Day 10, Jan 11, 2010, On Amazon River

We woke about 7 to an announcement that we had arrived at the place where the pilot joins the ship and immigration boards.  We are in the river for sure.  We are just up river from the town of Macapa.  The large port city of Belem is on the other side of a very large island, maybe 50 miles away.  We are also south of the equator now.  I’ve got some pictures, but the river is indeed cafe latte color.  I turned on the Magellan and it read 63 feet above sea level!  Let’s say I was 30 feet above the water on deck 5.  It’s hard to image that much water, 33 feet of it, “piled” up between here and the ocean. 

I started the malaria pills yesterday.  They are definitely giving me some discomfort:  gut pains, aches, tired.  We’ll see how it goes.  Chris started 4 or 5 days ago, and has been having trouble since. 

Today I’m typing from the lounge, where we are about to watch a cooking demo and tour of the facilities. We have a Portuguese Maitre De.  We have a German chief chef.

The demo was hilarious.  The chef and Maitre de were like Martin and Lewis.  There were lots of snafus because… hmmm, not sure why.  They made the most of it. 

We got underway about noon and I’m up in the front lounge, which gives a good (and air conditioned) view of the river.  Photos don’t do it justice.  I took a movie panorama when we first started, but now the river has narrowed; I should say that we are sailing through multiple islands. 

The landscape is constantly changing, with dark rain clouds here and there, as well as patches of blue.  Obviously, being still in the delta, the landscape is mostly flat, but it looks like the forest comes right to the water’s edge; there’s very little evidence of human habitation, other than an occasional small boat.   You know, I haven’t seen any birds. ???

I worked on genealogy most of the afternoon, taking time off only for the King Neptune ceremony.   It was fun, not nearly as drawn out as the one we had in the Pacific.

Now I’m sitting in the place where the entertainment is, waiting for the show to start.  It’s handy having the computer to keep me occupied.   Chris doesn’t sit with me.  I like sitting near the front.  She like sitting in some straight bar chairs in the back.  I am not comfortable there.