat and I had volunteered ourselves for the show.after all we were both married but it was felt as it was not to each other we were not eligible.I have no doubt we would have livened things up.

Next-more excitement in Manaus.