Prison in Paradise

6 January 2012

Isle Royale, French Guyana

Today dawned clear and sunny – and hot and humid – but no surprise there. We awoke at anchor in the harbour off of Isle Royale, Ile du Diable and Isle St.Joseph – collectively known as the Salvation Islands.  The French government under Napoleon III opened the penitentiary and it remained a prison until 1952.  Escape was either into the ocean or into the jungle. Neither was a particularly survivable option.  It is said that 80 000 prisoners were sent to the island and only 30 000 survived.  Most prisoners were  returned to France at the closure of the Prison but if you had been incarcerated for greater than 8 years you were not allowed back to France but were given land and a wife in French Guyana.  Today, tourists wander amidst the solitary confinement cells, the 2 lunatic asylums and the chapel and nunnery. Interestingly the tiny islands are also a base for the launch of nearly half the commercial communications satellites circling the globe.

We left the ship early to try to beat the worst of the heat and took a small boat in to Isle Royale. It is a picture postcard kind of island with swaying palms along sandy beaches. Colourful macaws flit through the trees and monkeys and cicadas make noise deep in the forest. You can look out across impossibly blue lagoons and see the mainland and buildings of the city of Cayenne (capital of French Guyana). And then you go inland and there are the reminders of what this island was once mankind got hold of it.  18^th century prison blocks in the midst of terrible heat and humidity. Cemeteries and decaying infrastructure of guard posts and a catholic church to save your soul providing you had one left after your time here. What is sobering is knowing that humans are still holding others imprisoned on idyllic islands in less than humane conditions.

                                                                 the hospital building

                                                                    the size of the cells

The jungle is encroaching on the remains of the prison and has softened the edges of it but you can still stand in a solitary cell and you can still imagine the horror of being abandoned here. You can also understand the need for 2 lunatic asylums as a very short time in such confinement in this climate is easily enough to make one’s mind want to take a very long holiday.

                                                                       Agouti

                                                               Yes - these are wild birds

It was very interesting to see and there is also lots of native wildlife running and flying about the place – we saw agouti, iguana, macaws and more.  Agouti are a mid-size member of the rodent family. They are about the size of a housecat, do not have a rat tail and look very similar to capybara – only smaller.  The hike around the island was challenging in terms of unstable and uneven footing on cobbled and stone pathways as well as some seriously vertical stone stairs amidst the vines and randomly falling coconuts.  By the end of our visit we were seriously overheated and ready for some cooool showers and a refreshment or two. 

This afternoon we weighed anchor and are now on a northwesterly course for Trinidad and Tobago which we are scheduled to reach on the 8^th. Tomorrow will be a day at sea so time for reading, visiting and maybe getting some postcards written.

We are informed in the vaguest of terms that there will be some unspecified dinner entertainment this evening courtesy of our British friends. I will take my camera and may or may not share the results with you tomorrow!

Adieu from the Islands -

Out on the Ocean

5 January 2012

The open ocean at long last stretches all around us. The water has changed from café au lait to sea green with white topping. We are now reminded that we are on a small vessel that does not have stabilizer technology. It is a good day’s entertainment watching people attempting to find their sea legs. Both of us did a little swaying and staggering but on the whole are not as badly affected as many around us. We have also noticed the seasickness aids showing up – bracelets, patches, hypnosis and more. Thankfully, neither of us has ever suffered from seasickness and we have no intention of starting any time soon.

We are now off the coast of Brazil headed northwest toward Isle Royale and Devil’s Island off French Guyana.  Isle Royale was a notorious French penal colony that had prisoners in residence until 1952. Stories that emerged from surviving prisoners were terrible and disturbing. In fact, the penal colony boasted not one, but two lunatic asylums plus a children’s cemetery just to name some nasty features of the island.

Today was another day completely at sea with no sight of land. Rumours are starting to filter through that we will not be able to land at Isle Royale because of forecast weather that is supposed to drop in excess of 2 inches of rain on the region with accompanying winds. Isle Royale is what is called a “tender port” meaning there is no dock and the ship anchors offshore and smaller boats called tenders, transfer people between ship and land. The boats ride hide in the water and the ride is less than pleasant when the seas are high. But, we shall see what tomorrow brings when tomorrow comes.

We ended up spending the day on the aft (back) deck which is our favourite spot on a ship. This was the first day we were allowed out on that deck since leaving Manaus. It had been closed off because there were too many insects and movement of people in and out meant bugs in the buffet amongst other places. This far out from the Amazon there were still a fair collection of grasshopper and cricket-like insects in bright colours still in residence as stowaways but we were allowed out and spent a lovely day in the sun watching the ocean go by and solving world problems with our friends from the UK. It started as a comparative discussion on the actions of governments during the UK and Canadian BSE crises and then morphed into discussions on the state of the EU, what’s up with China, are corporations ruining the world and other such topics of note. It may all sound very dull but if you add in the range of British accents, the addition of beer, spirits and wine, demonstrations by a waiter on napkin folding and a lot of very funny jokes – all in the mid-Atlantic sunshine – well, you get the idea. We weren’t suffering.

