Farms, Ferries, Forests

Monday, February 17, 2025

Our day will be spent cruising the Amazon. Zaandam will not call in any ports.

We left Macapá last night and sailed overnight - slowly, due to the lack of lights and the potential for obstacles in the river. We continue sailing upriver today. The width of the river is amazing. At first all you can see is a forest on the distant shore. After a while, you start to understand better what you are seeing. You notice the many tributaries adding so much water to the Amazon, and you notice the ubiquitous wetlands. Occasionally, there are birds. You notice the frequent boat traffic. You don’t notice the absence of air traffic and motor vehicle traffic until it is pointed out to you. You notice the odd color of the water, and its opacity. You notice grassy wetlands and dense forest. The horizon sometimes reveals low, rolling hills, but there are no visible mountains.

There have been no bridges. Occasionally there is a fazenda - a farm. You might see a dock or two, suggesting a settlement of some sort nearby. The river is the life of this region.

Morning prospect

Amazon sunset, taken through a window

What else did we do today? It was hard to tear ourselves away from the fascinating Amazon scenery. Richard Watson spoke about The Indigenous History of the Amazon.

Richard said that at the time of the arrival of Europeans, there were an estimated 5 million people living in the Amazon Basin. These inhabitants comprised 100 different tribal groups, and spoke 300 languages. The original indigenous peoples were decimated by disease once the Europeans arrived. There are presently 1 million residents of the Amazon who identify as indigenous.

The first humans arrived in the Amazon 11,000-12,000 years ago. Despite the warm, humid climate, they left cave paintings and other artifacts, that can be seen today in Monte Alegre, in the state of Pará. The rock paintings in Serranía de la Lindosa, in Colombia, is considered “The Sistine Chapel of the Amazon.”

Ironically, deforestation has enabled the discovery of pre—historic earthworks through aerial photography and LIDAR. They are similar to Nazca Lines. There were large settlements that subsisted through agriculture. Over centuries, the indigenous farmers created Terra Preta, a dark, fertile soil, by mixing, charcoal, bones, compost, manure, and broken pottery into the Amazonian soil, which was not very suitable for agriculture. These darks layers can be seen today, as well as Terra Mulata, a brown layer. The depth of the Terra Preta layer can reach 6 feet. These  soils would have been created between 450 BCE and 950 CE.

In the period between 1540 and 1570 CE, missionaries arrived. The first fort was established at Belem. Enslavement of local peoples began, and enslaved people were brought over from Africa. In modern times, the indigenous people of the Amazon have faced threats related to naturalists seeking medicinal plants, the rubber boom, and the gold rush of the 1980’s.

There are believed to be about 100 uncontacted tribes in the Amazon at the present time. In this context, “uncontacted” means these tribes choose to continue their traditional lifestyle and choose to avoid contact with outsiders. The Brazilian government now officially respects this choice and has created a large protected zone that is off-limits to outsiders where the uncontacted tribes can maintain their traditional culture.

In the evening we went to a concert by a vocalist named Maria Campos. She was okay, but I didn’t really like her playlist.

Our towel animal tonight is this cute pup.

Today’s fabric is Amazon Green and Black, by Ray Troll for Spoonflower. Ray Troll is one of my favorite Alaskan artists, so I was delighted to find this fabric. Take a close look.