Our second day in Manaus we awoke to rain. Stands to reason we would have some rain in the rain forest at some point. We spent the time in the faculty lounge Jack reading and I worked on yesterday’s photo. They have been uploaded to the webshots page http://community.webshots.com/user/pins4 Jack had a really good time on the caiman hunt and was certainly in his element as there was a young man about 14 who was very apprehensive about the whole thing so Jack sort of took him under his wing and explained what was going on and felt like he really helped the boy to have a good time. It appears the young man is traveling with his Mom and had no company on the tour. The photos are quite good for nighttime. Jack is becoming a good photographer with the digital camera.
Today after lunch we went into town and have some great photos of the buildings and prettier things of a very dirty and crowded city. Manaus is the wealthiest city in all of South America, but you sure cannot tell from the city streets. The markets are quite interesting so you will see some photos of them and we took a taxi to a very large hotel complex recommended by the ship people and had a nice walk through a mini zoo, a shopping arcade and a lovely jewelry store (one of my favorite places to shop). We stopped at the bar for a cold beer and had some wonderful fresh cashew nuts, locally grown.
Manaus has some very interesting features: Oil refineries, bank towers, and bustling traffic. Did you know, Nokia, Samsung, Sony and LG have plants here? Yep, right here in the heart of the rain forest. About the only distinction I could see between it and your average Western capital was that I never saw a single person on a cell phone. I know this will be hard to believe but Harley Davidson builds cycles here too.
Everything about the city is tied directly and inextricably to the mighty Amazon River. If you want to travel to anywhere else in Brazil from Manaus there are two ways...fly...or take the river. For the people who call Manaus home the Amazon River is their highway to the world. The pier is in downtown Manaus and even it is the most unique we have experienced. It is a floating pier, built in England and dragged across the Atlantic and up the river. Now, some may think that a floating pier is no big deal....but you don't find them big enough to tie up cargo or cruise ships. The floating pier completely changed the life of Manaus! The Amazon River level fluctuates twice a year. Check the photo of the high water marks. It is impossible to build a fixed pier that could function efficiently with water level changes so drastic.
Just to give you an idea of the local travel. It takes 5 days for them to go “down river” to Santarem. We are going to do it in 1 day and 9 hours on the ship. But it takes them 7 days to get back home to Manaus fighting the current. They buy a space on an open sided boat, much like the tour boat, to hang their hammock, which becomes their bed and chair for the duration. Some cook their own food others pay extra and have food provided. The trip costs about $100.00, which is 200.00 Brazilian.
From what I can see in just 2 days, it is not so great to be a middle or lower class citizen of Manaus but they all claim they are happy at least the ones we can talk to.
We leave Manaus tonight at 11pm and arrive next port Santarem around 8 am on 12/29.

I borrowed this photo from the Internet because it is such a pretty sunset on the Rio Negro.

The City of Manaus

The City of Manaus in the state of Amazonia, Brazil
We arrived at our furtherest destination around 11 am 12/26/08. As we step outside onto the deck our first impression is Busy and hot. We stood on the deck watching Manaus, (man/ouse-stress on the last syllable, rhymes with "mouse"), is a most interesting city. It appears from a distance to be very old European in style and design, but, at the same time very Brazilian and colorful. I am looking forward to exploring it on our own tomorrow.
We are off on a tour this afternoon to the “Meeting of the Waters” where 2 distinct rivers meet and yet do not merge.
Manaus, in fact, is not on the Amazon River, but rather the Rio Negro River. The two rivers join together about 9 miles east, (down stream) from Manaus. Now, here is the cool part, .the Rio Negro is, as one might guess, black in color, and is much cooler in temperature than the Amazon River. Rio Negro is black because it drains a different part of Brazil picking up a lot of vegetation and travels over different rock and soil than the Amazon, so its silt is a different composition. The Amazon on the other hand is the color of milk chocolate. It is shallower than the Rio Negro so it is warmer, and it moves more slowly picking up vegetation matter that rots along with reddish soil that gives the water its color as it travels from the Andes Mountains. This is a aerial photo of the meeting of the waters that was provided for us on the ships computers. Down stream, as we approached Manaus, we could see the colors being broken up but still not mixing until much further down as the temperatures began to match.

