Alter do Chao literally translates as “church altar" from the Portuguese, a name the area garnered because of the shape of one of the two hills just beyond the town. This village on the Rio Tapajos is known as the “Caribbean on Brazil” because of its beautiful beaches, often sites amongst the best in the country. The wide freshwater river is a tributary of the Amazon, with clear blue waters that give it the sense of being part of the ocean. This area is currently experiencing very high water which has eliminated many of the town’s beaches, most now only accessible by boat.
We had some rain this morning which delayed our day just a little, we did not have much planned, the idea was to go to one of the funky indigenous art stores, have lunch and then go to the beach and swim in the clear blue water. Well we did visit the Arariba indigenous art store, run by a really cool dude - it is known that he had never worn a shirt, at least during the time he is at the store - today was no exception. Then, because of the high water, which meant that since the Amazon was running high, the clear water was not so clear and the beaches not that accessible. So rather than going to a beach for a swim we jumped on a local boat for an hour boat ride through the little tributaries, this was well worth it and lots of fun. These boats are easily accessible and cost about $10 USD per person of the hour. They were not that busy so we were able to negotiate $25.00 for the 3 of us.
Once we returned we stopped for some refreshments before heading back to the ship for a late, lite, lunch as we were going to the Pinnacle Tonight for dinner. Bonus as we cruised past Santarem was that the Veendam was in so the ships passed each other with hello horns blaring, awesome. Great dinner, nice night, we are looking forward to a couple of sea days after our five port days in a row. A few pics of our day, hope you enjoy…
No comments:
Post a Comment