Such Interesting Stops Cruising the Amazon River

There Was So Much To See Cruising The Amazon River

On our cruise around South America, the first major segment included 7 days cruising the Amazon River with Oceania Cruises.  We had an interesting time as we stopped in several ports along the Amazon River.  Our day trips took us out to see local life.  And we found the pink dolphins and sloths.  

The Mixing Of The Waters In Santarem

As we approached Santarem, we saw the first mixing of the waters.  The dark waters of the Tapajos River flowed beside the muddy waters of the Amazon.  The Tapajos River was a relatively clean deep blue river and slightly warmer.

We docked at the commercial port and walked to a smaller boat for our day tour.  The smaller boat took us back out we got a closer view of the mixing of the waters. Then we went for a slow trip along Maica Lake.  

On the boat ride back to our cruise ship, we moved slowly along the shore.  Our guide talked about the things we saw in the small city of Santarem.

A Look At River Life From Santarem

The boats moved along the side of Maica Lake one after another.  Lake Maica is a tributary outlet of the Amazon but it looked more like a stream in a floodplain.  As we travelled through the floodplain, we got some glimpses of life on the water.  Boats were pulled up.  Houses were built on stilts to accommodate the high variation in water height between the rainy and dry seasons (up to as much as 40 to 50 feet). 

Our guide kept a watchful eye out for wildlife on the banks and often pulled the boat over so we got a closer look.  We saw buffalo and horses.  And a sleeping sloth hung upside down in a tree.

At one point, the boat pulled over.  We were all given baited primitive fishing lines to catch the deadly meat-eating piranha.  One guest caught a catfish. Another finally caught a piranha.  I was surprised that this small fish was so dangerous. Although we were told piranha were only dangerous if there was blood in the water, they were hungry, were in shallow waters and in larger groups.  

Our day trip from Santarem gave us our first view of life along the Amazon River.

Visit Parintins For The Boi Bumba Rivalry

The second port stop was in the smaller town of Parintins.  This town was probably best known for the rivalry in the town between the red (Garantido) and blue (Caprichoso) team supporters.  We learned about the big 3 day festival (“Boi Bumba”) held in the last week of June.  This festival was second only to Rio’s Carnivale in popularity.  Teams competed at the festival and were judged on their music, dance and costumes. 

When we got off the tender boat at the dock, we found a pedicab ride for a tour around Parintins.  It was a Sunday and the streets were very quiet.  As we moved around the town, we saw lots of colour and signs of support for the red or blue teams. 

We stopped at the large Bumbodromo arena with the red and blue sections.  And then when we stopped at the large arena where the blue supporters gathered to celebrate. Our guide proudly showed us all the awards won by the blue teams!

We were most amazed when we found some beautiful pieces of street art as we travelled around the town.  There were many bull-themed pieces. But we also found a colourful eclectic selection of topics. 

We really enjoyed our time touring around Parintins.  It was a fun stop cruising the Amazon River.  It would be amazing to return during the festival time.

Arriving In Manaus When Cruising the Amazon River

Manaus was a large city on the Amazon River almost 1000 nautical miles from the start of our trip down the Amazon River.  Manaus meant “Mother of God”.   The city had a long history and drew many European settlers.  The rubber trade made this city quite wealthy until the decline of the rubber industry around 1920.  There was a lot to see and do on a city tour.  But we had something else in mind for this stop.

As we approached Manaus, we saw another mixing of the waters.  The dark Negro River joined the muddy Amazon and again flowed beside it.  The two rivers differed in water temperatures and current speeds.  The Negro River was a dark colour as a result of the resins in the water.  When the water was mixed by a passing boat, it looked like “Coca Cola water”.

As we sailed on the Amazon River, we often saw dolphins as they jumped by the ship.  But the dolphins all seemed to be standard grey dolphins.  We kept hoping for a sight of the pink dolphins that the Amazon was known for.  So we were really glad we booked a tour in Manaus to see the pink dolphins.

A small fast boat picked us up from the ship.  We passed under the tall 3.5 mile long Rio Negro Bridge, the only one that crossed over the Amazon River. 

We continued for about 90 minutes up the Negro River.  There were many large white sand beaches and some resorts on the shore.  This was a vacation spot for people from Brazil.  We saw red rock cliffs along the water. In several spots we saw green islands in the middle of the river.  These islands disappeared in the rainy season when the river rose.

A Day Trip In Manaus

Our first stop was at a small local village.  The boat was beached on the sand and we walked into the village.  This particular village was pretty modern because money was injected into it as a movie site.  It was quite strange to see a satellite dish when we stopped for a refreshment and found local crafts for sale.

We walked around the island and saw the houses and schools.  A local worked with rubber sap to create a big latex ball over a smokey fire.  We saw the rubber trees and how the sap was collected.  Rubber was made in the Amazon forever.  But it was not until the process to vulcanize the rubber was invented that rubber brought prosperity to the rubber business.

Pink Dolphins Were A Treat In Manaus

Hot and sweaty, we re-boarded the boat for a short trip to the dolphin site.  Originally we were not sure we would get in the waters of the Negro River.  But the dolphins and heat had us convinced.  David went in first so I could watch him.  And then I went in.  

