Some of us got to know each other at the jungle camp so it was actually easier for us to sit together. There were about 8 of us who did not have wives along and our table became known as the bachelor table. The ship had an open bridge policy, thus we could walk into the bridge at any time and watch the officers run the ship. We were also allowed to walk to the front of the ship, except when the zodiac boats were being loaded or unloaded. The ship had a bar/cocktail lounge and this area was also used for the lecture hall. There was a library room with some chairs and couches. The selection of nature/travel books and fiction was actually quite good.
Usually each morning the ship would stop about 4 a.m. and we would be out riding around in the zodiacs by 8 a.m. If we were in the second group, then we would eat some breakfast before going out. The dining room had coffee, cereal, fruit, and yogurt available for both zodiac groups and a full breakfast later in the morning.
Each day at about 4 p.m. they provided a snack, usually this was cookies or cake, but sometimes it was just fruit. There was hot water available 24 hours a day for instant tea and coffee.
Lectures
The lecture series on the ship was poor. There was no real continuity to the lectures. They were whatever the guides brought with them. Since several of the guides had signed on just for this Amazon portion, MEI had not been able to pull them together into a quality series. I think their Antarctic and Iceland/Greenland tour lectures were much better.
Entertainment
On several evenings movies were provided, via tape, on the TV in the lounge. We did have a contest to see who could come up with the most interesting travel story. The entries were to be fairly short and submitted on paper. At first the judges were going to be all men, that went over like a lead balloon and our gift shop manager got onto the committee very quickly. Several evenings later we convened for the presentation of the winning entries. Most of the winning stories were very funny, and one passenger volunteered to type them all up and to sent them out via e-mail. This fine evening was capped off by a passenger reading a poem, about out trip down the Amazon River, that he has written as we journeyed along.
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Zodiacs trips and city visits<
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The passengers who were very interested in birds had more to see then the rest of us. It turns out that the wildlife along the river is being eaten by the local people. It is reported that some natives will even cut down a tree in order to bring down a sloth that is high in a tree.
As the days rolled by we made many stops at native villages and homes along the river. When I use the word home, I am usually refering to the thatched roofed huts that the natives live in.
Surprisingly, the temperature while over the water was quite pleasant. It was when we were on land that it was very hot and humid. We had to take drinking water along in order to avoid heat stroke. I will now detail most of these days. From here on in this narrative you may find a few sentences that I have copied from the log that was provided by the Marine Expeditions staff.
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Visit to the villages of Pucaurquillo and Pevas, Peru. The village of Pucaurquillo actually contains two different tribes, the Boro and the Huitoto. The tribes are separated by a small creek and our passengers were separated in 1/2 and each group entered a different side of the village. As our group entered the village one of the lady expedition guides found a favorite child that she had previously made friends with. It was fun to see these children getting attention and gifts. It was raining quite hard and we had to take shelter under a roof overhang for about 10 minutes. We then proceeded to the large circular village meeting building and watched a native dance. The natives were in costume, and this meant that both men and the ladies were topless. During the presentation a village elder offered us a taste of ground up coco leaves. I took a pinch, but could feel no change in my energy level, although I did get up and dance with the natives when asked to join in. After the presentation we spent time looking at all the items that were for sale. I purchased several small dolls made of straw and gourds.
We walked a short distance to the second part of this village and looked at the items for sale there. The other tribe had performed their dances for the other group of our passengers.
The rain continued but we journeyed on to Pevas. At this stop we were able to climb up the hill in the rain and visit the gallery of the renowned artist Francisco Grippa. He welcomed us with an offer of beer and to hang our wet raincoats outside on a railing. One particular painting impressed me, it was titled 'Nixon's Last Supper' and depicted President Nixon in the center of the table with his men on each side of him. Francisco Grippa is a very good artist and several passengers purchased expensive reproductions. You can see his work at his web site: http://www.art-and-soul.com/grippa/
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We visited the Peruate area in the ship's zodiacs. Some were able to see the pink river dolphins and the other dolphin, Tucuxi. We visited the village of Pucaurquillo. The bird watchers enjoyed the outing. During the afternoon we went for a cruise in Lago Cahocuma.
