Manaus to Belem - Embarking

The ticket said embark at 7:00am leave at 9:00am. That gave me plenty of time for breakfast and to get a bit more cash for the trip.

There was lots to see with all manner of goods being loaded including one or two cars (which only just squeezed in to the hold). Not to mention the boats trying to get in a gap that wasn't there!

I laid out my new flowery bed lined and towel - a bargain in the local shops, checked the bike and found 3 other touring bikes there. A Belgian plate and two Argentinians.

There wasn't that many people on board when we moved off but we didn't move very far, just down to the next jetty, Why? I have no idea. Waiting there was a mass of people ready to board. I was suddenly very glad I had got the bike loaded yesterday and had my cabin key.

There are three decks; bottom is the cargo deck, top has the cabins and in the middle is where the "great unwashed" hang their hammocks. It is quite incredible how many people crammed in to this one space, with hammocks hung up and crossed over just to squeeze in. Then there is their luggage piled wherever there is space. I was told that there are 800 people in there which is incredible as the area is not bigger than a squash court.

In the time granted I watched the river traffic pass by, all sorts of shapes and sizes. This Banana boat was the pick of the armada. The Tankers lying at anchor give some idea of the size of the river so far from the coast (circa 1,000 kms).

There is a rather stylish bridge at Manaus, the first bridge to be built across the Amazon. Somewhat surprisingly, it was only built in 2010.

My photo is rubbish and to add insult to injury, I appear to have got some muck inside the lens so cant get rid of it! The centre of the bridge is next to the blob.

By the time the boat left at 2:00 pm. I had met the other bikers. There was Wing (a Belgian of Chinese extraction), Catchya and Adrian from Argentina. They had met up in Nicaragua and were travelling together as far as Gesstler (Arg). Independently they had been up to Prudoe Bay in Alaska. I never thought I would say this - but it was a relief to talk Spanish after struggling so badly with Portuguese. Wing speaks perfect English so that was handy too.

The three of them had gone for Hammocks and had slept on board the previous night (just three people where now there are 800. They were somewhat put off by the new conditions so Catchya talked to the crew and managed to get a spare cabin for 2 of them (at less than half what I paid!). As I had a spare bed Wing, having originally said he would stick it out, did the sensible thing and took the top bunk (despite looking so happy in his hammock).

The bathroom is shared with other cabins and it is not of the highest standards but is clean despite the picture (most of the time). This is after  the toilet was flushed! As with most "heads" it sucks the water from the sea or in this case the brown water of the Amazon.


Five days and four nights ahead.........................