There is also a conspiracy theory aboard the boat that the Captain is either not on the boat or has been carousing in his cabin and ignoring his duties. There is very little foundation for this theory beyond a non-appearance by said Captain at his own Captain’s Cocktail Party and an alleged CIA employee with an alleged story about the captain and a woman of low repute on a different voyage.

As you can see – we don’t just go on these holidays for the pure pleasure of the thing. There are things to be worked out and pursued and we gamely partake when we are not reading or lounging about or eating… it is a true hardship but we soldier on.

Real news tomorrow provided the rumours of a no-show at French Guyana are incorrect.

Oh – I did manage to paint a little portrait of a sloth…

And climb some stairs.

Now, perhaps a little nap before cocktails.

A Quiet Day Watching the Amazon Slip Past

4 January 2012

Today was a quiet day for those of us aboard this vessel and as a result we’ve not much to report that would necessitate you taking time away from more interesting pursuits to follow along.

Morning saw us farther down the river toward our goal of the Atlantic Ocean. We moved past bucolic villages, were raced by young men in canoes, saw the pink dolphins once more and for the most part enjoyed a day of idle musing.  We had a 3 hour breakfast with a British banker and his wife followed by a not-so-traditional English pub lunch though there were mushy peas on the plate and our English friends kept trying to defend those as a genuine foodstuff. We remained aloof.

The rains were back with us today, lashing the ship and making us northerners feel it must have cooled off – until we stepped outside and realized that no, it was still hot – just more humid. The rainforest would disappear completely in heavy sheets of rain and then reappear wreathed in steam and newly washed. Below is a turkey vulture cooling itself by holding its wings outspread.

I made yet another landmark in this journey of life as we just crossed the equator. Dale crossed the equator aboard the HMCS Mackenzie many years ago.  There is a long and rich maritime history steeped in ritual about crossing that imaginary line by sea and all are tried in King Neptune’s court to be found worthy or not of the honour of moving from slimy, low polliwog to honest-to-goodness Shellback. So we are both now Shellbacks and Leatherbacks (rounded Cape Horn by ship) and while it is truly nothing compared to those who did it centuries ago in wooden ships, it is still king of neat!

Dale is actually ahead of me in the “reading wars”. He brought with him five books and has read them all already. He is now dipping into the onboard library. I am well behind with only 3 under my belt but then, I must have been doing other things…

Tonight we reach the ocean and head north to French Guyana on the North East coast of South America. I am looking forward to some wave action! This river is amazing but I do love to get rocked to sleep by the ocean.

                                                   A floating bar and convenience store

A friend tells me there are glitches when she tries to make comments – so we will quit thinking nobody is there and just assume you are technically challenged like us! Feel free to email any questions or comments you might have – we are checking now and again.

Until the next day dawns -

Moral Dilemma at Boca da Valeria

Jan 3, 2012

Boca Da Valeria – Mouth of the Valeria

Boca Da Valeria is a small, typical Amazon village located (as the name clearly states)  where the Rio Valeria joins the Amazon.  The village is made up of around 75 permanent residents and they live in the raised wooden homes seen all along the river system. You are not likely to be able to locate it on a map. The majority of their living is made through fishing and a bit of handicraft sales and the sale of some fruits and vegetables during the dry season.

Here is the moral dilemma we faced – is it fair for 500 people to descend on a village of 75 and poke around their homes and habits? Much as we ache to learn more about their lives and their families and their knowledge – we couldn’t bring ourselves to play tourist in their homes and pass them small change and pens and whistles and things. It smacks a little too much of trading beads for furs.  The hardest thing for me was that the children of the village have as pets various species of local wildlife including monkeys and sloths. I really wanted to see a sloth up close and personal. I did see one yesterday in the wild curled up in a tree fast asleep but he/she was mostly hidden under a nice leaf blanket and was doing a great impression of how not to be seen in the Amazon. 

Before you (or I) judge the people who went to Boca da Valeria too harshly, be aware that we were assured that the village had come to an agreement with the cruise company to allow this and to demonstrate various things like the processing of manioc and how their homes look on the inside. Still – we couldn’t do it so we watched the comings and goings from the ship. Many of the villagers came out in various and sundry canoes and paddled around the ship – mostly teenagers. I think it is pretty much the equivalent of teens at home cruising in their cars and pick-ups and showing off for each other and the crazy white folk. One family came out with mom, dad and a small boy and his pet sloth which we viewed admiringly from too great a distance. It is very hard to tell with sloths whether this was stressful or just another day hanging out asleep. I would like to believe that the sloth would rather have been napping in a shady tree rather than being passed around a boat rather casually. ( the picture below is of dad and child "passing the sloth")

High points from the day? Well, Boca da Valeria is located in an exquisitely beautiful setting that we enjoyed most of the day. We also had the very real treat of seeing PINK dolphins busy fishing in the river around us. There are only estimated to be around 800 of these in the Amazon Basin so this was a rare treat indeed. And we saw them many times along with their more common grey counterparts.

