For me the Amazon River is a mythical place I read about in books when I was a kid. The fact that I am actually here, and get to explore places most people do not get to see, is almost unreal.

The Amazon Rain forest is the largest tropical rain forest in the world, covering 1/3 of the area of Brazil! Amongst other things it produces 1/4 of the fresh water in the world and 1/3 of the oxygen. The river itself is also one of the longest rivers in the world, with its 6566 km it stretches from the Andean mountains of Peru all the way to the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil.

Port area in Alter do Chao

The first Amazonian stop was Alter do Chao, a small town famous for its lover’s beach. This beautiful stretch of sand is only accessible during the dry months, the rest of the year it is under water. We still got to see the beach huts sticking up from the water.

Apparently there is a beautiful beach under the water

After a walk around town we stopped at a local restaurant for lunch. Luckily one of my friends is from Brazil, so she ordered local food for us. We tried three different local fruit juices which were all equally tasty. We also had some local fish, – Tambaqui, which was really appetizing. Only after we had eaten did we have a closer look at the fish. Turns out it has very human looking teeth. Oh well, it still tasted really good.

Yummy local fish

Along the water there were several small boats which would take you sightseeing. We decided to take a trip to the enchanted river. The boat took us past another island with an underwater beach and into the jungle itself. There were trees all around us, and you could even see them growing under the water. Along the way we saw several boats, some houses and even people swimming in the river.

Entrance to the enchanted forest

When we arrived at somewhat of a clearing, we were transferred into a smaller canoe. This young boy paddled us into even denser jungle. It was so quiet and peaceful it felt like you were in a completely different world. While the wildlife was limited to some birds and some small fish, we did see so many different types of trees.

Peaceful moment in the amazon

After the canoe ride we were brought back to the port area. We just missed the tender back to the ship, so we had time to look at the local handicrafts while we waited for the next one.

One of the most interesting tender piers I have seen

The next Amazonian port was Parintins. This is a bigger town than Alter do Chao and is famous for its Boi-Bumba, a folklore festival held every summer. Parintins is also a big ferry harbor, and you can see the locals relaxing in their hammocks on the open decks of the ferries. Unfortunately we were there on a Sunday so most places were closed, to be honest the whole town looked kind of abandoned.

Local ferry in Parintins

In the end we found a very local restaurant at the edge of the river. We had some beautiful fresh grilled fish served with rice, beans and farofa. As it was a superhot day we also opted for a locally made ice cream, which was super yummy. We then walked along the river back to the local markets for some souvenirs before heading back to the ship.

Lunch with the locals

The furthest up-river we went was Manaus, which was also by far the biggest city. As we had a mini-turnaround on the first day, and an early sail on the second day I didn’t really get much time to go out and explore. I did do a quick run to the supermarket which brought me past the busy streets with all the vendors and the famous opera house.

Manaus harbor

By far the most interesting port we visited was Boca da Valeria, a small Indian village a 3 hour boat ride from Parintins. When we first got ashore we saw all the small boats waiting to take visitors on trips on the river. However we decided to explore the village first. In total the village consisted of a church, a school and some houses on stilts. It seemed like all the people were out, many of the children were either dressed up in their traditional costumes or carrying around various animals. Before even going ashore I had decided that I would seek out a sloth to hold, I didn’t even have to look far as they were being carried around by the children.

Local houses and boats

After buying some souvenirs and local handicrafts it was time for the boat ride. As it was a good sized group of us we got to go on a bigger boat with a semi-roof. The shade that gave was very much welcome in the heat. The first thing we saw, except for the jungle, was a caiman, which is part of the alligator family. I then got distracted by the massive water lilies, which I had seen pictures for in Alter do Chao. The skipper sailed us closer to them so we could take some pictures, not mentioning that we would pass by several more on the way back. We then sailed by another part of the same community, where they had some more houses, a completed church, a church under constructions and a school.

Boat ride on the Amazon

Massive water lilies

Back in the village we decided to explore some more as most of the guests had gone back to the ship. We found a lady who had managed to tame a toucan, the colors on its beak were so vibrant and clear it almost looked like they were painted on. We also saw, and got to play with, more sloths. There was even one who kept on trying to escape, but he got caught by one of the children every time – they are very slow after all. We concluded our trip ashore with a visit to one of the local stilt houses. While the house itself was very basic, they had the most amazing view!

Adorable local children

Awesome view

The last port we went to was Santarem, where the ship had arranged a piranha fishing trip for the crew. We headed up the river with high hopes of both piranhas and pink dolphins. As we had to sit inside the boat in until we had passed the navy ship, we saw very little in the beginning.

The first thing we did see was the meeting of the waters. This is where the muddy and murky Amazon River meets the clearer Tapajós River. Due to the completely different characteristics of the two rivers you can see a clear divide where they meet. At this point we were allowed to go on the roof of the boat, which acted as a kind of balcony. This gave us an even better view of the different waters.

Where the waters meet

We then started heading into a smaller part of the river with denser jungle. Every now and then we would pass by houses, all built on stilts to protect them from the increased water levels during the rainy season. None of these houses were in the vicinity of each other, and they all use small boats to get around. At one point we saw that the boat in front of us had stopped to look at something, and we followed. It was a sloth hanging of a branch sleeping. We also passed locals out in their small boats fishing, one even had lots of fish he had caught.

Local Amazon houses

Catch of the day

Eventually we arrived at our fishing spot where we anchored. We were all handed a baited line, and got to pick our own fishing spot. Things got interesting when the people on the roof started throwing their lines almost hitting the people on the deck below. We were told to keep the hooks just under the boat as this was where the piranhas are. The first person to catch a fish must have had the hook too low in the water as he caught a catfish. The guide showed us the fish, and explained that it was a poisonous fish, before he released it again. One of the guys working on the boat then caught a white piranha. Again the guide showed it to us, and explained a few things about the fish. He then held the fish so that we could see and take pictures of the teeth before releasing it again. There were only 2 more piranhas caught – so not the most successful fishing day.

Baited fishing lines

Waiting for anything to bite

White Piranha

On the trip back to the ship the heat had gotten to most of us, so we all found a seat facing the outside of the ship and relaxed – we even got to play some music. As we came close to Santarem the skipper slowed down so that we could see some of the city, and all the boats lining it. There were also some local kids jumping from the dock into the water, we started applauding them which made them jump with even more energy and tricks. At one point my friend yelled that she saw a pink dolphin, and true enough, just as we all were looking in that direction it came out of the water, did a little spin in the air so we could see the pink belly and disappeared again.

City life in Santarem

Even if I am glad we are out of Brazil, I must say that the Amazon River has been one of the coolest places I have cruised. There is so much diversity, so much history and some amazing people here – not to mention those adorable baby sloths!

I got to hold a baby sloth!