Deep in the Amazon Jungle (kind of)

Tuesday – 10 March 2009 – Belem, Brazil

This cruise's last port call in Brazil is Belem, 90 miles within the Amazon Delta. Tides are 4.5 meters, and seasonal floods are a factor as well. Fortunately no one notices being underwater since the humidity and temperature year round is 86F and 86% respectively. Nevertheless the town which I visited after a half day jungle trip has a wonderful old feel—at least near the port. A huge market operates daily and for most of the daylight hours. One can buy bowling trophies, pans, strange looking fruit, lunch from hundreds of stands, smelly fish (especially later in the day), and attempt to understand more than obligato and nada. These are my entire vocabulary in "Brazilian*, not Portuguese", the guide on this morning's excursion said. Of course, "thank you" and "you're welcome" are two of the 4 magic words I learned from my mom. So 500 ball isn't bad. The guide, by the way, said when asked how refuse was dealt with in the isolated villages we passed in the jungle, "There is refuse collection three times a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, in the evening." The big piles of cans behind each small house which sat on stilts in the swamp may have caused some cognitive dissonance in me if I was the least bit cynical.

The morning boat ride was to such an isolated fishing village. We visited the school and then went on an hour long walk in the thick, muddy, spider and snack infested Amazon jungle, watched a man—said to be 67 years old but looked only 167 years old—climb really high up a tree, and I got my picture taken with Chiquita Banana's grand daughter. All in all a very nice day.

We sail at 8 pm this evening deeper into the Amazon delta system to circumnavigate Marajó Island, the largest river island in the world, a distinction I never really thought of before. We enter Breves Narrow tomorrow early morning and will navigate this narrow passage in Silver Cloud until after lunch, only to enter the Atlantic at the Macapa Pilot Station at supper time and then cross north of the equator line shortly after so that nobody's soup is spilled as ride over it. I plan to take lots more pictures from the ship in the Breves Narrows if I can find a place to put down the gin and tonic.

We proceed NNW along the top of South America on Thursday to arrive at 9 am at Devil's Island on Friday. Each of us will be issued a "get out of jail free" card and a visa for French Guiana.

*The language here in Belem must be difficult or there are cultural things I don't understand as the lovely tourist map of the town translates the heading for the city's hotels, "Meios de Hospedagem" as "Half of Lodging". This might mean only 4 hour lodging or very small rooms. Perhaps my friend Marc who is from Brazil can advise. [MB Note: After posting this entry, Marc did indeed help with the language. Meios is Portuguese for "Means" as Means of Lodging does make sense. Unfortunately, the translater of the brochure slipped a word in their Portuguese-English dictionary and looked up Meio. Thanks, Marc.]