Winter 2022 - The Amazon Expedition: Santarem and the Rain Forest

November 25, 2022 

As the ship was anchored off Santarem that Friday morning, those going for a hike in the rain forest, boarded tenders and transferred to the city docks. It is a very busy commercial port. On the tender, Gym noticed that several large freighters were tied up there. Once ashore, the tour group walked up to meet a rather dilapidated tour bus. It would be a long 90-minute ride to the conservation area, in a bus that boasted air conditioning but had all the windows open. Despite the less than premium transportation, the charismatic guide provided Gym etal with loads of interesting facts about the area, as they drove out of town to the south, and up into the highlands. 

First off, the guide let on that the freighters were loading soybeans. The area around Santarem produces a significant quantity of soybeans and rice which is loaded for export, right there on the Amazon. Export destinations are countries all over the world. The highway was busy with farm trucks and semi-trailers travelling in both directions. On the outskirts of town, there were farm machinery dealers, fertilizer stores and a large grain storage facility. Many of the workers in this city of about 300,000 were obviously employed in agri-businesses.

Once out of the city, there was field after field of soybeans. The odd thing was that each field had large trees randomly located throughout the crop land. The guide explained that these were Brazil Nut trees and that it was the only tree that it was illegal to chop down. There was an obvious economic reason for protecting these trees but the farmers must be frustrated when they work these fields because they have to go around the big obstacles. 

When the bus reached the conservancy, it left the highway and proceeded down a dirt road to a camp about two miles away. The camp was in a small clearing, surrounded by the jungle. It had been extremely hot that day but here in the jungle, it was a little cooler because of the shade. There were several interesting things right there in the clearing. The guides pointed out a Bullet Ant nest and described the very painful sting of these large and imposing ants. Gym made a mental note not to touch them. Then, there was also a rubber tree sapping demonstration. It was important to make diagonal cuts with your cutter so as not to kill the tree. Gym did touch the latex and it dried almost immediately on his finger. Nearby, the hikers were shown the massive Kapok tree that is very useful as it provides biofuel from the seeds and cotton for mattresses from the seed pods. The bark can be boiled to make medicine that treats diabetes and headaches, it also is helpful as a diuretic and aphrodisiac. 

Gym and his fellow hikers then broke into smaller groups and traipsed off into the jungle, observed two types of termite nests, different species of ants and other fascinating flora and fauna shown in the pictures. The forest was always alive with the sounds of birds, insects and animals, protecting their turf. The forest floor was covered in damp leaves and rotting logs. The ground was uneven and the hikers had to be careful not to step in holes or on unstable logs. At one point Gym pushed off a sturdy looking tree beside the trail and a few seconds later heard a loud crack as the tree broke at the base and fell across the trail behind him. As always, Mrs. Gym was in front of him so she was never in danger. The guide laughed and told me I wasn't as strong as I thought, the tree had been undermined by termites.

Aside from some uncertain footing, Gym enjoyed the hike. He really found the tour guide and the accompanying local naturalist, to be very knowledgeable and very animated in their discourse. After the hike and without losing anyone, the hikers re-boarded the buses for the return trip. When they reached the river, Gym was struck by the heartfelt thanks from the tour guide who let the group know that this tour was first of its kind in three years. We were the first cruise ship to come back to the Amazon since the advent of the pandemic.

Sure, Gym has some liberal leanings. He does care about the environment. He is worried about global warming. But these people need to feed their families and tourism helps with that. In turn, we learn more about this fragile environment and hopefully can turn turn that enlightenment towards helping the best conservation initiatives.

The ship weighed anchor that evening during one of the most beautiful sunsets Gym had ever seen. Then, the ship continued westward towards the city of Manaus.

Stay tuned!

Freighters on-loading Soybeans

A Brazil Nut tree in the front yard of this
farm can not be cut down by the farmer

A brazil nut shell that an agouti has broken open
and consumed the ripe fruit

A special tool used to cut diagonal grooves in a rubber tree

A red termite mound on the side of a tree

Our very good main guide, Paulo

A tree with a spiky defence

Mrs. Gym by the massive Kapok tree

Another termite mound, this time black ones

Sunset at Santarem

Winter 2022 - The Amazon Expedition: Why the Amazon?

Outside the mouth of the river, the sediment filled
waters spilling into the ocean are chocolate brown.

Finally on the Amazon River the water is calmer.

Multi-coloured riverside cliffs

Near Santarem, the clear Tapajos river
meets the silty Amazon

Santarem, Brazil

You seldom seem to be able to hit the waves straight on but when you do, the bow is not the best place to be sleeping. The ship rises up slowly and then suddenly falls into the trough and the collision with the sea sounds like a cannon going off. Gym usually is having a great dream that ends when the bow falls down and with it, he falls back down to the bed after having been suspended above it for a millisecond. No big deal, he braces himself for two more bangs and then goes back to sleep. He has learned from many cruises that the big waves always come in threes. Mrs. Gym has learned to always have seasickness pills on hand. 

