It has taken me some time to formulate my impressions of Devil’s Island. That was a strange place. First of all, it was oppressively hot and humid. It only took several steps off the tender to be engulfed by sweat (not my favorite state of being). Then we saw only 3 or 4 Devil’s Island natives. They were either on the pier as we got off the tenders or in the gift shop. Then as we explored the island, we found several buildings that I thought were uninhabited and/or condemned. Then we saw people peaking out from the slats over the windows and even some who were brushing their teeth. Maybe they all decided to become scarce as the tourists descended upon them. Too strange.
Yesterday, Jan. 12, we spent cruising the Amazon. Very different from what I expected. The mouth is 120 miles wide, so it was hard to tell that we were here, except that the water changed from blue to a muddy brown. Gradually we saw more and more vegetation floating by. Finally, we began to see land and the water became calmer.
We went to afternoon tea yesterday, ate delicious goodies (not too many), as well as attending classes in Tai Chi, went to a cooking class, and lectures on the Amazon. We ate lunch with the lecturer and learned more about the region.
I have been plagued by a strange skin lesion on my arm. Other passengers tell me to see the doctor, but I know how hopeless that is. I thought I had a bite the first night I was in Florida. It began to grow in size, got so swollen (at least 4 inches in diameter) and sore. Finally, I spoke with the crew doc and asked him if he thought I had Herpes zoster. He said “No”, but that I should be on Claritin (sp) and antibiotics. I’m just using the same antibiotics I’m taking for anti-malaria, and today it is starting to look better. I’m sure the Amazon will have some lovely bugs lusting for my blood. What a pleasant thought.
Winnie
January 13, 2006
Yesterday we had reached the Amazon River, which I was not too impressed by because all it was was this ugly brown colored water everywhere the ship went. I mean sometimes you got to see some little plants floating. The impressing part of the Amazon River is that it holds 1/3 of the worlds fresh water (it does not look fresh at all). When I got to the Amazon River I was expecting to see the water to be the color of waterfalls but that was not the case. I am thrilled that I got to see the world’s largest River. It is impressing to
see a river that looks like see totally brown everywhere instead of it being blue or clear.
Until next time always,
Alemitu.
Welcome to Santarém, Brazil
Santarém is nearly impossible to reach overland and is set at the junction of the lighter brown Rio Amazonas and the darker brown Rio Tapajós. The rivers flow side by side and the different colors are quite distinguishable. The Santarém region has a history dating back to about 10,000 BC as a human settlement. In fact, the earliest known human creations, in the form of rock paintings, can be found about 62 miles, 100 kilometers, northeast of Santarém. The later history of the area includes rubber trees and busts, gold rushes, trade in hardwoods, Brazil nuts, black pepper, mangoes, soybeans and fish. The Museu de Santarém has an interesting collection of stone pieces and pottery dating back 6000 years. The Museu Dica Frazão displays women’s clothing and fabrics made from natural grasses and wood pulp, including a reproduction of a dress made for a Belgian queen, a tablecloth for Pope John Paul II, and colorful festival costumes. You should not have a hard time finding local handicrafts and there are plenty of local restaurants to tempt you with local fish dishes, meats and fried bananas! Brazil is the world’s fifth-largest country, occupying almost half the South American continent and bordering every country on it except Chile and Ecuador. Much of Brazil is scarcely populated, although some regions with previously low population densities, such as the Amazon, are being rapidly settled, logged and depleted.
Jan 13
Just got back from 90 minutes in Santarem Brazil….Wow was it sunny, hot, and humid. People are very friendly in the river town which can only be reached by boat or plane (250 K people live here). Saw some plastisized Pirana which were tempting at $1 each, but I resisted with Winnie breathing down my neck! Got internet wired into our room but it is so slow 2K/sec the programs don’t work correctly…Can’t wait for the midnite bandwidth to open up. Got to get to 5 pm clinic….So Long!
Carter
posted by Hills @ 1:00 PM
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