On the Amazon

The Brazilian Amazon River is a muddy brown color and immense. Clusters of people live along the banks, which are visible most of the time. Our first stop was Santarem (pronounced SantaREEM) - a big city.  We walked a couple of miles but found little to see except a fish market selling lots of unrefrigerated fish. I wondered what they did with the fish that didn't sell. A boat ride reminded me of the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland.  It was a similar kind of scene, except for a few differences:  At the meeting of the muddy waters of the Amazon and the blue waters of the Tapajos Rivers (called the Meeting of the Waters), we found pink dolphins leaping around. On the banks were horses, cows, chickens, dogs, goats and small farms.  Living conditions, in most cases, were horrendous.  We were given the chance (?) to catch piranhas.  There are three varieties - black, gray and red.  I didn't care to try, but 3 people caught 8-10-inch black ones. The guide was very pleased. Evidently, the black piranhas are considered viagra.  :-\  He said the crew would have them for dinner.  The day was hot and humid so we arrived back on our ship ready for showers.

The next day we took the tender to a small village called Boca Da Valeria that mimicked the way Indians lived centuries ago. Children were dressed in Indian costumes, others held parakeets, sloths, iguanas, monkeys, and parrots (for the purpose of having their picture taken for a dollar).The kids treat sloths like teddy bears and one had gotten himself wrapped up in the cord around his neck and was strangling. I pointed this out to the man with him who got the sloth untangled. Further on, we saw a young child holding a puppy by his paw, like a rag doll.  I went over to him and moved his hand so that it went around the puppy's middle, and hoped the lesson would stick. One child had a tarantula on a leash. 

We wandered away from the village and found some actual dwellings where people lived in pretty rustic conditions with their dogs and cats and chickens. The language (Portuguese) made it impossible for us to say much more than the basics like thank you and please.  

During the rainy season the water rises about 10 feet and where we walked is underwater.  The heat was dramatic.

Along the Rio Negro we hiked with a nature guide into the jungle.  It was hot and steamy, even in the shade, but, surprisingly, we were not swarmed by bugs.  Along the way, we learned a great deal about the way of life of the indigenous people in stone-age times, and the valuable knowledge they still possess about plants, trees and insects. We saw black, poisonous ants an inch long.  One sting can kill you. Three sings will kill you. They looked pretty scary.  Somehow (our guide didn't explain how) the poison is harvested to make poison darts once used in hunting.  We drank tea made from cinnamon bark, clove bark, and a tree I can't pronounce that produces quinine. We also ate a bit of the leaf. Quite bitter.  Our guide pointed out another tree whose milky substance is supposedly a cure for some types of cancer. And my husband was brave and ate the larva of the dragonfly that is often found inside a small coconut shell.  (The hole in the shell is the giveaway.)  He said it tasted like a coconut jellybean. We drank water from a root. Tasted very sweet.  

Iceland

Reykjavik (ray-ka-vik), the largest city, was our first stop with a population of 300,000 including a high percentage of beautiful women with blue eyes, blond hair and fine features. The school children we saw were almost entirely blond.  The lcelandic language is closest to Olde English, although most residents speak modern-day English extremely well.  I expect it’s easier to learn than Icelandic. 

On the ship we passed Eyiafjalla-jokull - the volcano that erupted in March of 2010 – bringing further attention to Iceland just two years after the financial meltdown of 2008.  In town, we enjoyed a 3-mile walk that led from the ship along the waterfront where families of ducks nestled in the grass. On the other side of the main road a small, unassuming white house still stands where Gorbachev and Reagan conducted their talks to end the cold war.  We enjoyed extraordinary meals that included local fish, and unusual, delectable preparations combining vegetables and grains and tasty seasonings. Whale meat was on the menu too, and representatives from IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) walked around the town asking tourists to sign pamphlets stating that they would refrain from eating whale meat.  (If tourists eat it, the whaling industry is encouraged to kill more whales.) We had no intention of ordering it, but someone we met did. "It was on the menu!” she objected when I showed her the IFAW pamphlet.  I wanted to reply,  "If they'd had horse or dog meat on the menu, would you have eaten it?”  Still, Icelanders eat lots of ‘different’ meats, including cured ram, puffin, singed sheep heads and black pudding. The sun didn’t set until after midnight.

The following day we took a whale-watching trip that we feared would be a bust.  Although the boat pushed further and further out, no whales could be seen – only gannets and other sea birds that hovered near the boat or skimmed across the water as they hunted for fish.  But finally we saw fins, and the reason we’d not seen minke whales or humpbacks became apparent: The fins belonged to a family of orcas.  Being at the top of the food chain in the underwater world, these carnivors are given a wide berth.  They’ve been known to attack young blue whales (the largest species of whale) as well as humpbacks, and their love of seal meat is well documented.  On the way back to shore we passed a puffin habitat on a small island, which provided another photo opportunity.

Isafjordur (eesa-for-dure), our second stop, was a lovely, small town that was constructed by foreign traders in the late 18^th century.  Despite its size it has a school of music. We took a ferry to a small island called Vigur, which can be covered on foot in 10 minutes.  It is a nesting ground for Eider ducks, puffins and Arctic terns.  Only 4 people live on the island – just 2 in winter (to look after the animals).  To keep the terns from attacking us as we walked past their nesting grounds, we carried sticks with flags on top.  I felt very uncomfortable doing so. The birds were clearly upset and we were the cause.  Nests were left uncovered because the birds moved away when we came by. Our guide disturbed a duck sitting on her nest and didn't think much about it.  In the nest was a newly-hatched chick. We moved on quickly while others stood around taking photos.  Later, I asked the guide how long the chick could remain uncovered without freezing.  (We were all in coats, hats, scarves, gloves. The island was very cold.) She said an hour.  I wonder. "The birds are used to it," she added (meaning, they are used to dealing with visitors.)  I looked at her, my eyes saying, "They shouldn't be."  Last to leave was a woman intent on her photographs.  As she moved on, I kept my eyes on the spot, watching for the mother duck to return.  She did, and I'm guessing that she was off her nest maybe 10 minutes.  Maybe her chick and three eggs were OK.  On the other side of the coin is the living these locals make by selling the eider down.  The down is regularly collected, cleaned and made into pillows and comforters. Still, I was glad to leave the birds in peace. We need to educate ourselves and boycott these fragile areas, and the 'demand' end of tourism needs to be controlled so that it doesn't drive the boat.  

Akureyri (Aker-air-I) is the second largest urban city in Iceland, as well as an important port and fishing center. It was also the warmest of the places we visited, though that’s not saying much.  We still wore four layers, but were able to dispense with the gloves and hats part of the time. On foot we climbed the hills and looped around the city, enjoying the views and the gorge that provides hydroelectric power.  Later, we visited the botanical gardens - very pretty - and drove to Godafoss Falls - a smaller version of Niagara Falls. Worth the trip.  We were told that melting glaciers flowing from the mountains create the falls - understandable since snow often falls in June and resumes by August!  Summers are almost non-existent. But polar bears are rarely seen these days. Only when winters are cold enough for the water to freeze between Greenland and Iceland do the bears hop across.