For two and a half days after leaving Port of Spain, the seas were very rough and then just after entering Brazilian waters, the sea flattened out and changed colour to more of a brownish hue, as the finer particles of the millions of tons of sediment from the Amazon, spread out over the Atlantic. The smoothing of the sea showed us how the power of the Amazon triumphed over the wind-driven waves of the ocean. This meant Mrs. Gym could get back to normal.

The Insignia entered the mouth of the Amazon in the early morning on November 23, 2022. That day is also the date that Gym Jr. was born. That evening Gym Jr. got a WhatsApp for his parents wishing him a happy birthday. 

Gym has always wanted to explore the Amazon. Why is that? One reason may be the bedtime stories his father told he and two of his brothers when they all shared a room together. The stories were about a fictional character named, "Three-Fingered Joe". I think Three-Fingered Joe was sort of a combination of Humphrey Bogart and Gym's uncle who had lost two fingers on one hand, in WW2. This colourful character would steam up the Amazon and fight cannibal tribesmen and all manner of deadly beasts. Then, after Gym reluctantly grew out of bedtime stories, he attended university, where he studied hydrology, geomorphology and meteorology.  A greater respect was gained for the Amazon because it is the river of rivers. And then recently, the Amazon Basin has also been in the news for its loss of the rain forest habitat, Gym wanted to see what was happening for himself. These jungles are a massive carbon sink and due to the process of photosynthesis, they are an oxygen generator. For Gym, all these reasons were probably equally significant. He was happy as he finally was aboard a  ship sailing up the storied river. For Mrs. Gym, the steadiness of the ship had improved markedly.

Twenty-four hours after entering the mouth of the river, the Insignia anchored at Santarem. In the morning, Gym and his lovely wife were scheduled for a 2-hour drive into the interior, for an afternoon hike around in the Rain Forest. That day trip is the subject of the next posting

Stay Tuned!


 

Sunset over Santarem taken from Gym’s stateroom balcony

Winter 2022: The Amazon Expedition - Trinidad

Maracas Beach

On November 21, 2022, less than one week after leaving Miami, the Insignia had completed its dash across the Caribbean. Upon having docked in Port of Spain, Trinidad, the boat had travelled 1900 nautical miles. The ship tied up at the dock at about 8am and then would leave again by 3pm that afternoon.  This would be the last break for the Captain and the crew on the bridge, until his ship entered the mouth of the Amazon and steamed upriver to the first stop in Brazil, some four days after leaving Trinidad.

Trinidad is the southernmost island of the Lesser Antilles and the closest one to the South American continent. During the last ice age, Trinidad and Tobago became separated from the Venezuelan coastline as the glaciers receded and the seas rose. Like Venezuela, Trinidad has a significant oil industry but somehow the wealth wasn't sufficient to elevate everyone into the middle class because the GDP per capita is only about $15,000 per year. Year's ago, one of Gym's bosses tried to negotiate a purchase of some oil assets in Trinidad but he couldn't get the puck in the net. He should have let Gym lead the negotiation.

There was very little time to get off and go exploring but Gym and his lovely sidekick wanted to make the most of a very short stop in Trinidad. They needed to get a feel for the island! They chose a tour that used up all the time that they had in-country and it began with a drive through a bustling Port of Spain, on a very wet morning. Driving through the  capital in rush hour traffic, turned out to be slow-going but the tour guide knew his stuff and they eventually progressed by all of the historical, cultural and administrative highlights. There are seven very cool mansions in the central city that are referred to as the Magnificent Seven. There is also a striking new cultural centre called N.A.P.A. (National Academy for the Performing Arts). After emerging from the busier part of the city they came to the Royal Botanical Gardens where they were able to stroll through the massive green space and see the residence of the President.  

The tour then left the city and drove up into the highlands, to a viewpoint high above the coastal plain. The vista back towards the port was really outstanding. From there, the group began to make their way north away from the city and through the mountains that fringed the north coast. Eventually they would make their way through the forested slopes to another viewpoint looking down over the gorgeous Atlantic coastline. Then they descended down to the village of Maracas and Maracas Beach. They had a bit of time at the beach to stroll around, take some pictures and experience the laid-back vibe of this idyllic setting. The tour concluded with a drive back to the capital through the more trendy neighbourhoods, where the ex-pats are buying condos. 

Finally, despite all the ground they had covered that day, the tour made it back to the terminal in time for the planned sailing. Walking along the dock they stopped briefly to enjoy a steel drum band playing under an awning. Did you know that steel drums were invented in Trinidad in about 1947. They are pounded out of the bottoms of used 55-gallon oil drums, left by the U.S. Armed Forces that were based on the island in WW2.

