SANTAREM, BRAZIL
Today we are visiting the city of Santarem. Santarem is a city of approximately 300 Thousand residents. We were supposed to have a berth on the dock, but it was taken up by a large fertilizer barge, which was being unloaded. This meant that we had to use the tender boats. We went on shore around 9:00. We had booked a piranha fishing tour for the day. We boarded our tour boat with approximately 20 other passengers. First we went up to the meeting of the waters of the Amazon River and the Tapajos River. These waters don’t mix and there is a dividing line between the dirty Amazon water and the clean Tapajos water. At this location we also witnessed a bunch of dolphins in the water. After this dolphin display we cruised to an area named Maica lake. This lake is basically a large area which floods during the wet season. First we were looking for some wildlife. We seen an hurt of water buffalos and also spotted a sloth hanging from a tree branch. After having cruised through the small channels for a while, we were given a fishing line with bait on it. I never managed to get a fish on board. A lot of nibbling on my line, but no good bite. Our crew managed to catch a total of 2 piranhas and 2 small catfish. The teeth of the piranhas were razor sharp. The local people fish for Piranha to eat. After this fishing adventure we returned back to the harbor. On the way back we seen a couple of pink dolphins. When we got back to shore we decided to go back to the ship, because it was smeltering hot. We got back to the ship around 2 for a 4 pm departure. The remaining afternoon we spent around the pool.
Santarem is one of the oldest city’s in the Brazilian Amazon, founded in 1661. The big boom today here is soybeans. A variety of ships were being loaded and unloaded. Ferry boats were coming and going. I seen several shipyards on shore. There were lots of supply stores and businesses. It is definitely a economic and commercial center for the area. Their is an attractive water front promenade . Their is water as far as the eye can see. All in all a very attractive city with a very low crime rate compared to previous cities we visited.
Cheers
“South America ” “Cruising ” “Santarem”
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