Last night, we all got a letter from Captain Frank in response to questions some guests are asking about the situation in the Red Sea and Suez Canal. He reassured everyone that the safety and security of the guests and crew are top priority. HAL has been in touch with the US Department of State and other agencies regarding this situation. The Captain continued to give details on the security team that is onboard with us now and also shoreside. There are some various itineraries that can be substituted in case we are unable to transit the Suez Canal to enter the Mediterranean Sea. We have no doubt HAL will not send us into harm's way. And like we stated weeks ago, this may turn out to be a mystery cruise.
So we ask, what is a "Nothing Day"? That was on the front of the Daily newsletter. Actually, that is where the day of the week should be printed. We can say it is Tuesday and we are in our final port of Santarem. It is one of the oldest cities, and one of the larger ones. Founded in 1661, the city flourished with industries such as hardwood timber, rubber, coffee, and gold mining. Later on extensive clearing of the forest was done to cultivate soybeans, another very useful products in many ways. It is a far cry from the Tapajos Indians that lived here for thousands of years.
The last two times we visited here, we went on tours to see the highlights, and fish for piranhas. Today we decided to see the city. After tendering over in a local wooden ferry boat, we took the complimentary shuttle to Fisherman's Square, about a three mile drive up Avenido Tapajos, named after the tribe of natives that lived here. At the end of the riverside drive, we were dropped off across from a building with a patio that overlooked the convergence of the Amazon River and the Tapajos River. This is another area where the waters do not mix readily. While taking photos here, we also spotted some more river dolphins as they skimmed the surface and dove. This is also the spot where we took a riverboat ride on the piranha fishing tour ten years ago. At that time, the guide collected the small piranha fish we all caught and fried them up for us to taste. Funny thing, we had just read about the parasites that are inside the flesh of the fish, and if they are not cooked properly, you could be in for a big surprise as these parasites grow in your stomach. Yikes. No way would we even taste them, but many others did. This same tour was offered today for 2 ½ hours at $90 per person. The other tours took folks on a drive-by ride through Santarem with a 40 mile drive to go back to Alter do Chao. That was $80 for 5 hours. Santarem Highlights was $70 for 3 ½ hours, while a trip to the Tapajos Forest was $85 for 4 ½ hours.
There is a malecon or riverside promenade walkway that follows the river here for about 3 miles. Besides dozens of shops, markets, cafes and bars, there are scenic views of the river activity and landmarks along the way. Even though the weather was warm, there was a nice breeze. So we decided to walk back towards the pier, and stop to see some sights along the way. The Catedral Metropolitana Nossa da Conceicao was close to here, so we went up a side street and entered the church. It was painted blue and white on the outside and stood out looming over the center of town.
Continuing on, we followed the river side watching for birds. We did spot more terns, greater egrets, the ever-present vultures, and some hawks. A few of the diving birds we could not ID. There were many markets for the locals as well as souvenir tents set up near the church. It was close to noontime, and street food carts were appearing. We never did see any cafes or restaurants opened along the way. What they did have were several concrete benches in some shade along the entire malecon. Many of us took advantage of that as the sun was quite intense.
But the best was yet to come as we got closer to the Mercado 2000, a fish and fruit market built right on the roadside. Years ago, we recall a giant fish market that was directly on the sandy banks of the river. Tables were set up with the fishermen's catch of the day. We can remember the smell and the flies. Today, the fishermen work under a nice roof and have the convenience of stainless steel counters and plenty of sinks with clean running water. Most of the day's catch was already sold, but we did see a large variety of river fish. Some were not like anything we have seen in other fish markets around the world. Of course, this is a river and the fish would be different than ocean fish. The majority of the fruit sold here were gigantic watermelons.
We could see activity happening on the river boats below us, so we took the time to watch. Fishermen were fileting really huge fish, at least 7 to 10 feet in length and each one weighing over 400 pounds we bet. Asking a local, he said they were the pirarucu that have the giant scales on their bodies. We remembered seeing these monster fish back in the 1990's, and were told then that their numbers were dropping due to over-fishing. Probably regulated now, the ones we saw being skinned were still good size. We watched as they threw the entire skins into the river where they sunk, then proceeded to carve 7 foot long filets, finally placing the fileted fish in baskets. They were weighed, brought up to the malecon, and placed in big ice chests full of crushed ice. Bet they were on their way to the fish market. We had the opportunity to taste this fish on a tour back then, and it was tasty and moist with no bones.
Our ship map stopped at this point, so we guessed at the way back to the port gate. There was no sign on the corner, so we followed the road passing Cargill, a big name in the food and copra industries. They are a worldwide corporation, and create many products specifically related to the coconut. Bet that soybeans are also a product they handle. It turned out we took the right road, because as we neared the river, we could see the gate. One of the shuttles was on its way back to drop off guests from the ship. We checked out the souvenirs tables but saw nothing we needed. A ferry was waiting to take us back to the ship, and it took a while to get there. We had left the ship at 10am and got back before 2pm. Ice cold sodas were in order.
Relaxing in our room, all aboard time came at 4:30pm, and so did the Captain with his talk. We will head towards the next port of St. George's Grenada in a few days from now. In the meantime, the Brazilian pilots will be dropped off in Macapa tomorrow at 10am. And at that time, we will be able to say that we sailed the Amazon River without any problems of getting stuck on a sandbar, thanks to our excellent navigation team and the help of experienced river pilots. It has been quite an adventure.
We did spot several birds diving near some fishing boats as we left the city of Santarem. Among the boats, we spotted more dolphins although they barely skimmed the surface, we did see them for a nano-second. Too fast for a photo. Passing through the different shades of water in the converging rivers, we were well on our way downriver. At one point we smelled smoke and discovered that there was a fire on the opposite bank. Certainly this was not a forest clearing fire, but an example of how fields are burned for future planting.
Time for dinner right after the sun went down. We ordered a bean soup, salad, and a shrimp cocktail. Love the red cocktail sauce. Mains were the English dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Ample portions, it was very tasty. Desserts were one crème Brule and a plate of fresh pineapple slices. Seems they have run out of bananas. What a surprise….
Looking forward to some lazy sea days now. We have earned them.
Bill & Mary Ann
