Day 59 - 12/04/23 - Manaus, Brazil - Day 1
With the Amazon's low water level conditions, it was necessary for us to pass the shallowest part of the river in a daylight transit. At that point there would be less than 3 feet under the keel. Additionally we had a small spotter craft ahead of us testing the depths and placing markers that could be read by the ship's electronic navigational system. We passed over that point successfully and by a cargo ship that was grounded on our port side and listing quite a bit.
Onboard event wise, it was a pretty light day with Jeremey doing a coffee chat at 10am with the Classical Music Duo, a very cool married couple we've seen on several ships. It was a very interesting interview with the both of them becoming musically interested at an early age.
Speaking of interesting, it was interesting to come to the place of the meeting of the waters of the Rio Soliemos (brown flowing from the Andes) and the Rio Negro (black flowing from Colombia). The Soliemos flows about 7km per hour and is about 6 degrees colder that the slower flowing (2km per hour) and warmer Rio Negro. From the merge point they stay separated for about 3 miles before finally merging together in a brown muddy color. As we reached Manaus and our anchor point, I could see that the water level was about 50 feet below normal. We learned that October 26 was the low point and now that the area is in the rainy season, the river levels are rising albeit very slowly. There are a number of boats and other floating items (docks, houses, etc.) that are totally stranded and will only be freed once the water levels come up.
Once we were in place, a water barge and a container barge came alongside to partially replenish the water supply and reprovision us. Our little group was able to get a 3:15pm tender and we were at the tender dock by 3:30pm where we were greeted by our guides Luis and Daniel and their boss John Paul. Since we were only a group of 11, we all decided to just use one bus and the two guides. And fortunately we didn't have to take the shuttle to the cruise terminal, but left in the van straight from the tender dock. This tour was originally scheduled for the next day, but because the tour scheduled for today was longer, the tour promoter, Marcel, decided to switch the days. In retrospect, it was a wise decision.
The tour covered the main historical parts of the downtown area including the huge market, the main square, and other buildings. As sunset was coming quickly, we drove out to Ponta Negra which was all decorated in Christmas displays and had some great views of the Rio Negro and the sunset. While there I treated our guide, Luis and Angela and I to some Açaí (like a frozen sherbert). Luis ended up giving his to a beggar who was hungry. We concluded our tour with a stop at the Opera House and the Paróquia São Sebastião Church and the surrounding neighborhood. That night the Nutcracker was being played and the tickets were free. And the line stretched around the Opera House! The church was also having a cello recital. All of the buildings in this area were built by rubber barons of the late 1800's and early 1900's and have been repurposed into cafes and restaurants.
Back at the port, we said our goodbyes to our guides for the night. It was a wonderful tour and a great example of making lemonade out of lemons. Back onboard the ship, Angela and I enjoyed a nice quiet dinner of tuna Cajun style in the Main Dining Room (MDR) as the LIDO buffet closed at 8pm. It was important to get to bed early as we needed to be at the Explorations Lounge at 7am for tomorrow's all day excursion.
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