After arriving at the boat at 7pm and gaining a half decent spot, we had to then hang about for a further 15 hours until it actually left! All day workers were loading the boat with cargo, I'm surprised it actually floated at all! Eventually the captain tooted and we set sail, we stood up on the top deck and watched the city of Belem disapear into the distance. The top deck is the only place on the boat where you can relax, provided there is no torrential downpour, which we had a couple of times on the trip! The middle deck is where we slept and the deck below is the restaurant and the VIP aircon room, which is far tooo cold! Before we hit the hammocks for some sleep, the biggest insect I have seen flies in and lands on a friends back and then drops to the floor! Imagine a beetle with big fangs, the size of your hand, all the foreigners just kept there distance and stared at it until a local came and picked it up for us to look at, I will try and find a photo of it, it was a mean looking thing!

Sleeping on this boat is a truely unique experience, imagine sharing a space the size a small bathroom with at least 10 other people, most you don't even know! The Hammocks are crammed in and layered to fit as many in as possible, so I had people sleeping above, below me and to the sides literally inches away! It was cosy. Didn't get much sleep over the 3 nights but just enough.

During the days we sat up on top deck and watched the amazon go by, most of the time the captain, maybe Birdseye, I'm not sure... kept close to one of the shores so we could get a decent view of the little villages and forest etc. Because the river is so wide you couldn't make out what was on the other side, it is huge! Children paddle out on their wooden boats and people throw them bags of food, clothes, anything they have spare, which the kids pick up and take home. The scenary is beautiful, a lot of trees obviously but now and then a clearing appears which shows rolling mountains in the background and fields with herds of water buffalo. Just like David Attenborough shows you on TV! We managed to spot pink dolphins now and again, but they are too quick to manage a photo opportunity! I woke up one morning, leaned out of my hammock to see a dolphin swimming by the boat.. buenos dias flipper!

There aren't usally many backpackers on these trips, but we timed it well as we met lots of new friends, Swiss, German, French, Latino.. we had our own little corner of the boat to ourselves.

But after 3 nights in those sleeping conditions it was nice to get off and onto dry land! At Santerem...