I was so excited to watch our ship port that I woke up at 0500, only to realize that the sun wasn't up yet. So I waited an hour before heading out to the 6th deck forward. We sailed along the Amazon for a good hour before finally rounding a curve and there was the city on our starboard side, nothing like what I was expecting. I guess I presumed a port city in the smack middle of the Amazon would be more like Roseau, Dominica, small and quaint with nothing bigger than small, colorful two-story buildings. I definitely was not expecting to see a city so massive with a skyline to boot. I mean we went over the population of Manaus how many times in Global Studies and pre-port meetings, but I have never been oriented to numbers and it didn't really register until I saw it for myself. It was incredible. We finally sailed into port and a band set up to greet us. So there we were, up on deck while a group of Brazilian officials serenaded us from below.
Speaking of Brazilian officials, I never did mention that on our journey to Manaus, we made a stop in Macapa for fuel and to pick up a few of the state diplomats who sailed with us to Manaus, joining us in classes and presenting information on the nation of Brazil. It was really an interesting experience having them on board, living with us.
Up on deck I ran into my friend who happened to be going on the same riverboat trip as me. We had two hours between being cleared to leave the ship at 0800 and meeting up in the dining hall at 1000 with our group. What do you do with two hours to kill? Explore the city of course! Don't be fooled into thinking that we were just able to waltz off the ship, walk around for a while, and then waltz back on. All of the SAS trips going to Rio were scheduled to leave at 0800 and so we had to wait in line as everyone swiped their student ID cards to leave, that took a good 30 minutes, and then wait on the dock for a shuttle that would take us to the main port building. Not to mention we had to consider waiting in line to get back on the ship, and clearing customs, all before 1000. But honestly, if you had two hours to kill and not even 4 days in Brazil, would you twiddle your thumbs and wait on the ship? Didn't think so. So we met up with a few other people and ran around the city, visiting as many stores as we could in our quickly dwindling time. Manaus is colorful, and busy, and filled with shoe stores, and the exact same convenience store every forth shop called Shop Dope, and smells of rotting fruit. At about 20 minutes til 1000 we booked it back for the port building, jumped on the shuttle, made it through customs, dashed up the stairs and back to our rooms to grab our bags, and somehow made it to the dining room with a couple minutes to spare as they called out attendance.
Our riverboats were supposed to meet us at the same dock that the ship was at, but due to some change in security they had to dock farther along the coast. So our group of forty some students walked along the busy streets with our luggage in tow, through the city in the dizzying heat until we reached a small port bustling with colorful riverboats. We walked down the concrete ramps, and up a dangerously rickety and narrow wooden plank, held up by nothing but a tire hanging from a rope to get onto the larger of our two boats. The larger of the boats held 30 students, and the little boat was just big enough for the other dozen of us. For some reason though our little boat would be meeting up with us later so we all crowded onto the bigger one to cruise up the river to our first destination: the 'Meeting of the Rivers.' Once again, I had no idea what to expect, one river branching off of another one? Ok that's cool but what's the big deal? There is no river branching off of another, merely one turning into the other, but the thing is they are both completely different colors, and due to the different sediments and minerals in each river, you can see the distinct division between the two: the Amazon, the color of mud; and the Negro, black like earl grey. Looking at the two looks for all the world like cream being swirled into coffee. It's really cool.
Next up was the Victoria Regia Water Lilies. At this point I will admit I was getting a little concerned with what the next four days were going to entail. I booked this trip through Global Citizens, a group comprised of Semester at Sea alumni who wanted to put together a trip of all the top destinations and most popular things to see in each port. They have gotten a wide array of mixed reviews so I knew going into it that I was gambling with my time in port and it would either turn into an incredible experience, or a complete disaster. We reached the water lilies, climbed off the boat, walked on a little wooden path through a patch of light forest, and came out at an observation deck over a sea of gigantic water lilies. It was really cool but a bit too touristy, with our guide stopping at random spots in the forest to educate us on this or that tree, and then the lifespan of the water lily blossoms. I wanted a real experience, not a safe little walking tour. A few of us stopped at a little food stand on the way back and bought what I can only describe as deep-fried squares of dough stuffed with cheese. Omg I've never tasted anything so delicious! But that is probably the influence of a constant diet of pasta and potatoes speaking. But seriously, it was like the perfect combination between a donut and a grilled cheese sandwich, which was exactly the comfort food I've been craving after days of iceberg lettuce. So after my first real meal in what felt like eons, I felt a million times better.
By this time the small boat had caught up with us and so our little group moved all of our bags over. These riverboats were so cool. They were completely open air, no windows whatsoever, just tarps that were pulled down when it would rain. On the bottom deck the captain's area to steer the boat was at the bow, followed by a small dining area, and the kitchen in the stern. The bathroom was also down there and comprised of a closet-sized room with a toilet, showerhead, and drain. The top deck was completely empty to make room for hammocks to hang from the beams, and a small deck in the stern. When we boarded, our hammocks were not up yet and so we sat in plastic deck chairs with our feet up on the railing and just watched the scenery and enjoyed as we sailed down the Amazon. I have to say, it was really cool not having any technology (cell phones, laptops, etc.) for the entire time. We hardly had a light for that matter. There was one small neon light on the top deck but we were only able to turn it on when the boat's engines were on.
We sailed up the river for a few hours, until well after dark before we finally pulled over to the other boat so that dinner could be passed over. Normally we would stop and rope the boats together at meal times so that we could all eat together, but we still had a significant amount of distance to cover before docking for the night and so only stopped long enough to collect our meal. Our chefs for those four days were incredible: three home-cooked meals per day with a wonderful assortment of fresh fruit, fish, rice, beans, and other traditional Amazonian foods. For breakfast they would make these flat, white, chewy, tapioca cakes, which really didn't have a whole lot of flavor, but they would spread them with butter and roll them up and they were really delicious. That first night for dinner we also got cake, because it was one of the girl's birthdays. The fact that we got cake and the other boat didn't caused a fair amount of resentment.
We spent the evening playing out on the back deck in the pouring rain and then just sitting around talking while we drank what I believe were called caberiñas (my spelling is probably off). Caberiñas are a traditional Brazilian drink, comprised of sugar and lime pulp, mixed into nothing but pure rum. So yeah, you may think of a drink as a shot or two of liquor with a mixer, but not the Brazilians, they don't mess around with their rum. An entire glass of rum with a bit of sweetener is all you need.
We hung up our hammocks after a long hot day and after a while found our destination and docked with the other boat. No mosquito nets, just a hammock swaying in the open air on a riverboat with the sound of the jungle in the background.
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