The Flat Place and lle Royale Devils

Getting closer to the vast and puzzle like mouth of the Amazon we have another tender port which is mostly a beach resort.  For us we just aren’t into beaches much anymore unless it’s a fantastic snorkling spot.   The name of the island which is Portuguese is Altar Do Chão which means a flat place.  The main attraction is a sandbar that is wadeable in the dry season. But be careful of stingrays when visiting beaches here. This town is really not far from Santarém which we visited on our way up the Amazon. Bathed by the Tapajós River it is temporary only available during the rivers high water season. A curiosity about this town is its green lake where waters change color during the day from blue to green. Only a handful of streets are paved within the community of about 7000 people. It’s very small and compact. One option might be to take a local boat ride to the lagoon. 

We are only here from 8-1 which with tendering makes it challenging so we both decide we are going to skip the trip and just relax on the boat. With the heat and humidity and then being packed to the gills in a tender I’m just not feeling like I need this experience.  I haven’t been doing well with the humidity and typically when I get back to the boat I’m trying to cool myself down with a fan in my face and my head on a pillow!  

The new oral fluvial or waterfront promenade extends several hundred meters along which was once a muddy bank. Now they saw there are stairs, rails, and a new dock making it safer and a nicer place to take a stroll. If you had time you could hike to the Floresta National do Tapajos a lovely National Forest where you could also canoe but no one could have time from our boat.  They also said there were a few open air souvenir markets offering Indian and regional waters. No internet was available in the terminal.  Most passengers we talked to said we didn’t miss anything and they probably could have also skipped the stop. 

We have a sea day after the last stop and that’s always a day when we might have a craft session, a guest lecturer or other unique things planned by the ship. We had at least three Cake Days which take place mid afternoon.  They make a variety of different cakes and then serve you in the Lido.  We both decided we just can’t eat all that sugar so we don’t usually partake of that or afternoon tea which also has different countries sweets.  They also have lots of sail away and typically we skip those because we aren’t big drinkers but we do like watching from the Lido or deck three as we throw the ropes, pull the anchor and slide away from the dock.  

And if I didn’t show you these before here are the two piranha magnets I bought and the fish scale the vendor gave me for free.  They use them to file their nails!  

Then we bought two piranha keychains and Dan made me earrings!! Ha ha.   They were a big hit on the ship and everyone was doing the same things buying piranha key chains!!

This was my biggest purchase in Peru all handmade. A beautiful alpaca poncho.  I got lots of compliments.  I never saw another like it but in the cold areas it really did keep me warm.  




And then we had this recognition ceremony for making 300 days on Holland. They gave us medallions but honestly I think Dan May tossed them!!  And we got a photo taken too with the captain.  The only good part was free drinks and a nice lunch in the dining room.

So we enjoy the sea days and it gives me time to work on the blog and my photos.  Our next stop was one that many people were very interested in and wanted to know more about the history of the place.  In fact the ship showed the movie Papillon in the theater at least the newest version.  Folks said they liked the original but we didn’t watch it. Most viewers said it was very violent and they wished they hadn’t watched it!  So maybe we made the right choice. Once again another tender port to Devils Island French Guiana.  I too wanted to go here.  This is a group of islands called IIes de Salt located off the coast of French Guiana.  When you are there you can see land to the south so folks from the mainland come here by motorboat or bigger sailboats. In the movie here was the announcement new prisoners would hear as it was a penal colony: “Welcome to the penal colony at Devils Island, whose prisoners you are, and from which there is no escape.”  Today only one island has landing capacity where you can experience the haunting and eery history.  There are pathways both rock and dirt that allow you to circle the island but they are steep and the stairs rough and uneven.  Its overgrown in many areas covering the prison cells and the administrative buildings. Recently they have put some money into recovering some of the buildings of which one houses a small museum. There is a restaurant there, hotel which is rustic and a very small gift shop. If you walked around the island it would take about 45 minutes. But for some reason I totally lost it here.  The heat and humidity were just too much.  I had to stop three times going up the hill and rest.  I finally made it to the top area but let Dan take some photos for me.  Then we got to the restaurant and sat in a large shaded area of tables to drink water. We decided to take the stairs back down and not the loop.  But the stairs were hard for me too because of the unevenness and the narrow pathway.  We did see a few critters but just getting back to the tender took all my energy.  When we got off the check in fellow told us several people had passed out once onboard and they had to take a wheelchair for another person so….. I think I wasn’t the only one who found the climate overwhelming.  Needless to say it was back to the cabin, fan on, head on pillow and drinking lots of water for a few hours. 

