Santarem | Parintins | Manaus
After four days at sea from the Caribbean on our 110-day cruise from Miami, we arrive on the Amazon River in Brazil to spend Christmas and bring 2023, the new year aboard the beautiful Marina with Oceania Cruises.
Santarem, Brazil
Yesterday was Christmas Day, which saw us sail into the Amazon River; we spent a day in awe of the vastness of the river and the colour change as we celebrated Christmas in a new country. We all woke with a little jolt as the ship ran aground, but we were back on our way after a few hours.
The Amazon travels through four countries at 4,345 miles in length and holds more water than any other; the Amazon River has no equal significance to the global ecosystem. It is one of the world's longest, feeding and nurturing the equally remarkable rainforest surrounding it. The enormous rainforest covers over 2 million square miles and is credited with harbouring roughly one-third of all species of living creatures.
As we cruised more, plunging into the Amazon, our first destination was Santarem, where the rivers meet. Two rivers surround Santarém: the Amazon, of muddy water, and the Tapajós, of clear and green water, forming a unique meeting of different waters that do not mix for several kilometres; it was pretty surreal. The "Meeting of Waters" phenomenon occurs due to temperature, speed and water density differences.
We were booked on a boat cruise afternoon excursion today; we wanted to see more of the Amazon and get up close and personal, so we skipped the city.
We were all aboard, about 20 of us making our way through the meeting of the waters, watching the local life on the water pass us by. It was interesting to see how the locals transit between towns; their seats are hammocks on boats and can take up to a few days to arrive. There were fuel stations out on the river for all the boat life and, surprisingly, dolphins in freshwater, pink and blue; we were lucky to catch a few glimpses as we navigated the rivers.
About one hour in, we arrived at a narrow part and enjoyed the change of pace as we navigated slowly, taking in the peacefulness and new landscapes of the Amazon and pinching ourselves. We were in The Amazon, another Bucket list!
Our captain found a shady spot on the river's edge, and it was time to all test our skills for Piranha fishing. It has been a while since I have been fishing or yabbying, so this would be interesting! They were kind enough to have the wooden reel tackled up for us, which would help avoid any accidents! Over the lines went, and we all spent an hour trying to catch a little one. Only two were seen amongst us all (Wayne & I were not successful), and they were tiny little ones who were returned to their natural habitat.
After our fishing experience, we were to head back up the river; again, we ran aground, and our crew were immersed in piranha waters to push us out; it was an eventful afternoon.
As we returned during the golden hour, we were blessed with more sightings of the dolphins, including the majestic pink dolphins, a first! Unfortunately, capturing it is difficult, but the memories will remain with us.
After a long and hot afternoon, we were ready to freshen up and enjoy cocktails before dinner.