We also had opportunity to learn more about some of our dining neighbours. There is a table of Brits that sit next to our table at dinner and they are great fun and we have been slowly getting to know each other as the days go by. One of the couples, as it turns out operate a very large farm (>2000ac and 1400 sheep) and they concentrate on growing renewable fuels. Turns out he does speaking engagements around the world. Well, you know what happens when one farmer runs into another… I suspect strongly we will be learning much more from each other before the voyage has run its course.

 We have now weighed anchor and will not stop again until French Guyana on the Atlantic coast. It will take 2 days to get there with much jungle and river between there and here.  We are in an archipelago of islands at the moment and you can clearly hear the sounds of the rainforest from our balcony as we glide by.  It is becoming obvious that the river has started to rise as flooded forests (Igapos) are becoming a more common sight. It amazes me that they survive the annual flooding as it comes nearly to the top of riverside trees and they are in relatively deep water for 6 months of the year.  It is quite the difference from our little patch of desert at home to say the least!

Until tomorrow -

Santarem and the Rio Tapajos

January 2, 2012

Santarém, Para State

We have now left Amazonas State and entered Para State. The city of Santarém is the 3^rd largest city in the Amazon basin. It lies on the Rio Tapajos just a couple of miles from where the R. Tapajos joins the Amazon at another non-mixing meeting of the waters similar to that at Manaus. The R. Tapajos is what is called a “clear” or “Black” river (though it is actually green). These tributaries of the Amazon all have similar qualities – clear water in shades of green and brown that are acidic and do not harbour mosquitoes. The native people drink, bathe and cook with these waters though they do not recommend the same for us!

This morning we boarded a river boat that took us to the “meeting of the waters” and then to the Igapos (flooded forest) and lake Maica.

Santarém is a hub for agriculture and here the forest shows all the deforestation things you hear about. The air is thick with smoke and there are many agricultural industries around this area. There is a large Cargill soybean terminal here and stockyards and other evidence of rainforest agriculture.  The area we navigated through is inundated with water during the rainy season so all livestock have to be moved to higher ground. They raise climate tolerant Bos Indicus cattle here (or ears and humps as Dale calls them) that are not beautiful to look at but can survive the heat, the wet and the bugs. Though not always as evidenced by large flocks of vultures.

Cruising down the river we saw river dolphins (grey – the pink ones are very rare) and many fishermen plying their trade with anything from a piece of string to a spear to a net to a regular rod. The waters here are thick with fish including species of catfish and the ever present Piranhas.  We did some Piranha jigging ourselves with a piece of meat on a hook and string. A couple people caught them – I had some good bites but never managed to set the hook and they made off with my bait. Toothy little buggers!  We were also treated to a first hand look at cleared lands and cattle rearing Amazonas style.  The cattle we saw did not make either of us think of a nice juicy steak, that’s for sure!  Further into the Igapos and Lake Maica we saw more native wildlife – hawks, vultures, egrets, a sloth and many large iguanas.  All of it is fascinating.

We did not have rain yet today, though there is time yet for that. We had quite a strong easterly wind which after 5 days into this adventure felt lovely, cool and dry. It is amazing how quickly you can adapt to such a radically different climate. I was grateful that the camera didn’t fog up and I wasn’t a puddle of sweat lying on the deck. On the other hand – it was 34 or 35 degrees Celsius (around 95F) so we are not exactly rejoicing at it either.

Tomorrow we head for a small village called Boca de Valeria. Here we hope to get up close and personal with some sloths and maybe catch a glimpse of some parrots and capybaras (the largest rodent in the world, famous from documentaries about anacondas eating them).  Tonight – we dine on beef in the traditional Argentinean style (why not Brazilian we ask??) and enjoy the air conditioning. We are amused each evening by a group of six Brits from Liverpool and Manchester. They are a cheerful and entertaining bunch and have kept us laughing for 2 nights now. We hope this continues. I have also struck up a lovely relationship with our head Maitre d’hotel. He guards my health by keeping alcohol out of my food. Each evening he brings me the next evenings menu, makes suggestions and, when there is no alcohol-free version, has the chef make me something nice. It is all very civilized. He is also teaching me a new word in Portuguese every night  - so far I have Felice Neuvo Annas (my spelling is probably abysmal) for Happy New Year and Gelo (ice) along with Bom Dia (Good day).

