A contemporary series dedicated to the Boats of Brazil, large and small. From the shorelines of Rio to the embankments of the Amazon River Nov, 2019.
Boats of Brazil – Photo Set Boats of Brazil – Artwork Series
Navigating the Confluence
Gazing upon the meeting of the waters I quietly let my feelings of discomfort go. Like vinegar in oil, the inky Rio Negro refused to mix with the ochre waters of the Solimões, perhaps reflecting my inefficiency to integrate fully into the Brazilian culture thus far. I looked on as a sizeable log jostled about between the confluence of the two great Amazon tributaries.
(Forming a dramatic dividing line before finally merging after some 6km of stubborn separation, the light-coloured water was rich with sediment that had traveled a distance as far as the Andes Mountains. The black water running from the Colombian hills and interior jungles, nearly sediment-free, was coloured by decayed leaf and plant matter.)
Of Hammocks, Dreams & Adventure
Finally drifting out of sight from Manaus my countenance lightened as the great Amazon River opened before us. The last 24 hours had been somewhat challenging on the traveling barometer to say the least. I was in a country where little to no English was spoken. Not understanding Portuguese creates a distinct disadvantage to one’s situation when trying to book and board a boat down the Amazon River. Needless to say, after being conjured out of what cash we had in a shady hammock deal, we were left on the verge of the jostling harbour of Manaus, rather ill prepared for the next few days that lay ahead.
No cash on hand meant no food for the duration of the 38 hour boat trip. The 10 dollars in my pocket was mostly met with grim indignation, along with my Grade Three broken English. I was an alien in a foreign land and for the most part had been met with contempt. After two days of bargaining I finally secured us a meal. Regretfully it was one of those that left us feeling we should have rather held onto the dollars. This was a lifelong dream come true but somewhat bitter-sweet to experience it now on this boat. Only much further downstream however, when experience flows into memory, does one fully appreciate the intensity of the adventurous moment.
Turning away from the side rail, my romantic view of an Amazonian boat cruise was met with subtle trepidation as I looked around at the multitude of hammocks, squeezed together tighter than a cluster of Brazilian soccer fans, watching a long awaited semi-final on a sidewalk television set. I’m not sure I could ever get used to this open plan sleeping arrangement, let alone trying to sleep dangling from a net in mid-air. The view from the upper deck was spectacular, but one then also had to contend with very coarse unfamiliar local music, bellowing from concert size loud speakers, strategically placed for optimum output. The only breath of silence was between midnight and sunrise before it started all over again. These dark hours mostly included my charismatic episodes of hammock wrestling. Hallucinations of reclining on a soft bed drifted in from across the hot, still water.
After a time you become aware that these river boats of Brazil are the long distance buses of the Amazon and they connect most of the major settlements along this enormous river. Stopping at multiple ports along the way gave a small glimpse into the life of the people of the Amazon Basin. The painted evening skies creating a rich backdrop to the dream state of the moment. It felt great to be alive.
Amazon Super Highway
Santerem would be our final point of departure on this boat cruise. It was already late at night when we arrived and through the weariness of travel we could not fully comprehend the magnitude of this river port. We would see it again on another occasion during daylight. The full scale of the Amazon River and its traffic is only fully grasped once you experience it for yourself. My armchair illusions of this magical part of the world, gathered through books and photographs, had been somewhat challenged. If I had not known better I would have believed that I found myself somewhere along the banks of a busy ocean harbour. It’s not just cruise ships and fishing boats that travel up and down this artery. Drifting in and out of site like floating mirages I had seen cargo ships carrying goods and trucks; long flat barges carrying freshly cut forest logs; freight and sea container ships loaded to the brink; floating fuel stations, tug boats and federal police boats. This was not just a river, this was a super-highway.
At times, I could not help but reflect on the destructive advancement of the modern world. Dotted along the river banks between Manaus and Santarem were many clearings in the jungle. The vast patches between the trees looked like they had been sliced away with a cookie cutter. These clearings made way for the seemingly unstoppable advance of cattle farming. When entering the port of Santarem one is greeted with a huge warehouse structure, interlaced with a lengthy conveyer belt system. I was witnessing the rivers gargantuan depot for soya bean distribution. Ironically soya beans are grown en masse in Brazil as cow fodder. The destructive slash and burn approach of Amazon farming left me with some rather unsettling feelings, forcing me to rethink the modern day hamburger culture.
Intricate Networks
Despite the recent upsurge in Amazon forest fires, it was not all despair. There was still something completely captivating and mysterious about these jungle lands. Just like the intricate network of root systems that spread out along the forest floor, in many respects there was an underlying primitive essence that still intertwined things together. I count myself fortunate for the opportunity to have visited some humble river communities within the Amazonian basin. The primary means of networking and in many ways survival was by river boat. From taxi boats to single-motor family fishing boats these formed the lifeline that connected realms together.
A Stormy Ride
It was one such humble fishing boat that became our own lifeline to departure. As the adventure of Brazil was drawing to a close, we were to catch an internal flight from Santarem to Rio before finally heading home to South Africa. This was fundamentally our only way out of the Amazon. Travel by road was reported to be too treacherous or pretty much non-existent and another cruise down river to Belem would take us further off course. As I stood contemplating the urgency of the flight, I had lost sight of the horizon line through the pelting rain. It was only an hour and a half boat ride across the Tapajos to Alter do Chao. We needed to get to the other side of this tributary but the sudden Amazon storm was hampering our plans.
We had been waiting the whole morning for the weather to clear and I was becoming more anxious as our guide explained that the owner of the fishing boat was reluctant to cross until the storm had abated. Time was running out. Finally the menacing clouds and rain gave way to sunshine. Our hopes lifted. The boat owner however seemed less hopeful. He knew these waters well and the crashing waves of the tumultuous river seemed to resonate his sentiment. It must have been my pacing up and down that eventually convinced him to reconsider as we nervously climbed into the simplistic wooden boat that afternoon. Appealingly he expressed his concerns to our guide in Portuguese and probably questioned our experience in the white knuckle club.
Five minutes in I understood why, clearly having no idea of the magnitude of an Amazon river-storm. At one point, after several prayers, it seemed like we were featuring in a game show episode of ‘the Perfect Storm’. Waves towered before us as our captain gingerly navigated his way forward through the roller coaster ride of the ups and downs of choppy water. After a time the welcoming landmarks of Alter do Chao appeared before us. The stormy ride gave way to placid waters as we drifted into a picture perfect scene. We of course thanked the owner of the boat profusely. As our feet gratefully made their way to shore through the sandy river bank, we stopped and looked back momentarily, contemplating the surreal journey we had just taken.
The Way Home
Such was our experience traveling Brazil, continuously challenging, surprising beyond expectation, beautiful beyond comprehension, magical on so many levels and leaving us with the longing to return. Along the coast line and rivers it was evident just how much the culture was reliant on boats of all different kinds.
Our final activity in Rio included a visit to the remarkable Museum of Tomorrow. The architecture of this building alone was breath taking. Perfectly positioned at the water’s edge, one can catch glimpses of the daily harbour activity. As if being mesmerised by a fish-tank, gazing through the windows I was transfixed by the passing boats and ships below. I would of course see similar boats back home, but only now do I look back with loving memory on the Boats of Brazil.
Follow the link to the FULL PHOTO GALLERY Boats of Brazil
Coming soon … ARTWORK SERIES Boats of Brazil