We have arrived...The Amazon (6/1/17)

Sometime during the night, we should have entered the mouth of the Amazon.  However, due to heavy rains the last 7-10 days, the current is much stronger than planned; we are now almost six hours behind schedule.  We actually made it into the River itself somewhere around noon.  The Amazon is distinctly different from the ocean sailing we have enjoyed since leaving Miami.   In addition to being a much smoother ride, the water is the color of coffee with cream (that would be a Regular for my Boston readers).  A quick trip topside this morning did not result in any wildlife sightings, but did give one an appreciation for the vastness and size of the Amazon.  Where we initially entered it is so wide that we can only see distant land on one side.  By mid-afternoon land was visible on both sides of the ship although quite a distance away.

Today we stopped in Macapa, Brazil, although this is not on our cruise itinerary.  Leaving the ship was not an option as we anchored off shore.  The stop is referred to as a Technical Stop and its’ purpose is twofold.  First, to allow Brazilian immigration officials to clear the ship for our travels up river and secondly to pick up two river pilot captains.  Since the river is ever-changing and no charting system can stay up to date, the ship is required to have a special river pilot on the bridge at all times (I guess they will be working 12 hours shifts).  Due to the currents we missed our scheduled 10am arrival time and did not arrive until 4:30pm.  Around this time, there was also a medical emergency on board.  Two passengers left the ship along with the ship's physician.  We can not proceed until the physician returns to the ship.  This will cause us to miss our next port of call, Santarem, originally scheduled for Friday.  The plan is to add this port to our return trip down the river and cancel a port of call with no scheduled excursions.  However, we had booked a private tour for this port and will be sorry that we won't be able to enjoy the additional tour.

A few other things have also changed now that we are “on the river”.  The ship is unable to produce its own fresh water due to the amount of silt in the river (the reason it has the distinctive light brown color).  We have been told to conserve water and will likely not be able to do laundry during our time here.  Fresh towels may only be available once daily and by the end of this stretch, we may be using paper napkins.  I guess I could offer to “shower with a friend”, but I’m not sure our shower stall can accommodate two at a time.

Our first Amazon wildlife sighting came very unexpectedly during lunch.  We were enjoying the Ribs, Ribs and more Ribs lunch at a poolside table when Mary noticed a bird on an upper deck railing.  A closer look found that the bird had a yellow breast.  A few pictures and a review of our Brazilian wildlife guide and our first sighting has been identified as a Tropical Kingbird.

The ship offered a wine tasting this afternoon.  Given that the sun is extremely strong, we decided to attend and visit with other guests.  Of note, the temperature is only 85 degress and the humidity is 66%.

We finished the day with our first Amazon sunset.  Beyond the sunset itself the sky has fantastic cloud formations.  After dark, the outside decks were closed and we were asked to make sure our drapes were closed tightly as the lights will attract lots of flying insects.   Our naturalist on board has suggested that we walk the ship first thing in the morning, if we like looking at these invertebrates.  I apologize now to those of you that might not enjoy some of my pictures.

Link to photos:
Entering the Amazon (6/1/17)