Well – it’s a start!

Other post for New Year's Day

Some housekeeping points -

If you are just logging in you will only see the current posting - to see all of them look down the right-hand side and you will see links to the older postings, sorted by date - newest to oldest.

Second - is any one out there reading this? If you want to comment you just click the comment button and we will get your comment - or you can email us, we are checking our email every so often.

Or maybe North America has fallen into enemy hands?? We haven't watched any news so suppose anything is possible!

Ciao

New Year's Day - Parintins Island

January 1, 2012

It is 5:40pm and we have just weighed anchor off of Parintins Island where we have been anchored since noon. This morning we sat on our balcony in the rain and mist and admired the view of the islands slipping past and fishes jumping in the muddy water. The water of the Amazon is the colour of café au lait. The Rio Amazonas sends so much sediment into the Atlantic ocean that it can be seen from space and extends out more than 300 miles from the coast. As rivers go, geologically this is a young one so it is wide and flat and still removing tons of earth as it flows. Originally in the movement of continents this area was an inland sea and the Amazon flowed to the Pacific. The Andes were pushed up and the direction of the river reversed.  This also had an effect on the fauna – Amazon river dolphins are of Pacific origin and were stranded when the Andes rose. They adapted over time to the fresh water environment and their body shape and colour altered to meet their needs in a muddy river. They are sonar experts and don’t have much use for eyesight because the river is so clouded with sediment.  We have only seen the dolphins once near the Meeting of the Waters. They do not leap or follow boats like their ocean cousins and are generally more elusive.

So – Parintins…this is a city on an island in the Amazon between Manaus to the west and Santarem to the East. In Brazil it is most famous for its Boi Bumba Festival which is second only to Festival in Rio de Janeiro in size. 10s of thousands of people descend on the island in June for the festival and the costumes are said to be even more elaborate than their more famous counterparts in Rio.  Of course, we are not here at Boi Bumba time so we don’t get to make that judgment call with any authority whatsoever.  As it turns out, the rest of the year Parintins is pretty much a fishing town and Amazonian outpost for goods moving up and down the river. Now imagine a strictly Catholic city on a Sunday that happens to be New Year’s Day. You get the picture – we have little to report other than the location is beautiful, the rainy season continues to rain and we caught up on a lot of reading and picture sorting. Dale is working his way through the culinary delights of the ship and complaining that on a small ship like this one the balance of eating to exercise is off. I have suggested he run stairs or eat less but he scoffs at these ideas. 

Here is an interesting thing about trying to take pictures of a rainforest in the rainy season to inform people back in North America … when you take your camera outside it fogs up completely for about 10 minutes – and then again when you come in. Think eyeglasses in cold weather only in reverse.  Some terrific shots were missed through this unforeseen issue so you will just have to accept our descriptions of some things!  The same thing happens when you pick up your binoculars to see if that is really a toucan you spy in the forest.  I have no idea – sorry!

Ok – this slow day gives me the opportunity to enlighten you on some interesting things about Brazilian politics that we learned in talking to our Indian guides.  In Brazil it is very important to the government that they have some idea of how many people actually live in the country. So they made a law that citizens must vote – no option. Well, big deal you say, what if you don’t show up? Well, according to the voting law, you lose your rights as a Brazilian citizen – you lose your ID, rights to access government services and other such wonderful things.  To me this seems like a great idea to get past the voter apathy in Canada and the US – I’m just saying…

I also asked about the relationship between the indigenous population and the rest of the country. Apparently Brazil is one of the most “mixed” countries in the world. The native population was devastated by disease courtesy of colonial Europeans and subsequently enslaved by rubber barons. They learned that fighting back did not result in better lives so they chose to adapt and cooperate and that spirit still seems alive and well today. The native population in the rainforest regions still has a much more primitive daily life than those Brazilians in the cities but much of that appears to be by choice. The Brazilian government is making concerted efforts to raise the standards of education, health and general wealth through policies that favour rights of the indigenous peoples. Large tracts of rainforest are set aside for native tribes (bigger and much more productive than Indian Reservations in Canada or the US) and non-natives are not allowed in these zones without a clearly stated reason for being there or an invitation.  The laws of the tribes are the first laws applied. Our guide, Ananias, said that for instance if a white man is murdered in a native territory by a native, the native will not be arrested or prosecuted for murder. The white man is deemed to have been in the wrong.  I am not so keen on seeing this enacted as the voting laws but it is interesting to see that there are more effective ways of dealing with the colonial mess than other parts of the world seem to have chosen.

Food for thought as you contemplate your New Year’s resolutions!

The sun has now set and we are once again moving down the Rio Amazonas. Tomorrow we explore Santarém…