Day 45 - February 17, 2008 - sailing the Amazon River

Entering the Amazon photos
Yesterday, we crossed North of the Equator about 4pm. Today, we crossed back South again. About 4am we entered the brown water of the Amazon River and we were 125 miles from the mouth of the river out in the Atlantic Ocean. Amazing. The Amazon is 200 miles wide at its mouth. There is an island in the mouth of the river, Marajo. It is the same size as Switzerland. We had to crossed the Equator to get around it and into a 10 mile wide channel that is deep enough to allow us into the river. The Amazon Basin is about the same size as the continental United States. It is a whole lotta water! We saw whole trees zipping by in the current as we entered the channel. In the early afternoon, we dropped anchor at a little resort-looking village called Macapa for a Technical Stop. That means that no passengers can get off the ship. We had to pick up a pilot and get cleared to go up the river by local Customs and Immigration officials. We were all in the Big Screen Movie, Martian Child, when the anchor came up so we must have gotten clear ok. At Macapa, we got buzzed repeatedly by small speedboats. That was weird.
At 7am, we were to begin our entry to the Amazon River with commentary by Terry Breen in the Observation Lounge and the open decks. We were not going to be suckered into that again. Clay went up to Observation Lounge after his walk, but Debbie and Margie missed nothing by turning on Channel 2 in the cabins and watching from the balcony. Terry talked for about an hour about nothing much, because there was nothing in sight! Just a lot of brown water and blue skies. Then there were the floating trees and logs and other plant life being flushed out.
So, it is Sunday and we only have 2 Sundays left onboard! Reality will be upon us before we know it. Yikes! The plan was to get up late and have special breakfast in Compass Rose. Margie awoke with a fever and stayed in her room. Debbie woke without a voice but felt a bit better. Clay is still healthy against all odds. Hurray! Clay and Debbie went to Compass Rose, no one had the champagne though. Debbie had Eggs Benedict (plural) and Clay caused a "situation" with his request for sausage patties, not links. We finally got what we ordered though. The man at the next table ordered Eggs Benedict too and he only got a singular egg. They told him if he wanted more than one he had to order 2 or a double. Debbie and Margie tried weeks ago to explain the whole singular/plural thing to them, but apparently it is part of the whole cost containment program aboard. Here's the thing though, if 1 day a week you put out a sign that says Eggs Benedict (notice the 'S'!) then that means 2 eggs already. Now, you can always order Egg(s) Benedict in Compass Rose any day of the week for breakfast. You can probably order it from room service and LaVeranda too, though we haven't tried. Then, well OK, maybe you need to specify one egg or two, but if the sign has an s, for eggs, plural that is at least 2 eggs, not 1 egg. Anyway... Debbie saw a single small dolphin (grey with a fin) jump clear out of the water from the window by our table. Debbie and Clay walked back to the aft deck at Horizon Lounge to check out the gull-like birds that were following the ship and fishing beside us. There must have been a hundred of them back there of at least 2 or 3 different kinds. When we first walked out, there was an enormous black moth, bigger than your spread hand, flapping against the ceiling trying to find a way out. He finally made it, at least to the next deck up and hopefully off the ship.
Debbie and Clay went to Terry Breen's 9:45am lecture and then back to the cabin. Margie had moved into our cabin so she could have her bed changed today. We arrived right after she had gotten back in her room and Aida was in ours. Margie and Debbie wanted to take a nap before lunch. With such smooth river sailing they both almost slept right through lunch! There was an American BBQ up on the Pool Deck, but it is so humid that Debbie said it hurt her to breathe and it was making Margie cough more, so we decided to stay indoors. We went to Compass Rose. Margie was amazed at the people who told her they had missed her and hoped she was better. Yesterday at lunch, a woman came to our table in LaVeranda and asked Debbie how her daughter was doing. Debbie told her she was the daughter, what? Clay walked back to the table and that moment and said louder, She is the daughter. The woman asking, laughed and said nevermind. The parents and grown daughter sitting at the next table, said, did you hear that, she is the daughter. Oh my God! It is possible that we have become characters! But, the point here is that Debbie looks old enough to be her own Mother?!? So, for the rest of the afternoon after the movie, our port side balconies were in the shade and other than the humidity it was pleasant and interesting to sit out there and watch the shore line go by. We saw some houses, some birds, and some people in canoes. We passed a small boat with 4 guys in it just waving and yelling. Hope they didn't need help because we didn't even slow down. We are passing through a whole maze of islands here. It should be dark in about 15 minutes by what they tell us. Terry said the sun pretty much always rises and sets at 6am and 6pm. Tonight is Country Club Casual. Since we are of unanimous opinion that the menus are pretty bad these last few days. So, we are planning to go up to LaVeranda and try out the Argentine Steakhouse/Churassco concept. We haven't heard anything about it yet. More later.
Debbie got her Doctor's bill today. $103.60. Diagnosis: Bronchitis. Visit was $90. Robitussin Chesty Syrup was $10. Sudafed Tabs (12) was $3.60. They must have forgotten that they also gave her some really awful throat lozenges. Since she can't keep one in her mouth long enough to find out if it helps, just as well. They are called Strepsils and Debbie says they burn her mouth. Clay says one side of his throat is starting to feel scratchy. So, he took one of the lozenges. It is unanimous, they are nasty.
Tonight we have to move our clocks back one hour. Ugh! Tomorrow we will anchor at Alter do Chao from 4:30pm to 8pm. Pasted below is the RSSC's website information from the Tour Desk for Alter do Chao.
Independent Exploration
Duration: Varies.
Walking.
Code: ALT-3636
The ship will anchor off Alter do Chao and you will proceed ashore by ship's tender. Upon arrival at the wooden pier located right in front of the main square, you can walk at your leisure one block up (approximately 150 feet) to the Arariba Shop which houses a small collection of indigenous arts and crafts from the area, some with historical significance on display and some for sale.
You can also explore the open-air fair for Indian and regional artifacts at the local square. There is good swimming here in the fresh waters of the Tapajos River for those who want to spend their time more leisurely. On this island you can also venture into the Amazon jungle on foot to explore the wildlife and see the many different species of plants that grow here.
Please note: The Center for the Preservation of Indigenous Art Culture and Science is closed until further notice.
So, not a busy day tomorrow. Plenty of time for people to rest and heal. Not sure if we will try to walk in the jungle or swim. It depends on how everyone is feeling tomorrow.
All of us did eat at the LaVeranda Churassco along with the same gentleman that accompanied Clay and Margie to Latitudes a couple of nights ago. The food was good and certainly plentiful. We started with a mix of cold and hot appetizers that included some local foods like manioc and empanadas. We then moved onto the meats that they carried around the room on skewers. They had at least 2 kinds of sausages, filet mignon, lamb, pork ribs, chicken and lobster. They had side dishes of french fries, rice or onion rings. They also walked around with garlic bread on big skewers. The food was good. The ship was a little wobbly though in the dark and the big skewers seemed a little more dangerous than they had on land.
Margie and Debbie are trying to stay up for a Liars club with the Captain, Cruise Director, Asst. Cruise Director and Social Hostess at 10:45 in the Horizon Lounge. We do turn back our clocks this evening, so they will have an extra hour to recover from the late night.
Entering the Amazon photos