The-Amazon

THE AMAZON RAINFOREST by Tony Russell

"Having trained in forestry and horticulture and then spent most of my career working with trees, you can imagine how I jumped for joy when Cruise.co.uk contacted me to see if I would escort a  cruise on Braemar to the Amazon rainforest.  I readily agreed, knowing that to have the opportunity to visit the largest and most diverse forest in the world was an opportunity I simply couldn’t resist.

I already knew quite a lot about the rainforest and its ecosystems, but as I carried out further research in readiness for the tour, I became more and more amazed at the facts which I unearthed.  The region receives up to 400 inches of rain per year; it contains 30 million life form species - which is 60% of all known species on earth; it provides one third of the world’s oxygen; it covers four million square kilometres – which is bigger than the Indian Sub-continent. Then when you look at the mighty Amazon River itself, the facts become even more astonishing.  It is the world’s largest river system and is close on 4,000 miles long; it is on average seven miles wide but this may increase to 25 miles wide (wider than the English Channel) in the rainy season; it drains 40% of all the land in South America and its annual outflow equates to 20% of all the fresh water draining into all the oceans of the world!  In the UK an acre of woodland or forest contains on average about ten species of tree, in the Amazon rainforest the average is around 180 species but up to 300 have been recorded.  How was I ever going to identify that lot!

Well, the simple answer is I couldn’t and neither could anyone else, because even today it is believed that only 30-40% have as yet been discovered and identified!

We boarded Braemar in Barbados after flying direct from Heathrow and spent the first couple of days in the West Indies – including a tour of Tobago which is a supremely beautiful island – and then cruised across to the South American mainland and the mouth of the Amazon.  We knew when we were getting close because the sea turned from a deep dark blue to a coffee colour, indicating the outflow of the river.  The incredible thing was we were still 100 miles out to sea!  The salinity of the sea has in the past been tested at this point and such is the dilution effect of the river that the salt content is reduced by as much as 50%. We crossed the Equator close to the Macapa Pilot Station and then began our journey upriver, immersing ourselves in the culture, flora and fauna of the Amazon rainforest for just over a week.  Highlights for me were numerous, but have to include; exploring some of the tributaries off the main river in dug-out canoes and discovering lakes full of the Amazonian water lily with pads more than 4 feet wide; collecting fresh brazil nuts from beneath a magnificent 200-year-old Brazil nut tree; watching macaws swoop across forest clearings; drinking the local spirit Cachaca with an Amazonian Indian family who invited us into their home and flying across the forest canopy in a seaplane. In all we cruised close on 1,000 miles upriver, visiting on route riverside towns and villages at Parintins, Boca de Valeira, Santarem and the Amazonian capital Manaus. Would I do it again?....without doubt, as I’m sure would my fellow travellers, who included a wonderful lady who was in her nineties and still managed to be one of the first into the dug out canoes"!  Tony Russell

THE AMAZON                 
a 'poetic' review by Annie Carritt

We arrived at Gatwick in good time for our vacation
Enthusiastic and excited and full of expectation
An overnight stay in an Airport Hotel,
had prepared us for a trip we just couldn’t miss
And we hoped the rest of our journey would be as easy as this..........

But on our arrival at Gatwick, we were ushered outside, in a crowd?
With masses of people standing all around
We waited anxiously as the clock ticked by
It was now only one hour before we should fly!
Seeking Airport Officials, we were told “All is fine,”
And “You’ll be told when to join the Fred Olsen line”

The computers had failed, in fact they were broke
And quite seriously our “check in” had become a joke!
The queue like an endless snake curled round and round
We couldn’t even see to where we were bound
Time ticked away slowly, on our endless wait
And we feared a night in the Airport would be our fate!

But like the true “Brits” that we were, we put on a happy face
Chatting to others, all moving at snail’s pace.
We began to laugh and there was great camaraderie
And we even made jokes about or impending jeopardy!
Our feet were tired and our legs did ache

We were thirsty and bored. How much longer would all this take?
I wished we could move with a little more haste
Then thankfully Margaret suggested I sat with her.... on her case!
But nightmares usually, forever don’t last
And soon we were flying high in the sky, the trauma past

When we arrived in Barbados it was all, just a flicker
As thankfully, we boarded the good ship Boudicca!
The first night in the Neptune Lounge was to be a “Formal” Occasion
We all dressed ourselves smartly, without much persuasion.
The men in dark suits and ties, done up with a bow
And ladies in dresses long dresses, my they did flow.

