Drought in the Amazon

[crowpro]

We are on the Regatta cruise of the Amazon beginning March 19th. Does anyone know if the drought is over or what effect it had on the November 2010 Amazon cruise?

[comcox]

We were on the Nov/Dec Amazon cruise so I can tell you about conditions then.

 

Water level in Amazon itself was low, but it did not effect our sailing up the main river that was noticeable. You did see some impact on shore excursions that were scheduled to travel up small tributaries. They could not go as far up river and in one case a few of the small boats got entangled in river grass that has sprouted up in places our guide told they hadn't seen before. On one of our small boat trips at one stop it was such a steep climb up a bank that most of us did not get off (normally the river would have had the boat up to the top of the bank).

 

The collapse in the commercial dock area at Manaus that happened in October I think did effect our itinerary though as we had to "fill our tanks" in Port of Spain Trinidad instead and therefore docked there in place of planned Tobago stop. We did not know about itinerary change til our first night on board so scrambled to re-arrange our planned shore tour.

 

I'm not sure what effects the recent rains have had; many of storms and landslides that have been in the news were further south in Brazil.

[crowpro]

Thanks for the info, we are very much looking forward to this cruise.

[LittleRedJohn]

We, too, are on the March sailing to the Amazon. Could you please provide us more details of your Amazon experience. Anything you could offer would be appreciated. Thanks. John.

[comcox]

We, too, are on the March sailing to the Amazon. Could you please provide us more details of your Amazon experience. Anything you could offer would be appreciated. Thanks. John.

 

Sorry I've been remiss in not getting my full review written and posted but in the meantime here's some quick info on our Amazon ports:

 

 

Santarem-we went along on a private tour that someone else oranized but it was fantastic. It was booked with Gil Serique (www.gilserique.com). We had a very comfortable private river boat that went up the small rivers where we we saw lots of birds, pink dolphins, and sloths. Before boarding the boat we drove in a van to some smaller villages off the beaten path where we talked to villagers about how they live, work, etc. Gil is quite a character--a brilliant ADHD type with lots of knowledge--so we really enjoyed ourselves. Some other folks hired a small boat to go fishing for piranhas which the crew then cooked up for them. We never really saw any of the town so I can't comment on that part.

 

Boc de Valeria-bring lots and lots of single dollars with you! This is a small island that seems to subsist on cruise ship visitors. You will be met at the tender dock by a huge crowd of children, at least two of whom will immediately adopt you and walk you to the village. Most speak at least a little English and will happily answer your questions. Other villagers and children will be stationed along the walk in costumes, with native animals, etc. for your photos (gratuity expected). My husband brought his binoculars and was spotted by two teen boys who offered to take him bird watching in the jungle behind the village; he had a great time. I stopped by the school which was in session (at least a few kids were attending). I enjoyed meeting the teacher and students and she nicely pointed out the donation box next to her desk--I left many of my dollars there rather than at the photo stops which I thought we a bit exploitive. There were also crafts available to buy. We were fortunate to take the first tender over and only stayed about 45-60 minutes, which was all that was needed, as it was very hot and humid.

 

Manaus (2-day) stop--we elected to spend the first day walking around town on our own and it worked out well. We walked up to the Opera House which was amazing. They offer tours, some in English, which you buy a ticket for when you arrive but try to beat the ship's tour if you can--we did and it worked out well. On the far side (away from the river) of the Opera House is a wonderful eco gift shop with really nice crafts at reasonable prices--much nicer than the usual tourist stuff at the open market. Again we went early to beat the heat. City was very crowded as it was a religious holiday and everyone was out and about. For the second day we had booked an early morning birdwatching tour with www. birding.com.br. We had a van and visited four differenct habitats seeing lots of toucans, parrotts, etc. Several people took the nighttime cayman spotting shore ex. and almost all said it was a big waste of money.

 

Paratins--small town with almost no tourist infrastructure. Guy who arranged great Santarem tour had arranged one here as well but it did not go very smoothly. They were an hour late coming--something about special paper work and getting gas for boat--and then we realized organizer barely spoke English. A few quick cell phone calls brought a local missionary who was wonderful; he and his wife accompanied us on our trip up river to remote village that had not seen Americans before. Although they had a full functioning school with satellite dish, internet, etc.! Eventually turned out to be interesting trip but boat was very small. We also had to add a local authorized travel agent in order to legally visit the village so you might contact her directly if wanting to do something on your own: izandramartins_8@hotmail.com. Not much else to do here except see the show--ship usually buys out all the tickets so you have to go with them. Be sure to sit at the back under the partial roof as sun will kill you.

 

Hope that helps.