Second Day on Clivia

By this time the boredom had set in. There was absolutely nothing to do. So we played with the kids on board. Pix was a good hand at entertaining them with all his antics.

We befriended a family that hung their hammocks next to ours. It was a great set-up. Pix would entertain their kids and they would give us cheese and other goodies.

Sometimes the boat would doc at a town and the locals would jump on board with a million things to sell from knick-knack to food. I went fore the food: ice-cream, coconut fudge, coconut biscuit, fried salted banana, weird fruits, drinks, cheese and other sweets. The coconut fudge was my favorite.

First Day on Clivia

The days all seem to have melded into one. Every day had the same routine.

Up before sunrise

Wait for Breakfast two minutes after sunrise - sweet coffee and a roll or biscuit if the rolls ran out.

Lunch at 10:30am (no jokes) - meat, rice, spaghetti, beans, coleslaw salad sometimes, water

Dinner at 15:30 (again... no jokes) - meat, rice, beans, no spaghetti and no salad (thats how you distinguish lunch and dinner), water.

We had the same dish for every meal for five days... straight!

Dinner politics: the men sat next to the mens ablutions and the women next to the ladies. Dinner was served in rounds as there were more people than seats available. We always aimed to eat in the last round and I tried to always sit at the ladies table: it`s a lot quieter, better view (sunset and women breast feeding!) and I found the company a lot better.

The posh people (in cabins) ate with the captain below deck... next to the engine room. ha ha ha. No conversation but they did get better food than us that included fruit and dessert!

The pick below is sunrise from the stern. And yes those are showers. Great for when its hot during the day.

Boarding the Clivia

Be prepared - thats my moto. For anything. So with blinding headaches we made prep for the boat trip. The lady from Hotel Fortaleza advised us to buy water for the boat and to get there early to get a good spot (as the Lonley Planet advises).

We bought the equivalent of 10 liters of water each (for five days travel) and got to the boat at about 12:30.

Humph! - The boat has filtered water on board. As much as you can drink in a lifetime. Its from the Amazon. And our boarding time was 17:00. So we sat with all our baggage and ten big bottles of water for a long time.

But we did meet a Brazilian dude who helped us establish our boat boarding status and a German guy, Wolfgang.

At five we were first in line to go through the customs check and almost last to put our hammocks up. While doing so we made friends with Zack, an Aussie guy on his way to Bolivia to do some volunteer work in a National Park before meeting a friend of his.

And that was our gringo party: James, Mianne, Pix, Zack and myself. There was a gringo tour group on their way to Manaus and some other gringos in cabins but we were traveling peasant class so didn`t spend as much time with them.

As they day drew to a close more and more and more and more people started boarding the boat. Much to our surprise. We all thought we had the prime spot as there were very few hammocks around us when we put ours up. By the time we left we had the most crowded section. With the exception of James and Mianne. Good advice - hang your hammock next to the stairwell.

Then we were off. No dinner on night one, glad I had that scrumptious soup for lunch!

"Today we spent preparing for the big boat trip up the Amazon to Manaus for tomorrow. I'll be under the radar for a while. Cheers

As luck would have it the boat we were supposed to go on, the Santarem has problems with the propeller. So the only thing to do is get drunk and wait to bored tomorrow evening on another boat."

Updated - This morning we met a guy named Pix at the breakfast table (breakfast at Hotel Fortaleza is coffee). My first thought was "Whoa, this guys a wild canon". He had tatoos all the way up both arms, on his legs and you could see his entire chest was covered in tatoos. He was explaining to us how he had spent the previous evening drinking cognac with all sorts of exotic shamanic additions, including: jaguar blood, anaconda blood, natural viagra and a host of other additions I dare not think about. After that he was given a "magical" (my words) cigaret which landed him in a cop shop for a few hours. Once he was released he got "rolled" for a few items he had on him and somehow found his way home. I think he`d actually been out with another Aussie bird to a club before coming home. He then went on to explain he was studying a psychology course that included natural medicines and traditional beliefs (I forget the technical term). He was on his way to Peru, Iquitos, to a shamanic natural healers meeting that only takes place every so many years.

Then the bomb shell hit. "Can I join you guys on the boat to Manaus?" My first thought was how we gonna loose this guy. I`m glad we didn`t. Pix was and is such an awesome guy to travel with. A natural entertainer that somehow attracts attention to himself thats entertainment for everyone around him. Thanks Pix!

When I wrote the above I thought I`d be getting on a boat called the Santarem and on my way to Manaus. But not to be. James, Mianne and I went in a scout this morning to find the best price on the boat that leaves that day. As it would be Hotel Fortaleza had the best price and we wasted the morning trudging around in the sun. The four of us (including Pix now) headed to the doc for the Santarem, with tickets in-hand, to hang our hammocks up (as advised by Lonely Planet, to get the best spot). When we got there there was a lot of "Portlish" to establish that the Santarem would not be going that day as "the propeller was broke". I couldnt think of a more lame excuse myself! Bloody lazy crew is what I call it. So there was nothing to do but head back to town, have some lunch and drink beer until the sun goes down. Not later.

Yeah, right! But the sunset was worth it.



"Happy birthday to mom. I'll have a beer for you."

