The Gang of Amazonia

February 9, 2012:  Again I jumped on another riverboat, with this time being for 3 days as I made it further up the Amazon River to Manaus.  I was clearly much more relaxed arriving at the dock about 1 ½ hours before departure and didn’t even buy my ticket till I got there.  Once on the boat I carefully chose my hammock neighbors who ended up being perfect companions for the duration of the trip.  One was a mother and her 2 children and the others were a couple in their 20’s.

The boat I was on was well equipped for those traveling with electronics due to all of the power outlets scattered throughout the vessel.  The cell phone seemed to have turned everyone into zombies - standing silently next to one of the many outlets, as they charged the phones so they can continue to talk to everyone but those on the boat.  Remembering my phone addiction that I had in the past, I am really glad that I no longer use one at the moment. 

Fortunately for me I didn’t have to fight those with their phones for access to one of the power outlets so that I could charge my iPod, since I didn’t need it.  I was lucky enough to be on the floor that played music for the hearing impaired from the wee hours of the morning to the wee hours of the night.  At the end of the trip I was almost certain that I lost some hearing.  I wanted to plug my ears every time I passed in front of the speaker putting out decibels as loud as a jackhammer, but I had a high school relapse being too cool to do so. 

The toilet situation was bad - much worse than Alter Do Chao and almost unbearable even before the ship left port.  A quite a few times when I entered the toilet on this trip there seemed to be terds from different people floating in the same pool.  Some were so large floating in the already brown river water; I couldn’t believe it even came out of a human hole. 

The problem is that when you enter a bathroom, is that you claim whatever is in that toilet when you leave - whether you did it or not…it is that simple.  You will be put to blame if someone see’s you go out and then enters the bathroom after you, so the only thing you can do is keep flushing as I did and hope for the best.  And, if your best doesn’t work…just lift up the seat and make it out of there fast so they think you just took a pee.  I might be use to public toilets by now, but there is no way I will add to a toilet with islands or mountains fecal matter - no way.

I had 6 kids attach themselves to me for the entire 3 day trip in which we formed the Gang of Amazonia.  From being an art and craft center to their English and Spanish teacher, it was really nice to be around them.  They were not just my Portuguese teachers or the source of a lot of my smiles, but they were also wonderful reminders of two kids who I haven’t seen for quite some time.

As I sat on the boat, I watched the cowboys of the wild, wild not so wild Amazon.  The houses on this stretch of the Amazon from Santarem to Manaus seemed to be the ranches of the waterway.  With the abundance of cattle here, there had to be a choice…trees, or cattle? – looking as if the cattle won.  This region was definitely more developed that my first days on the river, but still amazingly beautiful.