The Amsterdam had sailed up the Rio Guajara last night and anchored across from the town of Icoaraci early this morning , where local ferries would transfer us to shore. This process was advertised to begin at 9am, but we knew from experience that even though the announcement that we had been cleared had not happened yet, the folks on shore excursions were already being transferred to shore.
So we decided to skip breakfast, and join the first ferry over to shore. There was no line when we went down the stairs to deck A. All we had to produce was our room key cards, and we were free to go. We have been here at least three times over the years, taking tours at the time. So we knew what we wanted to see. The fact that there were complimentary shuttles to the port city of the lower Amazon region, Belem, made it easy. The Portuguese settled here and built a fortress to defend the area from the French and the Dutch. They also left behind a city of colonial architecture that has lasted for centuries. The population is about 143,500 people, and there is a lot of poverty.
Greeting us when we got off of the pier, was a group of dancers doing Carimbo, an African and European influenced dance. The name is derived from the artisanal drum used in their band. There had to be over a dozen buses for tours, and also a couple of very nice coaches for the ride to town. We would guess the drive to Belem took about 45 minutes, as the bus had to use local streets with stop and go traffic.
So here is a bit of history on this area. With the discovery of rubber in the 19th century, an economic boom occurred in all of Brazil. Even the larger Amazonian cities prospered and impressive colonial buildings were constructed. Because of its location near the mouth of the mighty Amazon River, Belem has remained a vibrant commercial and economic hub. Huge quantities of fish, shrimp, and lumber come through the city.
It was too bad we happen to be visiting on a Monday, because many of the sights were closed. That included museums, parks, theaters, cultural centers and forts. Hopefully, the market places and churches will be opened. Later on, we found out that some of the major sights opened for the HAL tour groups exclusively.
Our bus stopped at the Estacao das Docas, 500 meters of riverfront with three air-conditioned warehouses that have been remodeled from the old port of Belem. Large cranes are still there as decoration these days. Inside these warehouses are restaurants, fashion clothing, and souvenirs. More important…..there are several restrooms. We had intended to search out pizza and beer, but we found that they did not take US dollars. Only Brazil reals or credit cards. We were not comfortable using the credit card here, but that is just us. Come to think about it, the EXC port guide mentioned this in his talk on Belem.
The first thing we noticed was that there was a large presence of policemen in this entire area. That speaks volumes, as it can be a good thing, or a feeling that it is dangerous here. Or a little of both. You had to exit the warehouse area to enter the Ver-O-Peso Market next to it. We saw even more police, and one even stopped one of us with a hand on the shoulder, with a warning to bring the handbag around the front, and keep your arm over it. Turned out we were fine, but it really put us on alert.
This Ver-O-Peso Market is over 100 years old with 35,000 square meters of stalls. And it is the largest outdoor market in Latin America. Protected since 1977 by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute, there are two old iron buildings that house the fish and meat markets. The market is about 4 blocks long, with the outside stalls selling clothing, shoes, hats, and housewares like pots and pans. Inside the market is the food such as produce and staples. Rice, manioc flour, sugar, and tapioca were sold in large sacks, while spices were packaged in plastic bags. At the far end, you can purchase live birds, mice ?, and chickens and ducks for a fresh dinner. Several cats were roaming around under foot, and even some cute little kittens, who looked as if they would get stomped.
The area of souvenirs and handicrafts also included lotions and potions used in the practice of macumba, Brazil's form of voodoo. They sold tons of pills and elixirs promised to give you a long and spicy life. We'll stick to the fresh fruit, thank you. Right in the middle, there are food stalls that sold meals. More like a food court with lots of acai products. This was the first place we saw so much of it before it was proclaimed to be the miracle fruit worldwide.
The fish market had sold most of its catch, but we did see an assortment of river fish, and the famous pirarucu, which can be enormous. Going out the far end, we walked around the small fishing boat harbor. It was full of egrets and the ever-present vultures, who were wading through the trash in the low tide of the riverbanks. To tell the honest truth, there was trash everywhere we looked. There was no effort to clean it up from what we saw. The fishermen were cleaning their catch, and throwing the scraps to the birds. Needless to say, the smell was over-powering in this harbor.
Walking past the Museum, we came out at the small park where the Fort do Presepio is located. It was a surprise that we found it opened, although one of us needed to sit for a bit too cool off. Upon entering the gates, Bill was told the visit to this fort was free today for him. By the way, it was very hot and humid today. The clouds were passing over, and we knew it would rain sometime during our stay. It held off until we returned to Icoaraci. Benches were placed around the fort and the cannon area.
Across the street, we went to see the interior of the Igreja da Se, or the Cathedral da Se. Although it was dark inside, it was quite pretty. Thinking it would be cooler inside was wrong, since it was warmer than outside. So we did not linger very long.
From here, we back-tracked through the markets, and back to the warehouses. More folks had arrived and were searching for good spots to eat and drink. And like we stated earlier, we passed on the food and beer this time. The bus was waiting when we got to the drop-off spot, and once we boarded, it left. By now, the rain had become heavy, so our timing was perfect. This time it took well over an hour to get back to the ferries, due to more traffic. And it was only 1pm. The last bus back was 2:30pm, and we sure did not want to wait until that late. Perfect timing, because by now the rain showers were coming over one after the other. And we had left the umbrellas onboard. The ferry was there, and left on schedule, regardless of how many passengers were onboard. This boat only had about 10 of us.
A nice lunch was enjoyed in the Lido with ice tea instead of beer. More thirsty than hungry, we downed plenty of tea and sodas later on. Sail away was at 4:30pm at the Seaview Pool. Woody and Susie joined us while the ship turned around and headed back out the river. Fancy appetizers and local samba music entertained us for an hour. Some of the assistant cruise directors worked the crowd during this time too. Geoffrey, the HAL kids club leader, paid us a visit. Although it got windy, the rain stayed away, although we could see showers all around us.
Dinnertime found all of us present and sharing our stories of the day. The fellows did the same as us, riding the shuttle to town, while Barb, Woody and Susie stayed onboard. Entrees for us were the white fish plaice and short ribs, tender and falling off of the bone. Both good. The evening ended with memories of tales of the past cruises, or times when some of our group were wild and crazy, so to speak.
We had time to catch most of the show with the singers and dancers performing Salsamania, a high energy set of local dances.
A couple of sea days will be nice.
Bill & Mary Ann
