Nice, unusual barge ride
www.tuscaloosanews.com South American travel diary By Sylvere and Martha Coussement January 30, 2003
ON THE AMAZON RIVER, Brazil | There is nothing like traveling first class. When first conceived, I had described to my wife a genteel drive around South America, staying in, if not good hotels, at least reasonable accommodations. Our optimism was dashed by the first week into our travels.
Manaus, Brazil, is the third-largest city in this country with one and half million people living on the mighty Amazon River. In spite of being 1,000 miles from the Atlantic coast, it is an international port with an industrial complex that prides itself on having a low-tax structure for business customers.
The links to the world for Manaus are principally through the river. Minor routes are northbound to Venezuela, and a road to the west, which is sometimes unpassable. It is steamy, bustling, and seedy, but it/sretains vestiges of its glory days 100 years ago when rubber trees were important and affluence was abundant.
We felt certain there would be a choice of boats to take us and our car, a 1992 Buick Century, to Belem, on the mouth of this great river highway.
Yes, we were told, a barge capable of handling our car leaves three days a week for Belem. Barge!? Yes, all other boat traffic handles people only, the “buses" of the river. We were assured that there were “restaurant" and bath facilities.
“Oh, fine, what types of cabins are available?" we inquired.
The answer led us to believe that we were really having a problem with our Portuguese. Our cabin was to be our car, since the barge is just for handling commercial traffic.
We loaded up at 9 p.m. for a midnight departure along with 32 trailers, two full eighteen-wheeler rigs, an assortment of smaller trucks, and two cars, all on a 200-foot floating piece of steel. The lighting for all this? Moonlight and flashlights.
We were not very happy campers on board, nor did the animals show particular enthusiasm, since this was to be a four-day trip. Sleeping accommodations were a la hammock ó if you had one ó while the rest of the facilities included the tug “one holer" with a pipe on the ceiling for shower, the whole thing a la unisex.
The “restaurant" facility was the galley of the tug which served three meals per day, kitchen buffet style, and sit-anywhere-you-want-on-deck dining room (be careful of the grease). Ah, yes, just the cruise we had envisioned.
After the fact, we felt the experience was much more delightful than advertised. The Amazon is immense and wild and teems with wildlife on its banks and tributaries. The indigenous people are small and dark-skinned, and were curious about these tall, white folks with a foreign car (Buicks are not imported into Brazil).
They intercepted the barge in their small dugout canoes, lashed it to the tug, and jumped aboard to visit or sell fruits or vegetables. They rode down river for a while and then hitched a ride up river on westbound boats. The ease, agility, and fearlessness with which these people scampered on and off moving vessels from small dugout canoes were fascinating. The dangers were real. If the piranha did not get them, the crocodiles on the banks could.
After sleeping on the hood or with feet hanging out of the car window the first night, we found two spare hammocks, which we strung under the nearest trailer, an effort aided by friendly Brazilian truck drivers. Much conversation was made using dictionaries, hand signals, and Portugese-English. We all commiserated over the daily diet of rice, beans, and meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Communication and living conditions were not the only challenges as moving around required constant vigilance. There were no lifelines on the barge, and scampering between the barge and the tug was necessary several times per day. Fall overboard? There would be little opportunity for survival.
If not sucked in below the vessel, if the fish or crocs missed you, and if you could swim a mile or more to shore, then all that was necessary was to deal with the jungle. The distances on this river are great, and river travel could be characterized as dull, possibly punctuated by moments of panic and discomfort. In spite of the wonderful experience with the people and scenery, I think we will try to avoid further barge travel if possible.
Next week: Onward to the sights and sounds of Rio.