Our last stop on the Amazon and in Brazil, Alter do Chao is mainly a beach resort on the Rio Tapajos, a tributary of the Amazon. It primarily serves the residents of nearby Santarem (where we stopped a few days ago) and the odd cruise ship. It only has one resort and several small hotels, since most of the visitors are day-trippers. Lots of bars and handicraft stands. Many beaches with beautiful fine sand. Some of the beaches were partially submerged since...

Parentins is a town of about 100,000 with no road access. It is known for the Boi Bumba festival at the end of June. The festival is a smaller version of Carnival. It depicts a struggle between a mythological blue ox (Caprichoso) and a red ox (Garantido). All the people and businesses in the town are divided between the blue and the red. The parade features flamboyant dances, costumes, floats, singing, dancing and drumming. A 35,000 seat stadium has been b...

Two day stop in Manaus, the major city on the Amazon. It has a population of 1.3 million and is as far up the Amazon as large cruise ships can go. Day one saw the first day of our 50-day cruise (day 40) with a weather issue. We had just reached the port terminal when the skies opened - the heaviest downpour we have experienced since we were in a typhoon in Manila in 1980. Thank goodness we were inside. After an hour we returned to the ship and at 2:30 we tri...

Boca de Valeria is a small village on the Amazon. Its population of about 120 is of indigenous and Portuguese heritage. it has become a stop for some cruise ships wishing to include an indigenous village in its itinerary. There is a church, a school and plenty of kids. There is a bar (probably only for the cruise passengers) but it ran out of beer by noon. Some locally-made handicrafts and many little kids in traditional dress and body paint posing with slo...

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...