Show iiw m ymifni Travel fbe jialt fake tribune t? ®i - iV- !A ' TPHt ' i ' -' r - - 's- - H- - i V s Avf ' r "Sy f " M ' r ‘ “V X V £ t1-r- VXy ' r lwl ' T'5“'“' Ulr A Y'4X f ri 5 Jj t TJ t 4'- sSL - ? tr s - c u r- - - ? ''VHhil - 1 v £ ' ’ Tj?-- : “ ' 1 ' N & Tir V “£ ’ i- ' Jr-f- -' " A i v" il' ivV - v 7 - 4$ J'j xt 4 Jr A'V-Vf- - l4Y'V 1 ?) l:'!r CQ: Page y KSV ’ A V- - v- 5‘” w- i Section T m 5 bj f' £ v V W 13 1987 ? fv - Sunday December -- &'' tv i ii ’?' C 4 w 4cir4i-C ‘'s ‘ c t " '4 v t: ‘ I f ? -T' 7 Ap!' v"TntK 4 Sxyc - - 't-- t s:-Lv-- i - I v'y vv £V The suo rises over the Amazon River in Brazil near Lago Caraocou Steep grass-covere- slopes with cecropia trees meet the water above Fishermen ply the river in search of fish d t jrj story and photos by Tom McCarthey r& Tribune Travel Editor n the heart of the largest tropical forest in the UTlitti the Amazon River a mighty body of wafer which begins as a trickle In the Andes then plunges down through ravines and gorges flows through a vast basin slithers its way across Peru Colombia and Brazil until finally it floods the Atlantic 4000 miles away The Amazon is only the second longest river in the world (the Nile is longer) but by sheer volume — a more significant measure anyway — it is unrivalled From its mouth it pours out one-fift-h of all the river water on earth The torrent is so great that it drives the salt water of the Atlantic back for 100 miles And it is so deep that ocean liners can navigate more than half its length There are more than 1100 tributaries branching out from the main Amazon Seven teen of them are over 1000 miles long (longer even than Europe’s great Rhine) Always it moves this muddy river that conjures up visions of painted Indians peeking our from behind taU tr ' trees and of fierce jaguark g piranha giant crocodiles and venomous snakes hanging from vines Deep in the heart of the Amazonas region these things are still very real Along the banks of the Amazon however they are but a distant memory The cats and reptiles have been hunted to extinction the Indians driven from the jungle by relentless deforestation Cruising a thousand miles up the Amazon River is still an amazing adventure however Special Expeditions has made it bearable too with a cruise offering that combines the comforts of home with some exciting sightseeing possibilities Its ship the wonderfully maneuverable m5 Polaris can wangle its way in and out of spots most cruise liners cannot Couple that with a fleet of rubber zodiacs and you have the chance to see the jungle up close and personal Our journey up the mighty Amazon River began in Belem the main port for the Amazon delta area Parts of the old city were prosperous but shacks were an all too common sight Graffiti long the bane of New York’s subway cars covered nearly every wall of this city of 13 million See T-- 2 Column 1 ” T --- 1 J £i I?"1" U- - ?$ -- V - ’V (' h - 4 A f v4wt-- T- - Brazilians in dugoat canoes paddle toward the Polaris lef& Zodiac works its tray along river triSotary below WWW n 7 s 3 Q ff £' t flesh-eatin- yr OMbak The bustling ''i port of Ma- ? naus above deep in the heart of the Amazon Families of mestizos live in hats on the banks of the Amazon River right ‘4 'T ’ - is r ' " U v —y- ' risSk- - i J - W - — jr-- (MHHMHaniaMiiki ’'"" '1 j4rjw y sSsSiS5SSBaS£i£23SS v i ilOWt 11 - WKSHilk - 4 RiLV'IRSli niijT iiiinrffl nr irrmr iminMiMn in ' j i Hill ii igwqg'gytJW rirnriTWitrnmWirT laHsggggaggiigBggHgs gyiB iiwHi!iewg(JJiii ” -y r |