Up early for my flight from Belem to Santarem with a stinking hangover but took comfort in knowing that Lee was feeling a hell of a lot worse! It's at this moment when I feel totally relieved I'm not getting on a 5 day boat journey and instead getting a plane half the way.

I got my first proper birdseye view of how expansive and devastating the Amazon river can be as we descend towards the airport for landing at Santarem. The river had clearly broken its banks, although it actually happens every year during rainy season. The Amazon river was huge and engulfed whole communities that were on the other side of the river from Santarem, I later found out that the locals living in these flooded regions only live there for the 6 month dry season and during the wet season they migrate themselves and any livestock they have to around Santarem.

Santarem; my first stop in the middle of the Amazon jungle, well it certainly didn't feel like it - it was just another big city, yes there was a river and yes it is in the jungle technically but in reality it's what it is - a stop over to break up a trip to Manaus. From what I gathered from the taxi driver is that in dry season Santarem has plenty of gorgeous river beaches.

Time has come to find a hotel for one night, again using the Lonely Planet guide book I head to their recommended shoestring budget place on the riverfront...its full. Not a problem, there is another hotel about 5 doors down, whose name escapes me which is a good thing as I could not recommend it in the slightest. Seriously the mosquitoes in this place should collectively pay rent, there were thousands of them, in fact there were so many, they probably own the place! Despite its flaws and because it was easy and only for one night, I stayed here. The room itself was very small and only space for a single bed and with the toilet and shower effectively in the same room; you could have a s*** in the bathroom and watch TV in the bedroom at the same time!! Time to get out of this dive and try to book the next step of my trip...the Amazon river boat to Manaus.

You can buy tickets for the boats at Docas do Para where small wooden booths sell tickets just outside the entrance. There are two options with the tickets, either you pay for a hammock space or you pay for a cabin (in Portuguese they are called camarotes), which is what myself and Lee booked for 300reais. Job done, ticket booked and we can just enjoy the rest of the day now.

The rest of the day was spent wondering the streets for shops, so I can stock up on snacks and games for the Amazon river journey. For lunch I had a taste of the Amazon....an acai juice, which was amazing, another word I have learnt sucos = juice.

The evening was low key and after some food we had a few Skol beers along the river front, watching local fishermen pull fish from the river with makeshift rods and beer cans as reels.

Another early alarm at 7am, not an issue this time as it means I get the f*** out of this mosquito ridden room. I arrived at the docas do para at around 8am a little early, actually very early as if I had got it right the boat doesn't leave until 12midday. It's not such a bad thing as we can check-in to the boat and have our pick of the camarotes, have a little nap, chill out and wait for the boat to leave. Finally we leave at around 1pm.

The boat itself was 3 levels, the first level was right near the engine room, toilets, cargo and also the exit/entrance, so down here you'll just found the staff or anyone with a hammock who arrived late and cannot find a better place to tie it. The second level was full of hammocks and the third level pretty much empty but had the bar where you could buy water, crisps, SPAM (yes SPAM) and some tinned hot-dogs...great choices!!! Our camarote was at the front of the boat on the third level. We had a small bathroom and a bunk bed, this time I got top bunk. Later that evening we realised that the beds sloped, quite considerably from right to left (not good if you are on top bunk!) which made it very difficult to get a good night's sleep.

The start of the river journey was amazing, we passed through small waterways leading into the Amazon river, passed small riverside communities and even saw dolphins, storks and other fascinating birds. Unfortunately this didn't last and before I knew it we were on the vast Amazon river, we were travelling near the shore which was more scenic than if you were travelling in the middle but still tree after tree can become quite boring. Lee and myself were the only non-Brazilians on the boat and with our lack of conversational lingo it was just each other for company! It wasn't made much better as the boat would play forro (a northern Brazilian type of music) from 8am to 8pm on repeat. At times during the journey small fisherman type boats would pull up to our boat and sell fruits and fish to the passengers. Despite all the horror stories and advise, that evening we had dinner on the boat, well it smelt so good and I was starving...the snacks I brought the day before are not cutting it. So for 8 Reais I get a plate of frango (chicken), arroz (rice) and salad (need to learn the word for salad, although I think it's just salade!). I scoff it down in minutes, Lee slightly more wary and left most of his. The next day, we get our comeuppance, starting with Lee...stomach cramps and a fever which lucky for him only lasted about 12 hours. Mine didn't start until about 3am when I also had the same symptoms only for a much longer period and with diarrhea thrown in for good measure, something I'm still struggling with to this day 6 days on. Please let that be a lesson, do not ever ever eat food on an Amazon river boat regardless if it looks, smells and tastes great - I have learnt the hard way for sure! I woke up 6am on the third day to the sight of Manaus in the distance, what a sight...soon I'll be off this boat, which makes me very happy J