Amazon cruise

I took a taxi from the hotel down to the docks in Belem to catch a boat for a six day trip up the Amazon. I wasn't sure when I booked it whether it was an up market cruise, or a functional trip on a barge. As it happened it was something in between.

It was off season so all deck passengers got a free up grade from a hummock on the lower deck to an air conditioned room but you had to bring your own hummock.

There were plenty of small boats on the river and it seemed that for most of the time there was at least one tied up to our boat.

Local entrepreneurs made money by selling their wares on the boat, tying up alongside and selling fruit, prawns, hot ready made meals in aluminium trays, ice cream and anything else the hungry thirsty passenger may want...irrespective of the fact that there was a bar and a restaurant on the boat.

Our first stop of several on the river, this one is Breves with a large statue of the Virgin Mary.

There was plenty of other traffic on the river. There is no road that connects Manaus with the rest of southern Brazil so everything goes by river for 2,000kms up stream. (There is a road according to the maps but BR319 is not tarmac and guide books describe it as 'derelict'. There is insufficient traffic on it for it to be maintained or upgraded and it is impassable in the rainy season as it is largely underwater. Besides it is twice as far as the river route which is well supplied with ferries).

All along the rive bank are houses and farms built on stilts.

The ferry also took cars but I doubt whether I would trust the loading of my car to the stevedores.

And another view of the communal hummock room partly due to the colours of the different hummocks. Personally I upgrade and had an en suite cabin on the top deck.

It rained several times a day and in between it could get very hot and sweaty....but there were showers to cool off in on the sun deck.

A flooded farm.

Another house on stilts, and some colour.

Even ocean going ships can reach Manaus.

A barge transporting vehicles.

Most of the time the locals build on higher ground and on stilts so they are above the water level but can get it wrong sometimes when the water levels are exceptionally high.

The welder who fixed the boats engine getting a lift to land with his bicycle so he can get home.

More river traffic.

A detail of how the tug pushes the nine barges in front of itself.

A view of the cargo area on the boat.

And finally the boat docks in Manaus...only twelve hours late and at 5.30am...so not much to do and I ws booked onto a four day jungle experience starting in just two hours time!

Belem

I had a visit to the Manual das Garcas ecological park on the city shoreline. There were storks, herons, scarlet ibis and various ducks. 

And plenty of flamingos

 Plus iguanas wandering through the park.

 Who is more interested in who?

 In one of several buildings n site was a butterfly farm. There were several species on show and the  park breed them, keeping some inside for visitors but release about 80% of the eggs that hatch. 

Near the entrance was a cannonball tree and it is easy to see how it got its name.

 had a meal near the refurbished docks, and of course couldn’t resist a photo of a beetle although I already have a red one…but my first in Belem.

 I had to pass the cemetery but unfortunately it was looked. I didn’t feel I was missing too much as many of the headstones  and memorials need some attention to be shown off at their best.

There are plenty of beautiful buildings largely as a result of wealth built up by the huge trade in rubber from the depths of the Amazon. 


                                       

 And for some reason there are lots of cows in Belem such as this red one...

 and this one in the foyer of my hotel.

 I only have an afternoon of internet so I will post photos of both the six day cruise up the Amazon and a four day jungle experience in the jungle when I next have some internet.

Belem, Brazil

Belem is the regional capital and largest city in Para state. It is 100kms up the Para River. It is often referred to as Cidade das Mangueiras, the City of Mango Trees due to the number of mangoes growing in the area, both in the jungle and throughout the city. They love the all year round warmth, the high rainfall and the humidity. Their ripe fruit falls to the pavements and makes them slippery.

The warm damp weather also allows grass and ferns to grow everywhere and out of every crack, whilst the humidity allows a host of green moss and algae to thrive and black mould to sprout everywhere. This also makes the paths slippery and means that even recently finished buildings soon became rather drab as natures greens and blacks take over.

Belem is acknowledged as the gateway to the Amazon although it is actually on the Para River. It is separated from the Amazon itself by Ihla de Marano, Marano Island which is the world's largest fluvial island, an island made completely out of river sediments. The city is 11th largest by population but only 16th by economic activity. It shows that the average per capita income is rather low for cities of a similar size.

Certainly moving around the city, there do seem to be a lot of run down areas, not helped by natures green and blacks growing everywhere even on up market buildings. The city has had a lot of rebuilding so there are isolated buildings from colonial or industrial times surrounded by modern buildings, not to mention detached house dwarfed by their high rise neighbours.

The first European buildings were started by the Portuguese. A fort was built here by Portuguese captain-general Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco on 12th January 1612 to curb French Dutch and English trading. A colony sprung up next door.

The fort failed to stop the traders although the fort and the adjacent colony deterred the foreign traders from setting up their own colonies. However they set up further along the coast with French speaking Guiana with its capital of Cayenne known for its pepper, Dutch speaking Surinam and English speaking Guyana with its capital Georgetown known for its demarara sugar and for a while for its gold.

The original fort was wood but replaced with this stone fort just a few years later.

 The guns were imported from UK, Whitworths, built in mid 19th century.

 The view from the fort overlooking the original port and the fish market in the centre of the picture.

 There are over 600 fish traded in the market which is colourful and surprising doesn't smell too bad!

 An armoured fresh water fish.

Some views of the city.

 The cathedral,

 The pulpit and a view inside of the cathedral.

Th meat market which is a wonderful 19th century iron construction.

 The iron work was imported from Scotland.

e books available at last!

It has been six weeks since the paper versions of the books were available, and the e version should have been available to buy at the same time but there were formatting issues but they are now available.

Both paper and e versions are now both available direct from the publishers website

http://www.novum-publishing.co.uk

under Non Fiction, Other and Miscellaneous

and where you can read the first few pages of the book for free.

or of course you can use your preferred method of purchasing via Waterstones, Amazon or you local supplier.

As a reminder the books are;

The Klondikers                        ISBN 978 3 99048 714 3
K2, The Savage Mountain       ISBN 978 3 99048 716 7
Overlanding the Silk Road      ISBN 978 3 99048 708 2

As a teaser for my blog followers, my favourite experience was travelling in the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalaya mountains in Pakistan as told in K2, The Savage Mountains but my best reviews in terms of numbers and content have been on The Klondikers...but I am sure that is partly to do with its references to gold and how to find it!

Hiatus!

I won't be making any posts for a short while. I had broken a tooth and it had a temporary repair in both Lima and BA but when the repair broke again, it was time to have corrective action. Unfortunately this involves having a crown fitted which is difficult if you are always on the move.

Therefore I have left the trip and living in a hotel in between dental appointments and treatments. I will be back en route on 5th April when we take a ferry from Belem up the Amazon for 6 days to reach Manaus...and there is no internet on the ferry so no postings for a few more days.

But I still get all day to check the streets for cars....but there are not enough combies that aren't white to start a collection...

but I was able to add to my bocho collection courtesy of Sonya.