Travel Blog #5

March 13 – 17

March 13

Today we cruised along the Amazon, our main reason for embarking on this remarkable journey. Amazonia, the world’s largest tropical rain forest, covers an area of 5.5 million square kilometers. It generates more than 20 percent of the globe’s oxygen, which is why people refer to it as the lungs of the planet. Sadly, this spectacular rain forest is disappearing at a rate of 1.5 acres every second to make room for cattle grazing and crop production.

The mighty Amazon was until recently considered the largest river by volume but only the second longest in length, trailing the Nile. We learned on this journey that recent GPS studies have concluded that the Amazon is actually slightly longer than the Nile, making it the largest and the longest river in the world.

Joelle, this latest-greatest-hot-off-the-press factoid is especially for you, just in case it comes up in Trivial PursuitJ. Speaking of Trivia, it has been an active and lively sport on this cruise. Those of you who know Ed and me, know that we’re embarrassingly bad at all things to do with Trivia. But some of our new friends here on the ship have talked us into coming and cheering from the sidelines. It has been great fun, which does not mean we’ll be joining you at Trivia in Sacramento, dear one!

We were usually in bed early, as is our custom. But a few evenings, we joined in on the various entertainment venues on the ship. Line dancing was one of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 14

Today we docked at Santarém, which was founded in the mid-1600s as a Jesuit mission. Having just sailed on this great river a day and a night to get here, we find it remarkable that those Jesuit priests made their way all the way in here that long ago.

Santarém is bordered by the Amazon and the Tapajos rivers, which run many kilometers side by side without mixing. The Amazon’s brown currents carry sediment from the Andes; the Tapajos water has clear, deep blue tones. Their eventual coming together phenomenon is called “the meeting of the waters.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we boarded a local boat to sail down a small tributary to a natural lake-like outlet called Maica, where we were able to observe close-up the local inhabitants and the wildlife that call the river home. The boat stopped along the way so we could try our hand at fishing for piranha. Nibbles, but no fish-on for us. We did see a party of bright pink dolphins, rolling around in the dirty brown river, quite a juxtaposition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the afternoon, we experienced what for us was one of the highlights of our entire trip. We were playing tai chi out on deck 5 facing away from the city (the deck is wide open, but covered), when heavy gray rain clouds blew in toward us from all three sides. The various deep and lighter shades of gray of the river and the sky spread out before us like an immense blanket. No one else was on deck, and there seemed to be nothing else in the entire universe, just Ed and me playing tai chi facing the infinite depths of gray. Tears stung my eyes as we made our way together through Sun 73 and the magnificent Yang 24 forms.

March 15

Another day cruising the Amazon. I find myself on our veranda a lot, staring out at the great expanse of water, knowing it will soon be only a memory trace, and so grateful to have experienced it.

Today was Formal Attire night on the ship. There have been three such nights during our three-week cruise. The dress code for the main restaurant on Formal Attire nights is a tuxedo or suit for men and an evening gown for ladies. We brought neither. So for prior Formal Attire nights, we have tried to hide out at the informal Patio restaurant.

Tonight, we decided to create our own special night. We ordered champagne and lobster in our stateroom, put on most comfy lounge clothes, and re-watched episodes from the first season of Downton Abbey. It was truly a magnificent night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 16

Our final stop brought us to the floating docks at the port of Manaus. Built by the English in the 1900s, the port was designed to accommodate the annual rise and fall of the river.

This morning, we ate breakfast out on a covered deck, as a light rain fell. Though we’ve been in the rain forest since crossing the equator on the 12^th, we’ve only experienced rain at perfect times, when we’re inside, engaged in playing tai chi on a covered deck, exercising or writing. And the temperature has not reached higher than the mid-80s. Pretty amazing!

After spending the day on the ship, we disembarked tonight to experience a Bach concerto at the world-famous pink and white Teatro Amazonas Opera House. This lavish structure has a dome of 36,000 vitrified ceramic tiles imported from Europe in the 1800s during the golden era of the rubber boom, all set in a mosaic of the colors of the Brazilian flag. The acoustics in this dazzling place were as perfect as any I’ve experienced anywhere in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 17

On our last day in Brazil, we booked a brief tour of Manaus before transferring to the airport to catch our flight to Sao Paulo and then back to the U.S. The fish market was quite an educational experience!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As our flight taxied down the runway to take off in Manaus, we read something interesting in an international newspaper. “A deadly and growing yellow fever outbreak in Brazil has killed at least four international visitors, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday (that was yesterday) warned travelers to get vaccinated or stay away… the virus has been spreading in several of Brazil’s eastern states (all of them we traveled to).” A CDC official warned that “the intensity of transmission was highly unusual and the risk to travelers is somewhat unprecedented.”

We had double-checked the immunization requirements two weeks before leaving and were told yellow fever vaccinations were not required. Hmmm…

All in all, this journey has been memorable in so many ways, and we are both ecstatic to be heading back to our desert casita together!