Story: Boat trip From Belem to Manaus in Amazonia

During carnival in Brazil everything grinds to a halt. And so after waiting 4 days in Belem for a boat to take us to Manaus we finally get our tickets.
The boat going in this direction (up stream) takes 5 days as opposed to 3 days the opposite way.
We are told that the price of our ticket includes meals but it’s a good idea to take a few extra treats from the Supermarcado. So, after stocking up on Rum, Biscuits and bottled water, Myself and Ross board the Boat at the Marques Pinto Dock In Belem along with the 2 Swedish guys, Mattias and Emil we met in the hostel.
We were told the boat would leave at 2 o’clock. As 2 o’clock came and went we could hear talk of 3 or 4 o’clock, or even much later which would put the arrival day way off. At this point I decided to take off my watch, put it away for the next week and open the Rum.
By 8 o’clock the boat was still loading it’s endless cargo of broom handles, bikes, beer.. you name it! how much weight can this thing take?
By this point we had met another group travelling with some Canadian based gap tour company. we all had our fair share of drinks by now and as the boat finally left the dock at around 9.30pm we gave a massive cheer.
The public boats that chug along the Amazon all have one thing in common. They LOVE Forro! a type of music that is hard to describe, if you can imagine the birdie song or Agadoo by Black Lace with some accordion accompaniment your getting somewhere near. Its BAD! The other thing they have in common is that they love to play it through massive speakers at a ridiculous volume; this is how we awoke on our first full day on the boat.
There are two ways to sleep on the boat. The First Option is a Hammock, to do this you need to purchase your Hammock on land before you set off. (a good price is around 20 Reals).When you have it you must get to the boat Early to get yourself a good spot to hang it, preferably on the top deck. If you turn up late it’s likely your going to get a spot next to the toilets on the bottom or middle decks and believe me, after a few days on the boat it doesn’t smell too good.
Wherever you hang your hammock though it’s likely you will have others underneath you, to the side of you and pretty much anywhere you have the right amount of space between the many hooks dotted around.
The other , more civilised option is the Cabin. a very small, cell like room with bunk beds and aircon. this is the option we chose. Though more expensive I think it’s worth the extra. Especially when you consider how much your living costs would be over a full week on land.
Due to the drinks the previous night we miss breakfast which is served at around 7 o’clock daily depending on which ¨sitting¨ you make it to. Dinner starts at around 12 30. This consists of Pasta ,Rice, Beans and Pieces of Chicken. A very satisfying meal and much better than I had been led to believe.
After dinner it starts to dawn on me just how much time we have to kill in the comin days. surely I can’t be bored already?
The boredom is short lived as we watch from passengers throwing tied plastic bags full of clothes and various unwanted items in the water to be collected by the canoes paddled by young children and women from the many surround communities. They appear to come from nowhere as there is no sign of life along the riverbanks at this point.
Some of the kids take this one further and throw hooks from their canoes towards our boat. once they are hooked on they deftly manoeuvre along side and jump aboard trying to sell us some kind bizarre looking food in jars.
By the time they have been all around the boat they must be so far from home it will most likely take them the rest of the day to get back.
Though it is great fun watching all this unfold from the top deck with a beer in my hand to the sound of Forro we do need other things to occupy our time.

I suppose the best advice i could give for slow travel is to imagine the trip to be much worse than it is, for time to drag, for the conditions to be unbearable. If you can do this you will always be pleasantly surprised. After 2 days time wasn’t dragging, the conditions were totally acceptable and i found myself actually wondering weather 5 or 6 days was enough time to really settle in to the pace of life on the boat.

Santarém, where the Amazon meets the Tupelos River, is midway between Manaus and Belém. Here the boat pulls into yet another dock but only this time for more than 20 minutes. After some charades with the captain we realise the boat will be unloading it’s cargo for most of the day, giving us time to find our feet again on solid ground.
This chilled out Amazonian town is well worth a visit with it’s easy access to rainforest reserves and unique location but, like so many others we are only there for a few hours before the boats horn sounds and we have to leave.
Our remaining two days are more of the same. Just chilling out on the top deck listening to my Ipod whilst the endless jungle scenery passes by (which I don’t seem to get bored of).
We play cards and chess when we get some shade from the unbelievable heat and I find myself moving to the sound of Forro. Am I starting to like it? Surely not! But it is surprising what you can get used to when there is no escape. The smell of the toilets, the same food everyday, I may have even got used to the sound of the Brazilians slamming their dominoes down on the tables as they play their endless games with such nonsensical force!
All in all this has been a very rewarding trip and I think I could get used to slow travel , there’s nothing else to do but just give in to the pace that is set for you and just enjoy the ride. it’s true. ¨The Destination Is Not Important. It’s The Journey That Counts¨

Chris Bamber