This trip has been on our bucket list for a long time so we decided to finally make it happen. We took a cruise from Miami (on a ship with 600 passengers), going through and stopping in various Caribbean Island on the way to the Amazon. We then spent a week cruising in the Amazon (up until Manaus) adnd then another week was spent sailing back through the Caribbean. We returned to Miami almost a month later – quite a trip!

November/December 2024
by Anja Wildman

River Amazon

First some facts about the Amazon Rainforest:
- The rainforest covers 6.7 million km2 covering 8 countries;
- Thought to be the home of 10% of all known species and a new animal or plant is discovered every other day;
- It is home to 47 million people, 400 indigenous groups & 300 indigenous languages;
- There are an estimated 400 billion trees in the rainforest;
- 150-200 billion tons of carbon are stored in the rainforest;
- Every minute, the equivalent of 5 football pitches is cut down;
- Current figures suggest 17% of the rainforest has been lost;
- Francisco de Orellana, a Spanish Explorer, was the first European to travel from the origins of the upstream river basins, situated in the Andes, to the mouth of the River. The name Amazonas is thought to be taken from the mainly female native warriors that attacked this expedition and which reminded de Orellana of the mythical female Amazon warriors from the ancient Hellenic culture in Greece.

Life by the river
The Amazon and the Nile vie for the longest river in the world but, by volume, the Amazon is by far the greater. At times, the Amazon is so wide that it is difficult to see the far side. The temperature was about 35 degrees C in November with very high humidity, and it did not change much. There are just 2 seasons per year – hot and dry or hot and wet. We were at the end of the dry season in November, so many of the smaller tributaries were dry. They expected the rainy season to start soon. The level of the Amazon and its tributaries will rise by 15 to 18 meters between the current low level and the high levels seen at the end of the rainy season, which is why all the houses are built on stilts. There are no bridges over the Amazon, but a bridge over the Negro river shows how the foundations change with the depth.It is difficult to visualize just how commercialized the Amazon is. Along the banks, there are countless settlements or communities as they are known. Each one raises animals and/or crops.

Cities and Tourism
Manaus is the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It has a population of over 2 million and is the center of the commercial life of the Amazon. The indigenous people would tap rubber trees in the forest to obtain latex, roll it into balls for the children to play with. However, the development of the automobile led to an insatiable appetite in the West for rubber. So, in the late 1800s, Europeans came to settle in Manaus to exploit rubber production. Paying the indigenous people minimum wages, they sold the product to Europe and America making a 5.000 per cent profit. Thus, Manaus became known as the “Paris of the Amazon”. The Rubber Barons, as they became known, imported cobble stones from the UK for roads and marble from Italy for pavements. They built regency houses and ate European food. They imported sculptures from Glasgow and built a ballet school and a wonderful Opera House, bringing performers from all over Europe.
The rubber trees were still growing wild in the forest and an English man was given permission to gather seeds (about 70,000) for Kew Gardens near London, UK. The seeds ended up in Malaysia and the Far East and were planted in plantations, so when they matured, the rubber collection was far simpler and cheaper. Thus, after about 50 years of plenty, Manaus lost its glitter and the very rich Europeans left to return home. Manaus declined until Japan captured the plantations in the Far East during the 2nd World War. All of a sudden, there was an enormous need for rubber in the West. The USA paid Brazil for every person they could recruit to produce rubber and more money flowed in.
The latest development of Manaus was when it became a venue for the 2014 World Cup of football. A new football stadium was built and transport was improved. It is most noticeable that they decorate the sides of their skyscrapers with art.




(Teatro Amazonas)

(Catholic Church)




One thing you should always remember about Manaus. It is possible to reach the rest of Brazil by air and by road. However, the first is expensive and the second requires a road trip through 2 or 3 other countries first. Thus, the Amazon river is virtually the sole method of moving people and materials to and from this and other cities along its shores.



Apart from Manaus, there are a few other cities like Santarem and even some normal “beach-type” tourism.
Like Manaus, Santarém is heavily industrialized. However, there is an adjacent natural park which provides for normal leisure activities.


Alter-do-Chao provides a beach type resort with hotels etc. The fine sand is yellow and would be a credit to any European resort. The somewhat strange part is that to get to the main beach, one has to wade across a creek and climb over a sand hill first. The reward is that it is a safe area to swim. The water is very warm, very shallow and ideal for children.




