Sailing the Amazon: The Granddaddy of All River Cruises

Day 17, 2024 Grand World Voyage

Friday, Jan. 19, 2024; At Sea, Atlantic Ocean

I awoke to the motion of ocean swells yesterday, and it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn’t felt them for a week. The waters of the Amazon River were calm, despite currents of three or more knots.

Finally, I can say I have taken a river cruise.

I couldn’t help but compare my two journeys up the Amazon River — just a month apart. But even with the rising water levels this week over those in early December, the similarities are more apparent. The giant river is the lifeblood of the inhabitants – the source of their livelihood, transportation and food.

Well before we started into the Amazon River, we saw signs of it – especially the brown shade of the water, caused by the immense amount of sediment that flows out into the Atlantic Ocean, covering 500 square miles.

We cruised for a full day before arriving at Santarém, near our first Amazon port (Alter do Chao).. During this part of our journey, we traveled between dozens of islands and eventually saw forests on each side.

During the second half of our trip to Manaus, the forests gave way to small clearings where cattle graze. Every few miles were tiny settlements, much like Boca da Valeria, each with a church, a school and a few houses. Local inhabitants – often teenage boys – came out to follow us in their small boats powered by outboard motors.

Many houses on the river rest on stilts, and others float, being towed from place to place depending on water levels. That doesn’t stop them from the comfort of window air conditioners — and dogs.

In every large port, we saw many river boats docked on the shore. By this month, many were making the trip up and down the river. The airfare from Santarém to Manaus is about $300 – a ride on a boat is about $40. Our guides told us you take your own hammock for sleeping along the way. In Parentins I saw a small crowd waiting by the pier for their boat, some people with several bags, and even a cat.

The inhabitants are used to the changing water levels, which can be dozens of feet between the wet and dry seasons. While 2023 brought historic low water levels, now that the river is rising the locals take it in stride.

There are few roads connecting the various communities, and not a single bridge crosses the Amazon River. It’s not just people who travel on the waters, but also raw materials and finished products. Cargill has a large soybean processing plant in Santarém. Tugs bring in barges of soybeans, and ships take the processed goods around the world. Likewise, products from appliances and motorcycles to electronics are made in Manaus and take the “river highway” to their final destinations. Port cities sport floating fuel stations.

What we didn’t see were other cruise ships – in fact, the Cruise Mapper app shows the Zuiderdam was the only one on the river.

If I thought I would be bored during the three sea days following all those Amazon River ports, I was wrong. Our schedule has been chock-full of events. Each day we can chose between at least 10 exercise classes, three dance classes, sessions of watercolor, arts and crafts, knitting, bridge and creative writing, three trivia sessions, pickleball instruction and smartphone tips. Lectures cover Brazilian history and culture, the history of rum, future ports and interviews with members of the crew and entertainers.

The Flyrights soul and swing trio proved to be a huge hit, and we’re hoping they come back again this cruise and on future cruises.

Last night was particularly busy, with a formal dinner followed by the Casino Royale – a night of free gaming lessons, a slot tournament (Elaine came in third), poker with the officers and drink specials. I hid behind my casino sunglasses – a last-minute purchase from Amazon (the shopping site, not the river).

Today King Neptune and his queen paid us a visit, initiating those who had never before crossed the equator.

Our itinerary has us entirely in the Northern Hemisphere for the rest of the circumnavigation, although most of us believe we will need to go south around Africa rather than pass through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Only time will tell.