Santarem (pop. about 300,000) is the major centre between Manaus and the Atlantic Ocean. As a result it is a major commercial centre serving a large area. It is at the junction of the Amazon and Tapajos Rivers. The "meeting of the rivers" features a distinct line with the brown, silty waters of the Amazon meeting the much clearer waters of the Tapajos. The waterfront is crowded with boats and ferries of all sizes since the rivers are the main mode of transp...

Entered the Amazon in the early-morning hours. We stopped to pick up a pilot and an Amazon official around 8:00am. During the day we have continued to sail upriver. In fact, we are really in the Amazon delta which extends for several hundred kms. The river is very brown, filled with silt which comes from far upriver, well into the continent reaching the Andes in Peru and Ecuador. It is a huge river. Our next stop is tomorrow at Santarem.

After 3 days at sea out of Rio, our first stop was Fortaleza. It is a big port city near the mouth of the Amazon (3 million). The center is still old, but there are a lot of new highrises with plenty of beaches along the entire city front. We did not do a tour but instead just walked in the center. A beautiful cathedral with great stained glass. The theater is also quite interesting. The central market is new and has hundreds of shops; however, most carrie...

The highlight of the cruise - Carnaval Parade. Carnaval is really a week-long party with 100s of block parties, mainly at night, but the highlight is the Carnaval Parade at the Sambodromo - a km. long street with bleachers for 90,000 people. Over two nights, 14 Samba "schools" (7 each night) each present their program of floats and thousands of dancers. Each "school" creates an original music score (although they all sound similar, with plenty of drum beats),...

A quiet day since we are planning to go to the all-night Carnaval Parade tonight. We just went for a walk this morning to President Vargas Avenue. As we walked along the street, we saw many of the floats for the parade that night being moved to a set-up area. They were partly disassembled to be completed near the Sambodromo, some requiring cranes to assemble. Even so, they appeared huge. Completed, many will be 2 to 3 stories high. Spent the afternoon rest...