Alter do Chao, Brazil
Today we have a HAL tour to the Tapajos National Forest. Our ship anchored off the coast of Alter do Chao and our tour meets at 10:45 am. We grabbed a few items at breakfast to take with us. There is no lunch and no place to grab anything to eat on this tour. Something I learned from Mary Jane, Terri’s mother. Always have a ziplock bag with you.
Back in our room we were sure to pack plenty of water, umbrellas, insecticide, and collapsable hiking poles.
A benefit of the HAL excursions at a tender port is that the tour is the first off the ship and into the tenders. The tour description listed this tour as strenuous. We hoped that all who are on this tour can do strenuous. The swells in the river were moderate and it did take some timing to get into the tender. By 11:30 am we were off on the tender.
A bus was waiting to take us to the National Forest (Jungle is the word we would use). The bus had no air conditioning and was well used. Ed was our guide and said we would be traveling 60 – 90 minutes depending on the traffic. There was one paved road in the area and the forest was about 100 km away. Ed described how Brazil is a mixture of native people, the Portuguese, and African. He use himself as an example. He has curly African hair on part of his head and straight the other. His nose is African but his skin is not black.
Everyone has their own way to prepare for this kind of excursion. I thought this was a bit extreme for a bus ride in the Amazon. Temperature in the 80s and humidity just as high. No AC. They were committed and kept this on for what turned out to be a 2 hour bus ride.
The view along the way. I was surprised also.
Ed spoke the entire time on the bus. He talked about the rubber trees and Henry Ford. He also talked about Brazil Nuts and pointed out some trees. One of the oldest living trees in the Amazon, this tree can live to 1000 years. Ed said that the trees need to live next to each other as the orchid bees that are needed to pollinate the tree do not fly. They can only hop from one tree to the next. The seed pods are like cannonballs and fall to the forest flour when they are ripe. The pods contain many seeds or “nuts” and can only be opened by one animal in the rain forest. The agouti.
The entrance is to the National Forest can easily be missed. We turned right on a very narrow rode and Ed told us it would be 10 more km before we would stop for a restroom break. Tree branches scraped the top and sides of the bus the entire 10 km. The rode was nothing but wet red clay.
The jungle is dense just as you might imagine. Not a place you want to get lost in.
Ed shows a plant that contains a dye that natives used for makeup. Some can seen on Terri’s hand.
Mangoes and papayas can be found here.
This tree began at about the time of Christ. The original tree can be seen in the center. After three or four hundred years the “wings” start to grow to support the massive tree.
Termite nests can be found in these trees.
The leaves above are dried and used as an absorbent cloth.
Brazil nut “cannonball”.
We saw a juniper berry plant where gin gets it’s flavor and a tree that is used for quinine which is used in tonic water. I saw a few monkeys at the top of this tall tree and assumed they were making gin and tonics.
We also saw a plant that has an oil that is used in toothpaste. All toothpaste. Yours too!
This tree has a parasite tree growing on it. The parasite attaches itself to the host and eventually kills the host and itself.
Scratch this tree and you get a resin. Light the resin with the lighter you got off of the bic lighter tree and you have a way to light the night.
Put your hand on this ant nest and let the ants crawl on you. Take your hands and rub them together. You have just made an insecticide.
The ant on this stick will bite and deliver a powerful poison. Ed says you will be violently ill for days.
We spent 60 – 90 minutes in the jungle and then boarded the bus back to the ship. No need to worry when you are a HAL excursion. The ship will wait as we will be late. 2 hours back to the tender. We boarded and the ship soon left.
We had dinner in the Lido since it was already late and we didn’t want to change. Same good food but no dress code or tablecloths.
The evening entertainment was a second set for Chris Ritchie. He covered Johnny Cash, Bobby Darrin, Neil Diamond. A crowd pleaser! He had some great stories in between numbers also.…