We had our photograph taken with our skipper “Captain Jan”
And soon discovered he was a “very hands on man”
In the Neptune, he offered us drinks, of the alcoholic kind
And by now nobody seemed to mind.

Then exuberant and happy we moved on, for our first Evening meal
To meet our fellow diners, we so hoped they would be a good deal
But we needn’t have worried cos on table 51
The guests that were chosen, were second to none
We immediately struck up a happy rapport

If we’d handpicked them ourselves, we couldn’t have asked for more!
Blessed with two naval seamen the conversation was often nautical
And the tales we were told made us laugh quite hysterical.
We learned something about a Spot?
And a Rivet that was Golden and meant something it was not?
Each night like Judge and Jury we put the world right
And saying “All Rise” we would return to the Neptune, for the entertainment of the night.

Then Tony Russell and David Hurrion, our Gardeners we did meet
They showed us slides and shared their knowledge. Oh what a treat!
They explained about the Amazonian vegetation
And answered our questions without hesitation
They set us a bit of a difficult quiz
Which got us into a bit of a tiz!

One day they took us on a River Boat, too
We saw where the Riberino’s live. Then down the River on a Canoe!
The Jungle Trek was an awesome affair
There were spiders and snakes and dense undergrowth for those who dare
We walked on boardwalks high and saw Monkeys and Parrots in the trees
And got covered in mud right up to our knees

The highlight for me, was Boca de Valeria
As it gave us a glimpse of life in the interior
The children, holding our hand
Showing us the secrets of this intriguing land
And slowly and surely the mighty Amazon revealed to me
The Rain Forest’s magic and mystery for us all to see
Brazil nut trees, exotic plants, mosquitoes and the stifling humidity
Illusive Caymans and the Pink Dolphins we just missed.... through our own stupidity
Giant Water Lily’s, the people with their Garden’s planted in Canoes
River boats, huge moths and muddy shoes
The wonders of the vast Tropical Sky
Watching magical Sunsets, sipping martini...dry
 
For two memorable weeks, we lived our lives afloat
In the confident hands of the Captain of our boat
At noon he would tell us, “Boudicca is Dancing with the Sea”
And “We are exactly, where we should be”

The meals we ate and ate and ate
And I know for a fact I’ve put on weight
The boys who served our meals, were so helpful and willing
I must remember to give them a shilling!

Have you seen Wilmer our waiter and would be ventriloquist
Performing with his “Baby” and “Little Willie” the philanthropist?
We’ve been to the shows and watched all the dancing
We’ve laughed with Lee Carroll and heard Andrew Robley singing

We attended the morning Quiz, intended for the intelligent
And walked the Deck “four” times, trying to be diligent.
Listened to the talented Simon Wheal on his piano, playing
And sitting through Lectures till our minds were ringing!

I must also mention Rikky our Cruise Director and Compere
Exec Chef Andreus, his Galley Team and their wonderful fayre
Our room maid Poo, has been so efficient, it has to be said
As each night we fell into our neatly made bed.

The friends we have made, we will remember too
Cos we “bonded” at Gatwick waiting in that queue!
Tony and David our “Leaders” from the Victoria Travel/Gardeners World Tour.
Ray the Deep Sea Diver and his partner Jill, who have both been on lots of Cruises before.

We will all remember Ann the great intellectual and her wonderful dresses
Jill and Brian and the lovely stories he confesses.
Then there’s my remarkable friend Margaret, from Dublin
And the charismatic Chris, so beautiful and “thin”
Who invited us to share our last day together, on a Caribbean beach
Where white sands and aquamarine seas, stretched far beyond our reach

And last but not least, with who else would I share this longed for, experience to the end?
But my long suffering Brian, my husband and my friend
We are all here because of Fred Olsen, a man I have never met
But what a remarkable man he must be, to have founded a fleet, the friendliest yet!

On behalf of everyone I have met, can I say a big “Thank You” to......
The good ship Boudicca.....
Her talented Trumpet playing Captain Jan Thomassen and his dedicated Crew
And not forgetting...
The wonderful friends we have come to know because we dared to venture
On this..... Our Amazing Amazonian Adventure

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