I am not sure on which day it happened, but one of the most exiting acts of nature that we witnessed on this trip was a Bushmaster snake that was climbing up into a tree in order to eat the eggs that was located in a bird's nest. The birds were swooping down on the snake in a vain attempt to keep their eggs from being eaten.
During the evening we had our first BBQ dinner outside on the back deck. The chefs set up a large BBQ and cooked chicken, steak, sausage, hamburgers and some kind of fish. We also had salads of various kinds. It rained and we had to take our food plates back to the dining room as the tables under the overhead tarps were occupied. Sometime during that evening one of the passengers fell and fractured a bone near her ankle. The captain pulled up the anchor and we left early for Leticia, Columbia. We traveled all night so that we could arrive at that city early in the morning. This emergency forced our tour to skip a National Park in Tabatinga, Brazil.
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We arrived at Leticia, Columbia about 4 a.m. but we had to clear customs and did not leave the ship until about 9 a.m. We were anchored off of the port and had to zodiac into the pier. We were taken to the center of the city for our own free time. I spent some time looking for a faster speed slide film but this town had no slide film for sale. I did buy 1/2 kilo of coffee beans, 4 T-shirts, and a local beer. It was quite hot and humid in this city. Our ship gift shop manager had a slight heat stroke and had to have an ice pack to bring down her discomfort. We returned to the ship for lunch. After lunch we again returned to the city and were taken by bus to their zoo. It was quite rundown, but they were calling it their 'new zoo'. It could be that it had just reopened. We saw an Anaconda snake that people were allowing to be placed around their necks. We saw the tapir and manatee, and various other animals. After the zoo we returned to the center of town for more shopping, sightseeing, and beverages. Larry and I changed some money so that we would have local currency to purchase items in the cities of Brazil and the native villages. I walked about 1/2 mile looking for a cyber cafe, but could not find one. I ended up back at the city center and downed a Coke. I think that Coke helped me avoid the heat stroke.
Back on board the ship we found out that the Brazilian authorities had gone through our passports for the validation of yellow fever shots and visa stamps. A yellow fever shot is required when entering Brazil from Peru. The latest intrigue was that the ship's chef, a Canadian, had used up his entry visa to Brazil. These officials finally allowed the chef to continue on into Brazil after a $500 fee was paid.
For some unknown reason the lady who fractured her leg bone did not fly back to the US. She stayed in her cabin for the rest of the voyage. It was never clear if MEI refused to send her home, or if she had not purchased evacuation insurance. One of our tourists, is a medical doctor, and he told us that she would might have to have the break reset when she got home. It seems to me that she should have at least flown to the US from Manaus, Brazil, our next major city. Manaus has direct flights to the US.
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We began our day with a glorious cruise in Parana das Panelas, a flooded forest that houses a small community. Dozens of species of birds filled the sky, just as orchids, sloth's and iguanas filled the trees. The most interesting of the birds was a swallow - glossy blue-black all over with a broad white band on its breast. This creature is called the White-banded Swallow.
An interesting sight today was a satellite dish pointed straight up. I had previously seen satellite dishes far north of the Arctic Circle that point low on the horizon. We pulled into this home to give the children some pencils and the father was more interested in asking us for some diesel fuel for his generator. Later, the Expedition Leader took 3 liters of diesel fuel back to him. I think this was only fair, as we traveled right through the front area of his home to go on up river.
There was a third zodiac outing after sunset, but I thought two outings was enough for one day. They saw bats, the nocturnal Boatbilled Herons, a Spectacled Caiman, and a group of very active arboreal (tree-living) mammals called Kinkajou.
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We began our day with a cruise in Parana do Jacarai, a lengthy creek system penetrating into forest and marsh. The timing enabled us to enjoy the region when the temperature was cool and the animals were most active.
During our afternoon cruise we spent a few hours at Lago Uara. |
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