The local handlers had a large bucket of fish.  It did not take long before the pink dolphins arrived.  They were friendly, curious and playful.  I often felt them bumping up against me under the water.  And when they jumped for the fish, they were a sight to see.

The pink dolphins were quite distinctive.  Their long snouts were used to get into crevices for food. Their large foreheads gave them much bigger sonar for locating prey in the inky waters.  The pink colour came from having their blood vessels closer to the surface.  They were an amazing sight!

After our play time, we re-boarded our boat refreshed and delighted.  We were so happy we saw the pink dolphins when cruising the Amazon River.  Although, we were sorry not to have more time in Manaus.  But we did not regret our choice at all.

Small Town Life In Boca Da Valeria

The ship headed back out of the Amazon River after Manaus.  The next stop cruising on the Amazon was the tiny native village of Boca da Valeria.  This small town sat where the Valeria River met the Amazon (Boca means “mouth of”).  It was a long cruise ship tender boat ride to the small village of about 100 inhabitants.  But many locals were anxious to meet the ship and came out in canoes with goods for sale.

Oceania Cruises always came prepared for this port with food and clothing offerings.  On another cruise, they brought furniture for the local school.  It reminded us of our visit to the Viking School on our Viking Cruises trip down the Yangtze River.

The children were all lined up and prepared to pose for pictures for a dollar.  Most of the town was dressed in modern clothes.  But some dressed up in traditional gear for the visitors.  

The biggest draw was the three-toed sloths.  They looked so very cute.  If you did not get close to their wicked claws.  We saw many of them on our other tour days.  But this was the first close encounter.

There were no organized tours at this stop.  So people just wandered and looked at local life.  A much different view of life cruising the Amazon River.

The Beach Town Of Alter Do Chao On The Tapajos River

On our final stop on the way out of the Amazon, we anchored offshore of the town of Alter Do Chao.  This was a beach getaway on the Tapajos River just around the corner from our first stop in Santarem.  

The tender boat anchored at a floating dock and deposited us onto the beach.  There were again no formal tours, so vendors and tour boat operators formed a gantlet for us to pass through.  We rarely take home souvenirs although we looked and admired the local crafts.

We had a short walk to the promenade along the beach.  Across a small strip of water we saw the sand spit known as “Ilha do Amor”  (or Island of Love).  We saw the small row boats as they moved continually between the shore and the island.  It was about $1 per person each way to visit the island.

As we walked along the promenade, we looked at the boats.  At one point, we saw the first but not last reminder that we were still in the land of the pink dolphin.

Wandering In Alter Do Chao

We passed a shaded park where many people stopped to enjoy the breeze off the water.  Several pieces of interesting street art were around the park.  And yet more pink dolphins.

It was a Tuesday when we visited and most of the bars, restaurants and stalls were not open.  But we were sure it was a popular spot with locals on the weekend.  The church was open for a quick visit.

We strolled slowly back along the town streets.  We considered taking a short boat tour along the shore.  But at almost 95% humidity, we wished we had stopped for a swim.  And we knew the swimming pool waited for us onboard our cruise ship.  But we were glad we took a few hours to walk in Alter Do Chao when cruising the Amazon River.  

Cruising the Amazon River – Reality Versus Expectations

When we booked our cruise around South America, we were very excited to find that the cruise included 7 days cruising the Amazon River.  But we were really not sure what to expect.

We knew it was the largest river in the world (greatest discharge), that it was very wide at many places and expected the muddy brown water.  But the image in our minds was still a little out of a Tarzan movie.  When the captain warned us about waking in the morning with bats hanging on our balconies, it reinforced our preconceived images.  But on our trip, the river was wide and we never sailed through vine-covered waterways.

We worried about insects on our Amazon cruise and brought enough bug lotion to coat everyone on the ship. And we had clothes that covered every inch of our bodies.  But while we saw flying insects and the occasional large cockroach, we easily managed without wrapping up like mummies.  But then, we did not visit in the rainy season!

We knew that the Portuguese were early settlers and we found many Portuguese town names.  We even remembered the few words of Portuguese we learned. It brought back memories of our wonderful 4 weeks in Portugal.

We were happy to learn more about the Amazon River, the creatures native to the area and to meet the local people.  And it was interesting to see it was very different from what we expected.

Such Interesting Sights Cruising the Amazon River

We saw so many interesting sights cruising the Amazon River.  The larger towns had many sights to visit.  Boat trips along the rivers provided us with views of local life and traditions.  And we loved the chance to get up close with both pink dolphins and sloths.

It was fascinating to see the mixing of the waters twice on our trip.  The wide muddy Amazon flowed beside the Tapagos and then the Negro River, never really mixing.  

We enjoyed the chance to travel the Amazon River on our cruise around South America.  It was different than we expected.  But still something we were happy to experience.  It was a very different experience than our other stops in Brazil.

Did you go cruising the Amazon River?  Did you have a favourite stop?

Copyright Notice: All material on this travel blog site is the sole property of RetiredAndTravelling.  This includes blog posts, pages, design and all photos (whether watermarked or not). Any use of materials from this site without express written consent will be considered copyright infringement.