From: Sherman Rootberg
Date: Sun, Feb 17, 2008 at 3:37 PM
Subject: Sunday, February 17, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Amazon River
This morning we were awakend by the ship’s guide, over the speakers. They were only broadcasting in the hallways and public areas. We turned on the TV to listen. It must have been about 7:00. We looked outside and you could see by the color of the water, we were no longer in the Atlantic. The Atlantic is a very pretty deep blue. What we were in was now the color of a deep poo. When asked the color of the Amazon, by people I do not know well, I am usually very diplomatic. I say the color of coffee with cream in it. Doesn’t that sound nice? Actually the color of a bad 
doody would be a lot more realistic. When we walked out on our balcony you could smell the river. It smelled like freshly dug dirt.
At about 1:10 PM we crossed the equator again and we are now back in the south. At about 2:00 PM we arrived at Macapa. This is just a technical call. That means they have to come aboard, at their leisure, and show how they can push everybody around and demand their bribes of booze, cigarettes, and who knows what all. If they don’t pay up quickly enough, the process will take longer
and longer. This goes on in many if not most third world countries. Some bring big bunches of people who we find in the restaurants, shoving as much as possible down their gullets. They must be some kind of cops because all the donuts suddenly disappear too. They do bring another pilot.
As it is, we are two hours early. The river current was not nearly as strong as expected. That means there has not been much rain yet.
Macapa looks like it must be an upscale area. We see a beach with umbrellas and people swimming and not too many being eaten. There are some nicer looking houses and small buildings. Someone with a modern inboard 35 foot boat came flying out and rode up and back while the people on it waved at us.
After about two and half hours we pulled anchor and started up the river. We had gone to watch the 3:00 popcorn movie in the theater. The anchor makes a lot of noise as the chain is hauled up.
That was hard to miss. The movie was pretty good too. The Martian Child. Here’s how it ends. The movie is done and they run some pictures with the credits. Thought I was going to give it away, didn’t you.
We just sat and watched the river from our balcony the rest of the afternoon. Sometimes we would be very close to the shore and then very far. Some little boats with people passed now and then. I don’t know if they were transportation or fishing but if they got
close they would wave. One fellow even took off his shirt and was waving it at us. This is our second time to be on the Amazon and we really enjoy seeing the different things along the way. There are untold numbers of small inlets with houses and boats and small clearings with huts and houses. This is very relaxing. It is a pleasant feeling to just coast along the river and watch. 
Date: Sun, Feb 17, 2008 at 3:37 PM
Subject: Sunday, February 17, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Amazon River
This morning we were awakend by the ship’s guide, over the speakers. They were only broadcasting in the hallways and public areas. We turned on the TV to listen. It must have been about 7:00. We looked outside and you could see by the color of the water, we were no longer in the Atlantic. The Atlantic is a very pretty deep blue. What we were in was now the color of a deep poo. When asked the color of the Amazon, by people I do not know well, I am usually very diplomatic. I say the color of coffee with cream in it. Doesn’t that sound nice? Actually the color of a bad doody would be a lot more realistic. When we walked out on our balcony you could smell the river. It smelled like freshly dug dirt.At about 1:10 PM we crossed the equator again and we are now back in the south. At about 2:00 PM we arrived at Macapa. This is just a technical call. That means they have to come aboard, at their leisure, and show how they can push everybody around and demand their bribes of booze, cigarettes, and who knows what all. If they don’t pay up quickly enough, the process will take longer
and longer. This goes on in many if not most third world countries. Some bring big bunches of people who we find in the restaurants, shoving as much as possible down their gullets. They must be some kind of cops because all the donuts suddenly disappear too. They do bring another pilot.As it is, we are two hours early. The river current was not nearly as strong as expected. That means there has not been much rain yet.
Macapa looks like it must be an upscale area. We see a beach with umbrellas and people swimming and not too many being eaten. There are some nicer looking houses and small buildings. Someone with a modern inboard 35 foot boat came flying out and rode up and back while the people on it waved at us.After about two and half hours we pulled anchor and started up the river. We had gone to watch the 3:00 popcorn movie in the theater. The anchor makes a lot of noise as the chain is hauled up.
That was hard to miss. The movie was pretty good too. The Martian Child. Here’s how it ends. The movie is done and they run some pictures with the credits. Thought I was going to give it away, didn’t you.We just sat and watched the river from our balcony the rest of the afternoon. Sometimes we would be very close to the shore and then very far. Some little boats with people passed now and then. I don’t know if they were transportation or fishing but if they got
close they would wave. One fellow even took off his shirt and was waving it at us. This is our second time to be on the Amazon and we really enjoy seeing the different things along the way. There are untold numbers of small inlets with houses and boats and small clearings with huts and houses. This is very relaxing. It is a pleasant feeling to just coast along the river and watch. 
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