The Amazon - water ain't water

Amazon - well how many superlatives can you use to describe this mighty river?  The facts and figures are just too mind boggling to list; everyone can Google, so I'm not going to repeat it.  And, yes it is a smidge shorter than the Nile, but the water volume of the Nile is pathetic in relation to the Amazon.  The Amazon was named after the Greek female warriors the original Spanish adventurers thought they'd come across in the 1500s when they found men and women fighting side by side.

There are only a few true tribal Indians left - less than 750,000.  Even though we went 1500 kms upstream we did not see them - they are confined to protected reserves and their only contact is with the Army and, as required, health professionals.  Most of the people who continue to live in villages along the River are termed caboclo and are of Indian, Portuguese and African descent.

Amazing Amazon sunset

Anyway, before embarking on this cruise there were a few things I didn't know.


1. I thought there was salt aka sweet water and fresh water.  Wrong.  There's three types of fresh water in the Amazon alone.

Paul swimming ar Alter do Chao beach

Amazon and Tapajos 'meeting' at Santarem

Clear water - you can swim in this - watch out for piranhas and stingrays however... These are generally smaller tributaries to the Amazon - this Alter do Chao beach has been voted one of Brazil's top 10 - not bad given it's on a river.



Black water - slow moving, supports little life but does not breed insects like mosquitoes and is full of minerals and has higher acidity/Ph levels. These are generally major tributary rivers that 'meet' but not merge with the Amazon - this shows the meeting of the Amazon known as the Solimoes at this point and the Rio Negro near Manaus where the two types of water flow together for about 6 kms - at different speeds and temperatures!




Sediment water - like the Amazon. This looks polluted, but clears quickly when allowed to settle, it supports plant, insect and fish life - including those mozzies. It's generally fast moving, but I wouldn't want to swim in it or live along it, but plenty do.

Boca de Valeria,  muddy Amazon water

2.  You can sail a 50,000 ton ship 1500 kms up the Amazon to Manaus.  They have to take on two pilots at the start of the journey, as navigation charts cannot reflect the ever changing river profile - they'd have to be redone every 6 months.  So these pilots steer the ship in alternating 4 hour shifts.for the week we're in the region.

3. The water can be quite shallow even though it's thousands of metres wide - we have a minimum draft of 21 feet, but they prefer 30 feet.  This is why the river boats - the main transportation for everything from school to shopping all look pretty much the same

Riverboats, Santarem

4. Only 12  cruiseships a year sail to the major city of Manaus, partly due to the size restrictions but also due to the water.  Ships make their own water by distilling sea water, but the Amazon water, plentiful as it is, contains too much sediment to be processed.  So we have to carry enough water for the 1150 passengers and crew for a week on board.  We've been told to treat the water as precious, but I guess we always do anyway,

5. The Amazon jungle or rainforest as it's euphemistically known these days, sits on a layer of fairly poor muddy clay.  It's not rich volcanic soil like other parts of South America, and supports only limited life.

Typical jungle vegetation

6 There is no bridge over the Amazon as it's banks are constantly changing; there are a few over the tributaries however.  This recent bridge over major tributary Rio Negro at Manaus is known as the bridge to nowhere.  It was designed to encourage migration upstream but has only resulted in the reverse so far - it's a big bridge, so you'll need to click and enlarge....

Bridge to nowhere, Manaus