The trail heading up the hill. No shade but wide. 

You could climb steps going up or coming down. We chose the path to go up. 

Some of the documentation about the recovery of the buildings

One house had this unique hammock with the screen covering it. I think the folks who run the hotel live here. 

A beautiful rock wall that was a retaining wall 

Several of the buildings on site 

There were some beautiful Bougainville scattered around the area


The main house for the warden 

I had to stop several times going up this path and just lean against the rock wall 

But we saw several of these squirrel monkeys and they seemed so tame!  



This was just an interesting pile of coconut shells eaten in a big pile. 

Some of the grounds with huge trees and lawns 

This was a large pond of holding area of some kind but the hotel is in the background with those puffy fluffy clouds 





This was the covered restaurant place 

The tiny gift shop

A view from the top of the real Devis Island.  No one lives there or can go there. Not sure why. The French police come there about every 6 months to check it out.





Peacocks were everywhere!!! Really fun to watch
Male and female and some young ones 



Such a beauty!

When the prisoners died they were put out to sea so there are no burial grounds.  There were 

56,000 prisoners from France brought here.  

Only 1/4 returned at the closing of the colony.  One of the officials had a swimming pool made down close to the beach on the west side out of rocks.  People still come here to swim in it because the waters are full of sharks.  

Some egrets were there close to the tender area 

Several catamarans were in the bay that brought folks over from the mainland.  No swimming off the ramp due to sharks



An old photo 



A painting showing bodies dumped at sea



Some of the cells. 

Some of the old cell buildings and areas we couldn’t walk into

Administrative offices

There was a hospital here but you can’t enter it or the church, and the also had solitary confinement for many criminals.  But you could have been sent here for something as minor as stealing a loaf of bread :( 

More like a zoo here with parrots, wild pigs, peacocks and  acooti which roam freely along with macaws and  lizards.  

Roosy cat and Pugwilla just thrown in for fun!

The movie they showed onboard 

Enjoy this week before the new year!

Mother of the Gods

In 1499 the Spanish discovered the mouth of the Amazon river.  It must have been quite an experience to find this massive delta area and a huge rushing river flowing into ocean. By 1693 things had really picked up as far as ships and trade so a fort was built.  For 100 years the fort was built and maintained.  In 1695 the first chapel was built.  Renamed many times the city of Manaus finally was named in 1856.  The name comes from Macao, a native Amazon tribe which is said to mean Mother of the gods.  

It became the focus point for the rubber boom.  Extravagant living took place during this time and many beautiful villas and buildings took shape. 

Walking out through the port area

The clock tower in the center of town 

The first cathedral 

The famous Teatro Amazonas 



Colorful structures now used for shops and stores. A mixture of old and newer. But many places are in poor shape and life looks hard here 

The Black River Palace 

This home was built by a German rubber baron looking very opulent and eccentric. Later it became a governors mansion.  From 1880-1883 many structures in Manaus were based on Paris architecture.  

Hustle and bustle took place then with over 2 million people there. There was opulence with 

marble,  glass and crystal used to build the Teatro Amazonas from all over the world coming in for the building.   It cost over $10 million at the time.  

The open air Mercado.  Lots of shops but no AC, very crowded and not much variety. 

Brazil nuts are a crop here for export

This was our tender situation. 

Inside the terminal was mostly a bar/restaurant area and open to the general public 

Many people died of yellow fever during the rubber boom and as the city was taking shape. 

Then with as quickly as the boom came it died and   the town suffered.  The barons took their money and left. When the boom started electricity was put in place but after the barons pulled out the city could not afford to run electricity for years so the city went dark for a long time.  