The Insignia left Trinidad at the scheduled time and sailed out into the Atlantic Ocean. Over the next few days it would head southeastward past Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, on its way to the mouth of the mighty Amazon. Unfortunately, Mrs. Gym would suffer somewhat as the ship ran into a 3-meter chop that would persist for a couple of days. Poor Mrs. Gym!

Stay tuned!

The President's House in the Royal Botanical Gardens

A Eucalyptus with its
multi-coloured  skin

A memorial to steel drums under the tall palms

A view from the highlands back towards the ship.
The big thing that looks like a glass tuba on its side 
is the National Academy of the Performing Arts.

View of the Atlantic coastline from a viewpoint on
the highway

looking towards Maracas Bay from the same viewpoint

Maracas Village

Maracas Beach - this person swam
despite red flag conditions

A multi-generational steel drum band. They were good!

                

Winter 2022: The Amazon Expedition - Martinique and Mt. Pelee

 

Martinique's volcanic black sand beaches

On November 20, 2022, the Insignia had a pit stop in Fort-de-France, Martinique.  Our dynamic duo  would not stay in the capital city very long because they had an all-day tour booked that would take them to the foot of the infamous Mount Pelee and back. The route would start up the coast to St. Pierre and then circle around through the rain forest and back to the capital and the ship.

Instantly noticeable wass the difference in the wealth of this island compared to St. Barts. In terms of GDP per person, St. Barts is more than twice that of Martinique. The average GDP per person in St. Barts is $51,000 compared to $24,000 for a citizen of Martinique. There is more money in selling luxury goods and upscale real estate than there is in growing sugarcane and papaya. But could it also be because the people of Martinique have suffered through two major tragedies in their long history?

Two terrible natural disasters have devastated the country and both happened to wipe out the same town. In 1780 a great hurricane brought a 9-metre storm surge with it and the town of St. Pierre lost all its buildings and 9000 inhabitants. Then once more in 1902, St. Pierre was completely destroyed by the eruption of Mount Pelee and 28,000 more citizens lost their lives. St. Pierre had been the capital of Martinique but after the eruption, Fort-De-France became the centre of government. Today, one can still see the effects of the eruption on the main road through St. Pierre which has never really recovered. The tour included a visit to the Frank A. Perret Memorial Museum in St. Pierre.

Mt. Pelee was shrouded in cloud cover on the day of Gym's visit, so he couldn't get a picture. But after leaving St. Pierre, the tour took them closer to the mountain, to visit a more uplifting venue. Right under the mountain on its green and fertile slopes, is the Depaz Rum Distillery. Gym learned that Depaz makes rum the old fashioned way, they use sugar cane. Most rum these days doesn't come from sugar cane and it is referred to as industrial rum. Depaz uses sugar cane grown right on the mountain slopes and after they harvest it, they crush it and distill it, right there. Gym got a taste and although he is not a rum drinker, he gave the aged, dark rum, Gym's Seal of Approval. 

After leaving the distillery, the tour continued along the highway to a local eatery for a spicy local lunch, accompanied by fruity rum drinks and plenty of good, french wine. We sat with a British couple that spent their summers near Oxford, just outside of the Cotswolds. They pack up their car in the winter and drive through the Chunnel, to their place in southern France. Their bilingual cocker spaniel has a French Passport.

After lunch the tour wound down through some lush farmland and then entered the Rain Forest. The road was very narrow and as it twisted along the sides of the hills, it reminded Gym of several scenes out of the movie, "Romancing the Stone". As they emerged from the jungle they came to Jardin de Balata. Here they were able to get out and walk through a well-manicured tropical garden, where part of the path was along a suspended rope and wooden bridge that allowed for excellent views of the gardens below. As an aside, Gym learned that Balata golf balls come from a very attractive tropical tree. Balata is extracted as one would maple syrup from a maple tree.

After the nature park, the tour had to hussle for the ship because it was getting late. However, the guide allowed 5 minutes for a stop at Sacre-Coeur Basilica. The local cathedral’s parking lot afforded a breathtaking view of Fort-dr-Fralnce and the harbour.

Memorial Museum in St. Pierre

The St. Pierre Beach

A relic from the devastating eruption 
and a few thousand of the 28,000 names on the walls
in the museum

Oak barrel aging areaPart of the machinery near 
the sugarcane crushers

Machinery near the sugarcane crushers

The main buildings of Depaz

The crusher

The sugarcane fields

Gym enjoyed a great lunch here

A beautiful tropical botanical garden

One of the botanists

Why the botanist loves working here

A grove of anthurium

looking down into the rain forest

walkway through the treetops

a bamboo grove fascinates Mrs. Gym

These are red ginger flowers but this is
not where edible ginger comes from

the skywalk from below

Martinique hummingbirds

Sacre Coeur Basilica

View from Sacre Coeur's parking lot (it was a rainy day
but you can still see the ships parked at the dock).