Belem, Brazil - THE AMAZON

All I have to say is WOW! The Amazon jungle is the coolest place I have ever visited. It was like my childhood imagination gone wild and come true - sort of like Tarzan or Indiana Jones, but real and tangible. I loved it.

 

Each day as we sailed closer to the Amazon, the water changed colour. A few days before reaching the river, we had a swim call and the water was so clear and blue, that with my goggles, I could see the ship’s hull and a shark swimming beneath us! By the next day the water was a dark blue and the following day it was a murky green. The Amazon itself is a muddy green and brown. The first sight of the river was a bit of a shock; it looks EXACTLY like the Fraser River back home. I was a little disappointed at first. I’m not sure what I expected, but I didn’t think it would look like the river in Richmond. The deeper we got however, the more distinct it became. It is a very impressive body of water.

We were ahead of schedule arriving to Belem, so before we could dock we anchored in the river overnight. The anchorage was an “at risk” area as there have been several pirate attacks reported around Belem. These kinds of pirates do not have eye patches and wooden legs. They come aboard ships to steal goods and electronics, or worse, hold a crew hostage for ransom. We prepared a piracy plan and deployed full night watches covering all the ship’s decks. We also kept all lights on and flashed a powerful beam light around the ship every few minutes. Although it was quite serious at the time, we did joke a lot about going on ‘pirate watch’. Unfortunately, Johnny Depp never turned up! Scarily, while we were anchored there was a pirate attack on a cargo ship nearby. We were very lucky.

Belem itself is a great city. It is home to the largest open-air market in all of South America. Everyone bought a hammock. They are SO comfortable to sleep in on the ship. We also bought jewellery, crazy hats and handmade leather sandals. You could uncover all sorts of treasures in the market. Of course, we were drawn to the food section. About a hundred stalls with rice, fish, chicken, salads and beans sold all-you-can-eat for less than five dollars. What a deal and it was delicious! A couple of us braved the fish market. Hundreds of varieties of fish caught in the river were being chopped and sold. Although it smelled DISGUSTING, it was pretty cool to see.

The port program was the best time of our stay in Brazil. We ventured off on a small tour boat for an overnight trip down smaller sections of the river. Our first stop was a small island that was part jungle, part small community. Our guide (who had lived in the jungle among the Yanomamo tribe for ten years) led us on a hike through the luscious trees. It was SO COOL. As we tramped through the jungle he informed us about the various medicinal properties of the plants we passed. We picked fallen mangoes from the ground, plucked star fruit from the trees and ate lots of Brazil nuts. There was so much edible fruit and plants in the jungle and it was all delicious.

We hiked a little further and discovered a couple of baby parrots perched in the bush. We took turns holding them and one even climbed on shipboard director’s head - very cute. The guide found a tarantula on the forest floor and we each took turns holding it. Surprisingly, although I was more scared then I thought I’d be it was actually pretty gentle.

There was one section of the jungle where our guide made us sprint through the trees. We had to run because it is the season for Brazil nuts to fall from the trees. According to legend, Brazil nuts falling on people’s heads is the leading cause of death in the Brazilian jungle. We also encountered a rubber tree. You could literally peel bits of latex off the tree trunk! 

The most fun on the jungle trip was tree climbing. One of the village elders demonstrated climbing an Acai Berry tree. He weaved a wreath of thick leaves to tie around his ankles and use it as a grip to shimmy up the skinny trunk. Watching him come down was scary. He pretty much let go of the tree and whizzed to the ground. I have never seen old bones move so fast! Luckily, I got a chance to try it and it’s a lot harder than it looks! I climbed pretty high and it was awesome.

Following our hike, the boat sailed further down the river to another island. En route everyone passed out and it was lovely napping on deck as we motored down the Amazon. Later, right after the guide explained that there were three species of piranhas residing in the area, he announced it was time to go swimming! I won’t lie … I was a little freaked out. The water is so murky you couldn’t see a thing (I’m not sure if that was good or bad). Eventually I mustered the courage to jump in and it was refreshing to rinse off after being sticky and humid all day. That evening the family, who owned the dock where we moored, cooked us a delicious meal and afterwards we headed off to bed (in a food coma) nice and early. We slept outside in hammocks and it was the most restful sleep I’ve ever had.

The boat docked at Parrot Island where we were awakened at 0500 by the sound of thousands of parrots as they took flight and head over to the mainland. Frankly, they were just as annoying as the herons in Stanley Park and I felt so sorry for the poor people who live there. Those birds make such a racket! However, I must admit, it was pretty cool to be woken up by parrots …

After that we meandered back to the Sorlandet. We spent the rest of our time in Belem exploring the city, visiting the market and contacting family and friends back home. I had a really amazing time in Brazil and I am looking forward to Grenada and the Caribbean!