Cafes are enjoyed by families near the  opera house.  They also turned colorful colonial homes into cafes and other shops. 

We spent two days here coming in later in the first day because of the tide and shallow waters.  Brazil won’t let you navigate at night so we had to have guide boats and travel very slowly always checking the sounding from the bottom of the river to make sure we could clear it. Our first day we just went in and explored the market and downtown area. Things were run down and very crowded.  It was a situation where you watched all your belongings carefully and stuck together.  I didn’t find much that interested me. 

The next day we had a tour with our two guides John and Luiz.  We are off the boat early as two groups and leave at 7:30.  Our first stop will be 

going upstream to the indigenous village.  There are five states in the region.  Along the banks there at least 500 meters of land showing that are dry on each side from the drought.  Part of the reason for the drought is because they are in the El Niño cycle.  The village we go to used to be cannibals.  They live very remotely and make their living with some farming, hunting, fishing and handicrafts.  They also put on a show for tourists which we pay for through the tour.  

For 354 years the Portuguese government ruled from 1669.  The Amazon and the Somali River are the same.  The bay has 4 rivers that come together with 80% of the water coming from rain.  

Our trip by boat takes about 45 minutes. The bridge we pass under is 3.95 km wide and took three years to build. From the top it is 180 meters to the bottom of water and it opened in 2011.  

It sometimes took 1 to 1-2 hours to cross the river on barge before one way and often times the line for the barge took ten hours of waiting in line!!!

The other side of the river bank was designated to build ships and barges which is a big business for this area.  There are 50 indigenous tribes in the Amazon that they know of.   Our guides are very good but we have no microphone only a bullhorn so over the roar of the engines we miss some things.  Luiz is the older gentleman and he has being doing this a very long time.  He shared later with me that his wife died in a motorcycle accident while going to see her ailing father whom she hadn’t seen for 15 years. It was 6 years ago and he is still lost without her.  He has four children and they are all professionals; an engineer, lawyer, doctor and one that is a technology director.  He is going to move further inland by a lake to spend his remaining years.  I told him that he has so much to offer and share with another but he has to be willing to open up to the possibilities.  He gave me a big hug and shed a few tears.  I told him that someone out there is thinking the same thing he is.   He and Dan bonded when Dan told him about Merlin!!! The bird app!!  He had service and downloaded it immediately.  He told us this changed his life and that he can’t believe all he will learn and be able to share with this information.  As we traveled by boat Dan sat by him and gave him a little tutoring lesson on how to use it.  His partner also downloaded it!  Score for Dan :)

Water levels here can rises 8-10 meters per day during high rain seasons so the wildlife have to move to higher ground.  They have to adapt to the conditions. But it takes time to learn how to adapt and no all animals survive.  The green grass goes up and down with water levels and cattle take advantage of that.  John tells us that one of the 

biggest rubber barons had a zoo in his back yard and had many egrets.  He desperately wanted to kiss the egrets and during one attempt the egret took his eye out!    He was german or should I say then became a one eyed German man!  What a silly thing to be obsessed with. 

The river now is 5-6 kilometers wide but at its 

widest it can be 25 kilometers!  At its narrowest point it is over 100 meters deep.  

We get to the village and the access is rough. One man can’t make it out of the boat because of the tough uneven rocky climb. One of the tribal members is there to greet us.  They do not speak English so both of our guides take turns translating during their speeches telling us about the village, the rituals and the foods. They are happy for us to be here and share their traditional culture. Originally they say they came over 1800 kilometers to get to this place. Tucano is their language. In the beginning when their ancestors came there were 32 different tribes in the area. They do several dances with flutes and shakers. 

The big bridge we cross under

Luiz talking to our boat pilot.  He and his wife own the boat and share in the business 

We put out a big wake!  The water is fairly warm. 

This is the grass that comes in when the water levels drop. When they water level returns some of the homes you can see along the tree line may flood!  It can really rise. 

We are off the boat and making our way to the village. One of the tribal women is welcoming us. 

The area looks very dry. The roots from the trees make it tricky to get through and people are very careful. 

Entrance to the big community hall

Some of the tribal members have crafts hanging for sale. 

