On the 26th we were moored off the town of Belem. We took local river 'ferries' which could hold up to 100 people at a time to the pier in the town. They were very colorful. Over 1.7 million people live here- and we were expecting small riverside towns, like you see in the documentaries. This is a real eye opener for us. The biggest hydro electric dam in all of Brazil is in this area, and there are plans to build 9 more in the future. Apparently not everyone is happy about this. they have also discovered that underneath the Amazon, there is an even larger river with very pure water. It is probably the longest river in the world, even longer than the Nile. |The Amazon looks very muddy and cloudy, but actually it is not really muddy at all- this is due to the high levels of tannin from plant materials and the fine silt that comes down from the glaciers in the Andes mountains to feed the river at it's source.
There are 647 species of wood trees in the jungle here. The area was actually becoming deforested, so now the cutting of the trees has been reduced by 90% and cutting is done on a limited, selected scale by only a few 'licensed' companies instead. There are heavy fines for ' tree poachers'. The native Indians who still live on the islands ( 39 of them) surrounding the town are allowed to cut trees down because they need to do this for living purposes, such as making farming plots etc. Interestingly enough, we learned that ' older' trees are cut, not necessarily because of their larger size , but because they are not as efficient in producing oxygen as younger trees- they give off and consume the same amounts of oxygen, while young trees give off more oxygen than they consume. went on a bus ride to catch the small river boat and go cruising down the river. It poured !!!!! Even though it had a plastic roof, rain still splashed in all over, so we got a bit damp even before we reached the forest outpost where we disembarked to do our ~1 hour forest walk with the local guide. He has lived and worked in the area, so knew all sorts of interesting things about the plants in the forest and how they are used. the time just flew by ! Here are just some of the things we learned about:
The Acai trees grow here in soil that is sandy and acidic. They grow up to 26 meters. They fruit from June to September & have a black nut which the local people ( Indians) smash and soak in water overnight then drink - it has more than 20 vitamins. Carl, I think this is the juice you had, is it not ? The second most important plant is the coco tree, which likes to grow in the shade produced by the larger trees, so it is often seen around the acai, for example- we ate some raw coco out of the shell - it was slimy but tasted sweet and mildly chocolaty. I ate a live termite !!! It tasted a bit sweet, believe it or not, and had just a tiny bit of crunch. There was not much to it, so it was like eating nothing, really. The native Indians eat them because they are loaded with protein and vitamins. They are very small here, more the size of our small brown ants. So it was not really gross. Did you know that the material termites use to build their nests filters the sunlight so it is kept cool ? They are now artificially making this material and it is used in houses to keep them cool. We saw Brazil nut trees. They can live up to 75 years and grow very very tall - up to 75 meters. The tree used to be cut for wood, but now it is protected and can no longer be cut down- more money is made by harvesting the fruit which contains the seeds that we know as the brazil nuts. Each seed pod can have up to 21 ' nuts' in it, but no more. Locally, after a woman gives birth, she drinks water that has been soaked in a brazil nut fruit shell for 21 days to help rejuvenate the blood and recover. Rubber trees are here too, and they are also very large and old. If you want to tap the tree you must only cut it horizontally. If you cut it vertically it will die- no one really knows why. Now a days the trees are no longer really tapped as synthetic rubber has taken over the demand, but it is still used in a small way locally to make things like chewing gum. The most exciting thing was we saw weaver bird nests hanging from trees over the river. They birds build their nests close to human's homes for protection from toucans & hawks. And I thought toucans only ate fruit!!! There were lots more interesting things, but I thought these were the best. You really had to be there to appreciate it all.
While we were in the forest we got rained on some more, one downpour again and a slight shower. It was pretty on/off drizzly the whole time, actually. Dad got cold and had to have a shot of rum to warm up when we got back at 5.00. We both agreed it had been a really good trip. By the time we got back to the ship it was already past 5.30. Luckily we had reservations for the " Italian dinner" up in Lido restaurant for 8.30, so that was not an issue. We decided to have a snack to hold us until then since we had not eaten since breakfast. The dinner was very nice, but had a very limited menu. Service was very personal- the waiter was always there before you even knew it, bringing and removing this , checking if everything was to our liking, etc. We are sure getting very spoiled on this trip !!! Then we went down to the Showroom at Sea (the large auditorium they use for shows & seminars etc) to see the movie Moneyball before the Oscar show, which we started to watch there, but then decided to finish watching in our room. I feel asleep, but Dad actually watched the whole thing. So that was the end of the 26th.
FEB 27th, 2012
The 27th was a sea day, so we did not do much of anything. Dad ran 5 miles up in the gym- I just walked stairs on my travels around the ship. Afternoon tea at 3 was a Grand Dutch high tea, and although I had decided I would not eat too much, both Dad & I broke down because it was just too good to deprive ourselves of the wonderful treats they had put out . Even though we were both stuffed , but we still ate a full meal at supper, along with dessert. Oink-oink! I have gained 13+ pounds, and obviously am not going to lose any until we get home and I can start swimming regularly again. Hopefully that will be enough to take me back down. Dad has also gained, but will probably be Ok walking Moustache a bit more, and Moosie will like that. How are things going with him, BTW, Carl & Amanda?
Otherwise, nothing much of interest today, other than I won a small silver & amber bracelet at the jewelry draw after the pearl presentation today. 2 'amazon river' pilots came on board today for the trip . Am here in my Holland America robe typing this email to send to you all . Nothing much else to report for today.
Tomorrow we arrive in Santarem, another large city and marks the halfway point to our final stop on the Amazon, Manus. It is here that the meeting of the rivers occurs- the clear blue water of the Tapajos River and milky water of the Amazon River run side by side without mixing for many miles. Dad and I have a 4 1/2hr tour to the Tapajos National Forest where we will have a 2 hour walk and are looking forward to it very much. The description says "This tour is recommended for those who are interested in the primary forest flora. Jungle men will accompany you to help identify different species of trees." Oooh - jungle men! The Amazon is just so interesting. Will tell you about our trip tomorrow (obviously since I can't tell you today!).
It's now 11.30 pm & Dad just came back and he's grouchy and nagging me, so I'm stopping now. Hey boys! Send us an email back ( but make it a new one not a reply so this doesn't come attached and eat up all our remaining internet time)- at least that way we know you are receiving and reading our emails. We miss you all and are waiting to hear what's going on at home with everyone. We need some feedback !!!!!! Dad says I shouldn't send you any more emails until you send us one now...... !!!!!!
Still love you and miss you.
Mom & Dad
