Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Today we left the Amazon River behind. As we were motoring, yes motoring(it seems the MV in MV Explorer means Motor Vessel…no steam here) down the river we could see it getting wider. Now, wider is relevant right? 1000 miles up the Amazon at Manous the river was over 1 mile wide, according to my expert. Jack. From Santerem it was probably 3 miles wide and as the day progressed the shoreline got further and further away. Until, still on the river, the shoreline was not visible. We read somewhere it is at some places 30 miles wide. Right through the day and into night we are still experiencing the muddy look to the ocean from the outpouring of the waters of the Amazon. The sea is quite calm right now and we motor through rainstorms periodically but with our speed they don’t last long. Classes today were a craft class for Barbara, I have a really hard class schedule don’t you think? We made a cute box called a Wabi Sabi box with mat board and fabric. Jack went to “Caribbean Leftovers – Waves, Hurricanes and Oil Too” We watched another lecture on the television, as the room was quite crowded, on "Emerging Global Generations". Quite an interesting look into the values and perceptions that differ from generation to generation. We tried to get into the “Community College” class on “How Light Affects Health” but it filled up very quickly so we went to the lounge and read. The community college classes are taught by our fellow passengers and sometimes are quite interesting. The at sea days are quite full of classes and you can select which you want to participate in or let them go. It is not like real school at all. It seems there are always games and cards going on in some of the classrooms too. We did get about 1 hour to bake in the Equatorial sunshine. I mean it, 1 hour is about all you can take. The temperature is very deceptive: 82 degrees and a wonderful breeze as we are moving at a good speed so the sun does not seem so hot but it is strong. Tomorrow is another day at sea and then Trinidad. Rumor is we will be docking around midnight. We plan to stay up for the festivities. If I do not get to write tomorrow: WE WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Monday, December 29, 2008
The Port of Santarem, Brazil
We learned today that the people of Brazil gained their freedom, from a military regime, in 1985. They are very proud of the fact that they are self-governed. There are 200,00 people in Santarem. We saw much poverty or what we perceived as poverty, but many happy people. The language barrier kept us from conversations but our guide spoke very good English. He teaches Portuguese in the primary school. He has never been out of Brazil but is saving to travel to Connecticut in 2010.
We had an opportunity to see Brazil nuts and cashews as they grow. That is a photo, on the left, of a cashew nut hanging in a tree. Now we can understand why they are so expensive. We sampled about 20 fruits and Jack tasted the local sugar cane liquor-VERY POTENT- was the adjective!. Then our hosts showed us manioc, a root that looks like horseradish but it is a starch like potato. We watched how it is grown, harvested, peeled, ground, and the liquid, which is a deadly poison was squeezed out of it. Then they sift the damp flour to get it a uniform small size, roast it to dry and it is ready to eat. The webshots photos show all this. http://community.webshots.com/user/pins4 They make cakes, porridge, or sprinkle it on everything. It is tasteless, and the guide knows of no nutritional value he just kept saying a starch.
Our host then showed us his rubber trees, which he can tap for 150 years before the tree is “done” as long as it is protected from the termites. They harvest the latex 6 days a week for 6 months and then let the tree rest. I wonder if they too rest, as it seems they are always busy. The rubber tree is protected and caught cutting it down prison is your punishment.
The afternoon was spent at a lovely beach with 82 degree temp and a breeze. We are at the moment at a latitude of 2 degrees 24.8 south of the equator so the 82 degrees really seems hotter. We had a nice beachside lunch of local fish, rice, salsa and manioc. Coca Cola is a large bottle and 600 ml of beer served in a cooler that we would expect a wine bottle to sit in, to keep it cool.. Local residents of all skin tones surrounded us, and it was fun to watch the family dynamics, not much different than at home. Well, the children did seem to show more respect for everyone.
6:00 pm our time which is 2 hours ahead of home and I hear the motors starting as we prepare to leave our last port on the Amazon. We travel all night and will be out of the Amazon tomorrow night. I cannot believe that we have had the opportunity to fulfill a dream. How blessed we are! Next stop Trinidad.
We learned today that the people of Brazil gained their freedom, from a military regime, in 1985. They are very proud of the fact that they are self-governed. There are 200,00 people in Santarem. We saw much poverty or what we perceived as poverty, but many happy people. The language barrier kept us from conversations but our guide spoke very good English. He teaches Portuguese in the primary school. He has never been out of Brazil but is saving to travel to Connecticut in 2010.
We had an opportunity to see Brazil nuts and cashews as they grow. That is a photo, on the left, of a cashew nut hanging in a tree. Now we can understand why they are so expensive. We sampled about 20 fruits and Jack tasted the local sugar cane liquor-VERY POTENT- was the adjective!. Then our hosts showed us manioc, a root that looks like horseradish but it is a starch like potato. We watched how it is grown, harvested, peeled, ground, and the liquid, which is a deadly poison was squeezed out of it. Then they sift the damp flour to get it a uniform small size, roast it to dry and it is ready to eat. The webshots photos show all this. http://community.webshots.com/user/pins4 They make cakes, porridge, or sprinkle it on everything. It is tasteless, and the guide knows of no nutritional value he just kept saying a starch.