Our tour consisted of a trip in a very narrow canoe into a part of the jungle that is a preserve to see many familiar and not so familiar birds, but no creatures other than some children who approached us in their canoes to have us hold their “pets”… a sloth, an anaconda and a couple monkeys. We were already warned to not be tempted so we were all good little children and obeyed. Next was a short trek through a jungle path raised on stilts to view some very large water lilies. These lily pads would put our South Carolina lilies to shame. The leaves are 3-6 feet in diameter and very strong. The flowers start out white with the male stamen being prominent, but by day three the flower is pink and all feminine. It then dies and reproduces another flower. We have some lovely photos I will upload tomorrow as Jack has the camera and he is off on an alligator (caiman) hunt this evening. So that is the new and different for today. Good night and more tomorrow.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day far away

The day starts as overcast but we are on the Amazon River – Chocolate waters flowing very rapidly. If there were rocks it surely would be called rapids. Our depth is 31 meters, around 100 feet. Christmas cheer reigns. The staff is humming Christmas Carols and Christmas wishes are everywhere. We have folks who are observing Hannukah and a few Kwanza. Small family groups are meeting in the various little areas exchanging gifts and the children are awaiting Santa who is due around 3pm after completing his journey around the world.

The scenery is a wonder but there is definitely a void in our holiday. Family and friends are missed even though new friends surround us.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve away from the familiar

The children onboard are showing their excitement and the adults are quite cheerful. After dinner we had a Christmas Eve service with a retelling of the wonderful story and Christmas Carols. We officially cross the equator around 11 pm.

There will be 3 post tonight as I try to catchup after Christmas. Just a few photos on webshots http://community.webshots.com/user/pins4

Land Ho!

After breakfast I walked outside and the heat has really arrived or should I say we have arrived in the heat and humidity. Our latitude is 1 degree north. in the morning. After the one class we wanted to attend on languages we went outside on the deck but in the shade. We are told to expect temperatures in the 90’s while we are on the river. Suits me!

Around lunchtime we started to notice the “muddy” ocean, the closer we come to the river the muddier it has become.

This afternoon, on Christmas Eve, we finally came to the coast of Brazil. The photos are of the mouth of the Amazon. http://community.webshots.com/user/pins4 The first is the north shore and t.he one far off is the south shore. It is truly a wide channel into the river. As I took the photos the water looked like milky hot chocolate. It is almost unbelievable the amount of sediment this Amazon puts out to discolor the ocean in this way.

The ship has slowed down to 14 knots from an average of 25 knots so all the passengers are happier.

Merry Christmas friends. The ship is quite festive and Santa is coming tomorrow afternoon after he has delivered presents to all the world. Aren’t we lucky?

We are sitting on the Equator as I write this

Life at Sea

Life at Sea;
This morning there is no doubt that we have left the Caribbean Sea behind as the color of the ocean waters is now a deep sort of Prussian navy blue. In class this morning we received a lot of information about the formation of the Amazon River Basin from the resident geologist. Last night again found us on a very choppy sea. He jokingly asked if we all experienced the “Ship Tectonics”. A geologists joke I guess. Anyway we are told now that the winter seas are always more “choppy” with lots of wind. Now they tell us! Tomorrow we cross the equator and it will be summer. Yeah, we shall see. Today is lovely though and we are thankful for the wind. Sitting in the sun is just a 1 hour activity unless you have leather skin and do not burn. Not only is the sunshine hot but very strong and clear, sunglasses are a must. I guess it is the same feature of no pollution in the atmosphere.

We are told when we are about 150 miles away tomorrow we will see the color of the Atlantic being changed by the Amazon. Instead of that deep Prussian jewel blue that we've been seeing we will see some green and muddy gold. The flow from the Amazon has so much volume that the fresh water from the mouth, in one day, would provide enough fresh water for New York City for 9 years. Think about that. The salt in the ocean is reduced up to 150 miles just from the fresh water from the river. It is mind-boggling. Here is another thing for thought: We are taking an ocean ship up a river. Well, ok, ocean tankers go up the Mississippi, but as Jack reminds me just past New Orleans not 900 miles. Yes, we will be traveling about 900 miles “up” the River, which runs west to east. So 900 miles up the old “Miss” we have Minnesota and the last 200 miles would have to be by canoe. YIKES!!!
We are anxious to get there not just for smooth water but just to fulfill one of our goals, on what Jack calls our "Bucket List", to see the Amazon and the Rain Forest. I cannot believe Christmas is just 2 days away.
No new photos today on webshots.