Update - this video was taken in Manaus but was meant for your birthday Mom.

It was a long bus ride from St Louise to Belem (11 hrs over night). When we arrived we cought the wrong bus an hour and a half in the wrong direction. I think none of us could be bothered to get off the bus but it took us to a cool resort town outside Belem. We wanted to stay the night but our indecision didn't help. The final straw was a bloody madman telling us not to walk along the coast road in our search for a place to stay (my motivation for a quick resolution and a place to stay was a turtle-head). So we cought the bus back to Belem.

A very kind couple helped us catch the correct bus to our hostel. They even paid our fare! I am in their debt.

That afternoon we went for a walk into town where a big artisan fair was on. I had a delicious chocolate cake (yes I had chocolate cake), a thirst quenching fresh mango juice, two 'meats-on-a-stick' and a can of guaranna (sp?).



Later that evening we went for a walk to find some dinner but only found a drunk who went from extolling all his problems on us to quoting Bob Marley and 'sharing the love'. The only think he was sharing was an even distribution of spittle in all of our beers. We eventually landed up having dinner at an expensive buffet (away from any madmen and drunks).

I went for a long walk around the old part of town and stumbled upon this old house. We had walked past it on the search for a hostel but didn't look in the gate. I'll buy this house when its refurbished.

Today we got to St Louise. I like the slow pace and the vibe this city has. There is a project to revitalise the old city to its former glory. I would love to see it once complete.

National Park of Six Cities - this national park is a geologists dream. A pitty I didn't understand our guide but hey, he didn't understand me.

Brazil: oops on its side

Long and very boring travel day! Except this morning James Mianne and I went to go see the fog (we actually went to see the sunrise but there wasn't one).

National Park Ubajara - The smallest park in Brazil. The main feature is a lime cave. Not as impressive as the Kango Caves but some cool formations inside. My favourite was the Breast Chamber.

Can you see the horse:



We also went to see the view from the escarpment:

A very long travelling day. Boring!

The sun and all the partying cought up to me this day. So I stayed at the hostel and read a book (pitty I couldn't keep it).

With my batteries recharged I had to go out and have that perfect Mahito (again):



Oops... part two:

This day we went on a buggy ride to fresh water lakes in the dune. It was great swimming in 'sweet water' and not scratchy salt water.

Beach day, dune jumping and sun set.

Beach day

At the bus station we met up with some other travellers: James and Mianne, a couple from the UK; Nattalie, half English half Brazilian (big help - she speaks Portugues); and Eran, Isralie. The bus ride out to Jeri was unevertful until we got to Jeri. The bus dropped us off in the 'town square' and left us to the sharks. There were about twenty people all trying to get us to stay in there accomodation (low season means slim pickings for them). Carnage I tell you - it was the nightmare of Salvadore all over again. I stayed with James to mind the bags while the other four went Possada hunting. They did very well at the end of the day. They decided to the best option was with Passada Senzala. A little more expensive but the best choice by far. The owner was a man named Itama who also owned and ran the local nightclub. Just to our advantage. The rest of the day was one long piss-up and I only got to bed just before the sun came up.

Most of the day in Fortaleza I spent walking around having a look at the town and walking along the boulevard. While in an Inet cafe Niall came online and co-incidentally he was also in Fortaleza. I hadn't expected him to be there on the same day as me. We agreed to meet later for a beer.



Later that afternoon I went to a big market (mostly for tourists). They had some weird things including crabs pickled in bottles of alcohol. The shop attendant told me it was very good. I believed him and left it at that.



At sunset I decided to go and catch the last rays from a stone pier that stretched about 750m into the ocean. It was the perfect spot to catch the shimmer of lights as they played on the highrise buildings on the coastline as the sun sank. While sitting on a rock this guy comes up to me and we start chatting in the small amounts of each others language we shared. I then began to worry about his intentions as he was asking me whether I liked girls, and how much so. I excused myself after he slanted that he likes men and winked at me. I made my way to the end of the pier where I noticed a few couples sitting on the rocks. On closer inspection some of the women could have been men. I then realised where I was. I gathered it was where gay men got together. A bit like Emmarentia dam. So I left them to it and said good bye to the chap trying to pick me up.



I found a spot close to the pier from where I could watch the sunset with possibly the same view as from the end of the pier. While sitting there in a daydream these two young girls came and sat along side me and we (as per usual) began chatting. They were very friendly and so I thought I could use them to help me learn some Portuguese. What they were trying to get me to learn was the gentle art of a Brazilian threesome for the handsome price of R$5. A bargain if you ask me but they settled for a photo of themselves instead.

I then met Niall for a beer (yeah right). It was good to catch up with him. Before we parted ways we arranged to meet at the bus station to go to Jericoacoara together.

From Natal I went on to Fortaleza. Most of the day was spent on a bus. There was an amazing Cathedral that reminded me of the Notre Dame with its flying buttress' and massive circular stain glass window in the front. It was started in the mid 17th century so is quite old.

After partying a little with the local kids the last night I spent the day on the beach just relaxing. But I did meet a guy with the biggest afro I have ever seen.



On the way home we came accross this cool graffiti. I dont think this picture does it any justice but it was cool.