Jan. 19 (I think) Belem

Skyline of Belem from the Prinsendam

Sistership to our river boat

January 19, Belem
This will probably be very incomplete as it wrote all about Belem and our visit to a village in the rain forest a day or two ago and then lost it somewhere in the computer.
Of course I couldn’t lose a blog on a short sea day. Since Belem we’ve been to Fortaleza, Maceio and today Salvador da Bahia so it’s hard to keep them all straight. I never realized just how big Brazil is.
The ship was scheduled to anchor some miles from the center of Belem, tender us in quite a distance and then run shuttle buses for about a 40 minute ride to the city. Fortunately, and for what reason I couldn’t understand, we were able to anchor nearer to the city and only required a tender ride….a tender ride that was supposed to take about 30 minutes but ended up a little shorter.
As our tour was in the afternoon, Alan and I went ashore early and headed just down the main thorough fare for the local market. It was much like the other markets we have seen and we wandered among fruit and vegetable stands and what seemed like hundreds of stalls selling t shirts and soccer shirts. We passed the fish market and began to head back toward the ship. Alan wanted to go up the side streets but I dissuaded him as we HAD BEEN WARNED and warned and warned about the dangers of Belem.
As we were walking along the sidewalk with the market on one side of us and the busy street on the other we were approached by two local policemen. By gestures and sign language we finally established that they were telling us we should be with a group, should put our cameras in our pockets and should get back to the terminal. It wasn’t as if we were alone down a dark alley with villains lucking in doorways but we did as we were told.
We made a quick trip back to the Prinsendam for lunch and plenty of water and ice tea and then it was back to the terminal for our afternoon riverboat and Amazon village walk.
Hopefully I’ll be able to get pictures into this (I’m going ashore to an internet café with much better rates than the ship). The pictures probably won’t match the text but should include the Belem skyline, the riverbank 30 minutes out of the city, a dock and laundry, the village school, a warm and fuzzy tarantula, a man (no it’s not a monkey) in a tree, and who knows what else.
Shortly after leaving Belem we began our journey up a Rio Guama, a tributary of the
Amazon. The guides on the river boat were very knowledgeable and had some of the best English we’ve heard.
For about an hour and a half we slowly cruised up the river until seeing small boats, canoes, and a few houses along the banks or hidden in the trees. Arriving at the village dock it was apparent that the river was low as we were well below the sanitation level. We faced our first challenge ----getting off the boat. First we descended down a rickety 24 “ plank all the while hearing, “watch your head, watch your head.” The plank ended on a small raft or platform where we started up an equally wobbly gangway to the dock. It is amazing how some of the physically challenged passengers manage to get around either by being pulled, pushed, prodded or otherwise aided. And it’s all done with a smile.
Of course it was uphill to the main part of the village (a school and about a half dozen simple cement buildings with tin or thatched roofs. No glass in the windows and no doors--just openings.
Hens and little chicks scratched around in the dusty, weedy yards and smiling children showed of parrots and puppies. I was surprised at the amount of trash in partially burned piles right next to the houses. With an entire jungle around them I would have thought the people would have moved their “budding landfills” further away.
We started off single file down a narrow, rough path into the rain forest. It was a little difficult walking and we spent more time looking at our feet than looking around. Eventually we became more secure and started to look up and around. We saw birds of paradise, orchids, termite mounds about 4 feet high, plants with leaves as big as a six year old, ferns, vines, trees almost as big as redwoods, more vines, strange insects, (no snakes) rubber trees and Brazil nut trees.
The Brazil nut tree is a giant in the rain forest. It can grow to over 150 ft with a trunk 15 ft wide. The branches form an arch like an umbrella. The nuts are seeds encased in a heavy pod. They should really be called Amazon nuts, not Brazil nuts because they grow thoughout the Amazon---not just in Brazil. It takes a tree 20 years to produce its first fruit and the trees can live to be hundred of years old.
Soon we came to a small clearing where a wizened little brown man awaited us. We later found out he was 60 years old but it was hard to tell if he was 50 or 80 or anywhere in between. Wrapping a ring of vines around his ankles, he quickly scampered up a tall slender tree, reached across to another skinny tree and before anyone could even snap a picture he was back down on the ground. Amid ohs and awes he did it again for us. This time we were more prepared and got a couple of quick snaps.
By the time we arrived back at the dock area it was time to board the river boat and head downstream. Of course, we had to reverse the process of ladders, planks, and gangways.
Local musicians and dancers were on the riverboat to entertain us with their music and to explain the dances. The audience was invited to participate and Alan was dragged up to the front of the crowd. The song went on and on until he was begging the musicians to take a break.
About half way down the river came the rains, and the wind. A few braved it out on the open deck under umbrellas but after the umbrellas turned inside out we all crowded under the boat’s canopy. We shouldn’t have bothered trying to stay dry because when we finally arrived back at the terminal we had to dash to the tenders…..a long dash. It was raining so hard the hatches on the tender leaked, the water came in the window seams, and entrances. I was sitting where I could see the bilge pump light and it never went off.
Fortunately, it was HAL excursion so the ship waited about an hour and a half for us, the “drowned rats” to quote the cruise director, as we were welcome aboard with beach towels awaiting us at the check in.
Speaking of the check in ----each time anyone, crew or passenger, leaves the ship their key card is scanned. When the card is scanned your picture shows up on a screen. Returning to the ship, your card is again scanned, your belongs placed on a scanning belt and you go through a scanner. The procedure lets the crew know how many leave the ship at a port and how many return. If you aren’t back at sailing time, an announcement is broadcast asking you to report to the front desk. If somehow you have avoided the scanner and are on board you are check in. If you’re not onboard, they sail without you unless you’re on a HAL tour that has been delayed. If you’re left behind it’s up to you to get to the next port.