Day 10 (January 11). Approaching Amazon River.

   


 (Report for 11 January)
 [BTW, when reading these blog posts, be sure to click the Read More invitation at lower right of first "page" so you see the entire post.]
As we approach the Amazon River, the waters turn brown. Brazil's "Big Muddy" puts the Mississippi's in its place.

       
As we enjoy a leisurely (i.e., slow service) dinner with fellow Road Scholars) we gaze out the aft windows at the chocolate sea. That's Doris Goldthwaite at right and Bob at same table. Our 21-passenger Road Scholar group is assigned three nice tables nightly for 5 pm. Only rarely do we all come to the Dining Room at that time, others choosing to eat at the Lido Market on Deck 9, or perhaps calling for Room Service, included for us. (Nice!) The food is excellent, IMHO.












Once into the river it seemed rather narrow? Huh? It turns out the mouth of the Amazon might better thought of as the Straits of the Amazon, as shown at right. Now, by "narrow" we're still talking a mile or two wide, I suppose. Any way, we "stopped" at Macapá for fuel and water, I think. We did not get off the ship. In fact, I don't recall if we actually docked or just "anchored" offshore. Maybe it was night? And I put "anchored" in quotes since we learned on our Great Lakes Viking voyage two or three years ago, modern cruise ships can use their screws and side thrusters, along with pinpoint accurate GPS to stay nearly stationary, saving the not insignificant energy required to haul up its massive, heavy anchors. 

Comparing the Amazon to the Mississippi again, the MS Zuiderdam is a very, very large ship compared to Mississippi cruise ships, barges and paddlewheel boats, and draws some twenty five feet of water. By contrast, the Viking Mississippi cruise ship, designed specifically for river travel, draws only nine feet of water, and even then had to suspend voyage during Mississippi drought. (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/viking-cruise-low-water-mississippi-river/index.html)





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