• Time in port: 10 hours
• We passed over the Equator late last night, en route to Belem – and found a cute “Certificate” in our room today. This, of course, means that we are in hot, humid rainforest-type weather, where rain is interspersed with sunshine.
• Today’s tour began with an 8:15 a.m. check-in (ouch)
• Because we arrived near Belem via the Para River – with a sea depth of only about 20 feet – we had to take a “tender” (ferry boat) from the ship to the dock
• There, we boarded a large, air-conditioned bus for a ride to the City of Belem, guided by “Osvaldo”
• We spent a good deal of time walking through the large outdoor Ver-o-Peso Market, where we saw all kinds of produce, meats, fish, spices and sundries of every kind for sale. There was even a fully-naked black woman, with one tooth, who seemed to be following us (bizarre-o). But we were also being followed by a very muscular, well-shaped Brazilian “body guard”, to protect us from kidnapers and thieves -- and naked stalkers in the market! I bought a Piranha and a couple Belem magnets (to go with my new “collection” of magnets from each place we visit).
• Then, we took a regional wooden boat for a trip through the Amazon Delta, down the Guama River to a nearby island
• There, we had lunch prepared at a local restaurant featuring a number of Amazon native dishes (3 kinds of fish, 3 kinds of rice, mashed potatoes, cole slaw and some other stuff I didn’t recognize); they also introduced us to a variety of tropical fruits.
• The brochure said a chef would demonstrate how to prepare Native dishes using leaves, roots and herbs during the cooking process, but that didn't happen for some reason.
• THOUGHTS/IMPRESSIONS
• The Market was crowded, hot/extremely humid and smelly! But it was interesting, too … lots of great “people-watching”
• I waited for the line to dissipate before getting my lunch, and by the time I did, the food was cold. So I didn’t eat much of anything. Ironically, a tour highlighting the food had as its low point the food.
• The day’s highlight was the amazing boat ride from Ver-O-Peso Market down the Guama River. We had fabulous views of the market and the city, but the magic began with the tour down the Guama River. There, we saw natives living “as they do”. The whole time, I felt like I was on a Disney ride – only this was real! I kept waiting for the wildlife to sneak out of the water and shoot water at us. The breezes from the open-aired bus provided a welcome relief from the heat and humidity, too. As if on cue, a downpour began as we departed the area back toward our bus – it was a real amazon rainforest experience!
• SOME OTHER IMAGES FROM OUR ROOM
• UPDATES
Today, I was told that the lady who was hit by the tour van in Dominica lost a leg, but she did survive. (Shortly after, I was told this was incorrect, and she had died. Wow.) This has left us “on our guard”, but still enjoying the trip. It’s been ONE WEEK so far – and we’ve already seen and done so many incredible things. We are blessed.
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