Barbados:
Did you know that George Washington left the United States only once? He was about 19 years old. His brother had asthma or some other respiratory ailment and he went with him to Barbados. They have restored and saved the house they stayed in. Also, George, while in Barbados caught smallpox during an outbreak, met the British head of the military, who taught him military strategy and studied the government structure. Well, he used the strategies in fighting the British and when smallpox broke out in the Continental Armies George Washington was immune so he could continue to lead. Our constitution reads a good deal like the Barbadian one which came first. Hmmmmm Divine Intervention?

Also are you aware that there is a connection with South Carolina and Barbados? South Carolina was settled by people from Barbados and our first 4 governors were from Barbados. They came into Charleston area. That was all new to us so I thought you might like to know it too.

Education, from nursery school thru college is free, as is health care. The literacy rate is 99.7% from age 15 and over.

The music is Calypso and Reggae but I think you already knew that. The people seem fun loving, conservative and very spiritual. The play cricket, which is the national sport. Many of them are employed in the tourist industry. Their old fashioned homes are called Wooden Chattel Homes. They are built on blocks so they can be moved in case of disputes with landowners. The homes have corrugated roofs and lots of Victorian type “gingerbread” trim. The colors are all brilliant and many are multi-colored

There are many Christian churches, from Anglican, the most prevalent, to Spiritual Baptists, Muslims, and Quakers are represented there too and 1 synagogue. The synagogue is the oldest one in the Western hemisphere. That seems like a very good fact given that we celebrated the first evening of Hanukkah last night, on board the ship.

We took a 45-minute ride to an animal reserve and Jack took some really nice photos. I was so surprised at the hilly terrain of Barbados. Most all photos are of the beach areas, which are lovely, but the hills and valleys are pretty too.

Back on board I realized how many photos Jack took so I started another album on Webshots. http://community.webshots.com/user/pins4

A quiet evening followed this 5 hour tour and we are now underway toward the Amazon. 1 day at sea and then we enter the Amazon River. Tomorrows lectures will prepare us for that adventure.
Good night I am really tired

St Barths:
We spent several hours on this lovely 8 square miles island. Imagine living in just 8 sq. miles. It is truly like a paradise but so small. There are 14 beaches on this very hilly island. Each beach is just a lovely as the next. French is the language of choice. It is a tax-free island but making a living is very hard unless you are a native. There are 2 gas stations and lots of “smart cars”. Children must leave the island to get an education after grammar school. How hard must it be to send your 12 or 13-year-old child to another place during the school year? There is neither unemployment nor major industry of any great import. Agriculture and tourist services are the main jobs. They are 53 % men and 47% female on this island. The major religions are Catholic, Protestant, and Jehovah Witness.

This, our second, visit to this little paradise was spent just walking around and enjoying the vistas. Some folks on the ship were upset that we are only on this island for 7 hours but I think they will be satisfied when they see just how small the island is, plus being Sunday not much will be available and even if it is the prices here are for the rich and double so with the dollar versus euro exchange rate. 1 euro = 1.40 us
We started to walk to the lighthouse, but Barbara gave up about half way there and returned to Main St. Check the photos in web shots for some lovely lighthouse vistas and to see the fake cannons. Jack was the only soul strong enough to brave the hill, so he had the place to himself. He said he went to put his foot on the cannon to steady himself to take a photo and the cannon surface gave. It was made of fiberglass over wood, but sure looks real.

Back onboard after lunch we had a very nice worship service. There is a retired pastor on the ship and they gave him 10 minutes notice to make a sermon. Short and strong was the result. We are having a meeting in the next day or 2 to prepare our Christmas service. I intend to go to see if we can come up with a choir. After worship we had an Enrichment Class to prepare us for Barbados, which covered history, culture etc, but that will come to you later after we have been there, tomorrow. Let me just say that it was lead by the Consulate Representative of Barbados who is traveling with us, and a professor who has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his work in compiling “Bajan” history and promoting Barbados. It was by far the most entertaining class yet. We are under way and going to pass by Montserrat, an active volcano tonight around 7 and will have view of it from the lounge at the top of the ship. We hope to make it up there for that too but must find time to eat, very important on a cruise, and be to our next class “The Ebb and Flow of Brazil’s Business Trends at 8PM. Classes are late because of the land trips today. So you see we have full days to do or to not do many things available.