Santarém

So yesterday we turned from the South Atlantic Ocean into the Amazon River. To aid me in my inability to describe the scale of this river, picture this: the Amazon River basin covers an area the same size as the continental United States. Inconceivable. The flow is more than 12x the Mississippi River and the mouth is over 200 miles wide.
The four of us had an excursion planned for today that was a hike through the jungle in a 2,000,000 acre National Park. As I looked out our window this morning shortly before we were to leave, I was dismayed to se that a good portion of the window was covered with mosquitoes. Those who know me well recognize that I am bait - the mosquitoes will always bite me first before snacking on anyone I am with. So even though I had on bug-proof pants and long-sleeved shirt, a hat sprayed with bug spray, boots and socks doused in bug spray and I had 100% deet on my face and hands, I went back for a second spray-over.
So we are sitting on the bus in the pouring rain and I am forced to contemplate the wisdom of this outing. A hike through the Amazon rain forest during the rainy season wearing at least a full pound of mosquito repellent. Why not? I feel good that they have not given the lecture yet about the bugs of the Amazon because that just might keep me locked in the bathroom on the ship. Speaking of bugs, check out the photo of the water bug that was near our dining table last night.
The hike was incredible. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and managed the 12 of us with the help of a young Brazilian guide who went along ahead of us with a big machete. We saw multiple fruit trees, the Brazil nut tree, rubber trees and a tree that I can’t remember the name of that grows to 300’ tall. There are 238 different types of termites here. If the bullet ant bites you, it causes pain that is much like being shot with a gun - definitely want to avoid that one.
We have 4 more stops on the Amazon before heading into the Caribbean Sea. Stay tuned.Leia mais