Our host then showed us his rubber trees, which he can tap for 150 years before the tree is “done” as long as it is protected from the termites. They harvest the latex 6 days a week for 6 months and then let the tree rest. I wonder if they too rest, as it seems they are always busy. The rubber tree is protected and caught cutting it down prison is your punishment.
The afternoon was spent at a lovely beach with 82 degree temp and a breeze. We are at the moment at a latitude of 2 degrees 24.8 south of the equator so the 82 degrees really seems hotter. We had a nice beachside lunch of local fish, rice, salsa and manioc. Coca Cola is a large bottle and 600 ml of beer served in a cooler that we would expect a wine bottle to sit in, to keep it cool.. Local residents of all skin tones surrounded us, and it was fun to watch the family dynamics, not much different than at home. Well, the children did seem to show more respect for everyone.
6:00 pm our time which is 2 hours ahead of home and I hear the motors starting as we prepare to leave our last port on the Amazon. We travel all night and will be out of the Amazon tomorrow night. I cannot believe that we have had the opportunity to fulfill a dream. How blessed we are! Next stop Trinidad.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
A Day on The River
How quickly it has become the river instead of The Amazon. We see “pieces” of Rio Negra, clear dark patches in the chocolate waters. It is still resisting fitting in or blending, much like many people. WHOA!!! I am getting way too philosophical here!
The ship is cruising in and out of little rain showers and folks are moving from sun bathing to hiding under the canopy and back again. It is almost like we cannot waste any ray of sunshine.
The Enrichment classes this morning were The Amazon River Dwellers. These hardy self-sufficient people only need money to pay for gasoline or kerosene for lights. Since there is no winter here, only rainy season and dry season they have no need of heat. All the river people are what we could call squatters. They find a place they like and build their home even though the government owns the land. They are so far away in the jungle that the government people never bother them. For money they work collecting rubber sap and Brazil nuts. Tomorrow we will get to visit one of the villages of the River People and see their homes close up and personal.
Jack chose to go to the River Dwellers class while I went to my second watercolor class.
The first class was watercolor on wet paper and we created a waterfall. Me, the one who can't draw. I really surprised myself!! This teacher claimed everyone can draw. Well, here is my result. Not too bad for a first effort. Today’s class is Watercolor Batik. I was intrigued, as to me batik means fabric so I had no idea of the watercolor part. The theme of the work is “The Amazon in My Eyes”. I tried for shady forest and a large butterfly! We had to draw the picture then sandwich a piece of waxed paper between it and a plain paper. Using a ballpoint pen we went over our lines, very hard, to transfer the wax to the sheet underneath so the pa
int will not stick to the waxed lines. Then a pale green wash over everything and then the details. Here is the result. Really good refrigerator art!! I have surprised myself and am looking forward to more art classes.
Later in the afternoon we had our preparation class for Santarem, our next port. (SANTA-rem) emphasis on SANTA. It is a form of Saint Irene. We heard of the languages and culture of the area. It is so much nicer to know a little of what to expect. They tell us what type of apparel is proper, if it is safe to wear our jewelry or may cause some jealousy in the poorer peoples. We are told that it is considered rude to photograph someone with out asking his or her permission and, if they agree, it is polite to show the photo on the digital camera. These people do not expect to be paid for the photo as the people in Panama did. No cruise has ever prepared us for a port the way Semester at Sea has.
The ship is cruising in and out of little rain showers and folks are moving from sun bathing to hiding under the canopy and back again. It is almost like we cannot waste any ray of sunshine.
The Enrichment classes this morning were The Amazon River Dwellers. These hardy self-sufficient people only need money to pay for gasoline or kerosene for lights. Since there is no winter here, only rainy season and dry season they have no need of heat. All the river people are what we could call squatters. They find a place they like and build their home even though the government owns the land. They are so far away in the jungle that the government people never bother them. For money they work collecting rubber sap and Brazil nuts. Tomorrow we will get to visit one of the villages of the River People and see their homes close up and personal.
Jack chose to go to the River Dwellers class while I went to my second watercolor class.The first class was watercolor on wet paper and we created a waterfall. Me, the one who can't draw. I really surprised myself!! This teacher claimed everyone can draw. Well, here is my result. Not too bad for a first effort. Today’s class is Watercolor Batik. I was intrigued, as to me batik means fabric so I had no idea of the watercolor part. The theme of the work is “The Amazon in My Eyes”. I tried for shady forest and a large butterfly! We had to draw the picture then sandwich a piece of waxed paper between it and a plain paper. Using a ballpoint pen we went over our lines, very hard, to transfer the wax to the sheet underneath so the pa
int will not stick to the waxed lines. Then a pale green wash over everything and then the details. Here is the result. Really good refrigerator art!! I have surprised myself and am looking forward to more art classes.Later in the afternoon we had our preparation class for Santarem, our next port. (SANTA-rem) emphasis on SANTA. It is a form of Saint Irene. We heard of the languages and culture of the area. It is so much nicer to know a little of what to expect. They tell us what type of apparel is proper, if it is safe to wear our jewelry or may cause some jealousy in the poorer peoples. We are told that it is considered rude to photograph someone with out asking his or her permission and, if they agree, it is polite to show the photo on the digital camera. These people do not expect to be paid for the photo as the people in Panama did. No cruise has ever prepared us for a port the way Semester at Sea has.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, December 26, 2008
The City of Manaus
The City of Manaus in the state of Amazonia, BrazilWe 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.
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
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