This is their chief. Notice the shakers on his foot. Behind him are some of their handicrafts 

These are some of the flutes they play. Women and children join in with some of the dances. 

These little ones were very shy but beautiful children. 

Then they had these very long horns they performed with. 

Dancing together with their maraca like shakers in their hands and sound makers on their feet. 

If another tribe comes they celebrate all day. They bring food, fruit,  meat and maybe even hunt or fish.  They also perform ritual dances to bless what is brought.  

Some dances are only done by young men giving reverence to the god of music  like calling God through the instruments.  

Maracas represented all nature and indigenous beings when they transition to this world. It is their way to remember the first world they came from.  

They do this ritual for 24 hours.  They also use a beverage made of the skin of pineapple and ferment it along with other fruits.    Their 

culture is alive kept within themselves and still they have and perform their traditions.  It is an essential important part of their lives.  When visiting instruments are used by the visitors to perform and thank them.  

Traditional hut homes 

The community kitchen with the fire smoking in the background 

You can see the fish slowly smoking over the smoldering fire. 

The fried ants!

Fresh larvae from the palm tree. You can it it raw or cook it!!

Here is the larvae cooked

Here is the mantiach which tastes like potato 

Skin of the fish they eat do not have scales!  Five families could hear here in this community. They cook in a community kitchen with a community fire and share all the foods. 

You can see the fried ants they eat which are pure protein and they invite us to taste some of their foods!

Inga comes from a long fruit and it sweet and wet.  You pull the white fleshy part away from the seed.  

The flour

The curry like powder 

The Brazil nut in the big husk 

The Brazil Nut trees grown very tall here

John shows us the cloth he ties and puts around his feet to climb the palm trees for their fruit 

The beautiful ladies in their traditional dress. 

Flour here is made out of dried fish.  The yellow powder looks like saffron but it is more like a curry that the grow and grind. 

The Brazil nut has a very hard shell that is difficult to crack. Within that shell there may be 12-15 nuts in the big ball that falls off the tree. 

The Mantioch they boil and fry on the fire that they call Moquem.  Their fire is more like a smoking kind of fire that can dry and preserve the fish and other foods.  Fruit from the Palm tree is also a food source for them. 

John demonstrates above how they climb the Palm trees!!! It takes a lot of upper body strength and a few folks give it a go.  They discover it’s harder to do than it looks!  

This is a photo of all of us, the guides and the tribe. 

Then we all spend a few moments shopping in their little area. I bought a toucan picture with real feathers!!  I guess only the tribe can have real feathers. 

Then it’s back in the boat and we are off to swim with the pink dolphins!!! You don’t have to swim if you don’t want but many of the group have their bathing suits and can’t wait!!

It was such an awesome experience!!  

The fellow with the fish works here.  Only the tribes can do this. The dolphins are very strong and would never hurt you but they could flip over on you!! 







I sat by the edge with my feet in the water. Sometimes there were up to 6 or 7 in the water!!

Someone else took this but I had to share so you could see those long snouts! 



This macaw just hangs out here. They say he loves coffee and sometimes they give it to him. He was beautiful and a talker!!






He’s got something to say!! 

On next to lunch which is a floating restaurant with gift shop. The food is a traditional buffet and very good.  All the restaurants had to pull themselves up closer to the shore as the water level kept dropping. 

Our restaurant 

Really very nicely set up

Our boat 

The buffett 

And more!

It just kept going!!



Everything was great including the cold beer!

This was the little craft store beside the restaurant.  There were a lot of these kinds of floating restaurants all along the shore. 

A photo of our ship as we passed by her. 


Then on to fishing for the big ones at a fish farm!!!!

This was a ton of fun.  They baited us up and let us fish as many times as we wanted.  

The meeting of the waters again.   Very evident where they come together 

The Amazon is silty and muddy looking 


When we got back to the port we stopped at the terminal for something to drink and see if there were any souvenirs there. We saw this!!

My local beer


But check out this!!! It has a frozen ice tube inside to keep it cold. It costs about 60 reals which would be about $15.   Men like to come here and get waited on by pretty waitresses so it’s a hangout.