Transportation
The Amazon is full of ships and is the route for nearly all trade and people. Large US companies buy and ship agricultural products from the Amazon. This encourages communities to cut down/burn the forest to make money. Nearly every community (and there are thousands) travels by boat. Trips often take days and there are virtually no facilities on board. If you pay double, you can get a cabin but there are no windows. Who wants that in 35 degrees heat? So passengers carry hammocks which they hang from the rafters on the middle deck. That way, they create their own space for the journey. They also carry their own food.



As you proceed down the Amazon, you become all too well aware of 2 factors:
Firstly, when the mighty river Negro meets the Amazon, the waters compete against each other and it takes a long time for them to blend in. The reasons for this are that the Negro is clear, slow moving and acidic while the Amazon is brown, fast flowing and more neutral.
Secondly, there is the almost constant smell of burning outside of the cities. Despite the government stating that they are addressing the issue, there is certainly no evidence that any significant action is being taken. The many thousands of communities along its banks are under constant pressure to expand their size for animal grazing and/or crop production. The result is that an area of forest about the size of 5 football fields is destroyed every single day.



Wildlife
There is quite a varied amount of wildlife along the Amazon river:
Firstly, there are the domesticated animals used in the communities. These include chickens, pigs, cows and so on which can be seen grazing on the river banks.
Secondly, there are the birds and animals of the forest. Some we saw for ourselves but others were shown to us by children from a community (from sloths to little crocodiles (or caymans as they are called)).
Finally, there are the mammals and fish of the waterways. One of the main water species is the Anaconda snake. They stay close to the shore and we did not see one. They are at their most dangerous when the water levels are near their maximum. The most famous fish is the Piranha. There are many different types and, like sharks, they are attracted by blood. If a boating accident occurs, they have to get the bodies out quickly or all they recover are skeletons. We went fishing for Piranhas and with a bit of meat at the end of a fishing line as bait, we were soon very successful! The most well-known mammals are the dolphins. There are 2 types in the Amazon: the smaller grey dolphin and the larger and famous pink dolphin (and they really are pink!) which you can only find in the Amazon. We saw both but they are very difficult to photograph.




Communities
Boca da Valeria is typical of many communities along the Amazon. It has about 90 inhabitants and is one of 5 such communities along a tributary. We were unable to visit the others because the tributary was dried up. ‘The Chief’ is like a mayor and controls all 5 villages. The village has a school and a church.
In most of the larger communities and cities, children can continue their education up to university level. However, in tribal villages, like Boca da Valeria, children’s education stops at the village level.
The majority of Amazonia speak Portuguese and are Roman Catholics. Thus, even the village has its own church.
As we approached, we were swamped by children begging. They also brought many of their ‘pets’, which were wild animals and birds. It cost a US Dollar for every photograph.
Some of the people put on their traditional dress for us to photograph.




Jungle Trek
Our final visit was to a small village in the jungle which is used to train the military in jungle survival. We were met by the Chief before moving into the forest to be shown their techniques.
Before venturing too far, you need to be protected from mosquitoes. Placing one hand on a large ants nest, a number of ants are acquired. The hands are then rubbed together, to crush the ants and the mush is then spread over the body to protect against mosquitoes.
Water is essential for life. With high humidity, condensation provides much of this requirement but, when this fails, a certain vine can be cut to provide additional water.
Food is the next requirement. The forest provides walnuts and these were harvested. To provide meat, traps need to be set to capture animals.
Meat then needs to be cooked, for which fire is required. The fire was started with a flint and wire wool which the soldiers carry. They were cooking fish, wild fowl and often a cayman.
If the food is not properly cooked, one might need medicine, which the jungle can also provide.
The visit ended with some food sampling, which included a bowl of fried ants. They were quite nice and crunchy, a bit like popcorn.




Here are some final thoughts on the Amazon before our return home:
1. The damage to the Amazon Rain Forest is much worse than we expected.
2. The size of the Amazon is much larger than we expected.
3. The Amazon is much more commercialized than we ever expected.
4. The City of Manaus was more cosmopolitan than expected and a visit is definitely recommended.
5. The appearance of a beach resort on the Amazon was completely unexpected.
6. The visit confirmed how important it is to protect this environment.