Show i 2T The Salt Lake Tribune iieaTdFfriini mm f'TrirfH)aiKli Sunday December 13 1987 Journeying ‘a thousand miles up the Amazon River’ Continued from T-- l The Goeldi Museum really a zoo aquarium and botanical garden rolled into one was a highlight of Belem Native trees and plants as well as monkeys jaguars panthers and sloths waterfowl birds and reptiles could be viewed Little did we know at the time that this would be as close as we would come to seeing those animals Upon boarding our home away from home for the next week it became quickly apparent that the Polaris was a special vessel My stateroom though in the bowels of the ship was cozy comfortable and quiet No telephone television or refrigerator in this ship The emphasis is on adventure and a shared experience not frivolous luxury s The Polaris is a ship accommodating 80 passengers The ship wasn’t full on our trip The dining room featured large picture windows and was spacious enough to seat all at once There were no assigned tables Breakfast and lunch were buffet-styl- e while dinner was served by attentive waiters There was also a library shop sauna hair salon and lounge with bar as well as facilities for slide lectures A full time doctor was always aboard The officers were Swedish led by Captain Hasse Nilsson while the crew was Filipino A half dozen lend their expertise By morning we had reached the Narrows an area of waterways only wide and a fine a few place to observe the many small settlements of mestizos or mixed bloods along both banks We saw single huts housing families with as many as 10 children Many times small children would paddle by our ship in their dugout canoes shouting out salutations in Portuguese By late afternoon the ship an one-clas- ship-lengt- A couple chored off the mouth of Rio Pucurui and the group piled into zodiacs those nifty rubber boats that can take you virtually anywhere where we had the opportunity to observe the tangled tropical vegetation at close range We even saw a few rubber trees bearing knife scars where they had been tapped for their sticky latex We also saw numerous birds including herons parrots macaws and king fishers The water hyacinth was much in evidence too By the third day we had reached Santarem a town of 50000 There were crafts of all sizes moored along the beaches including the ocean liner Sagafjord The tropical sun beat down upon us exhibiting its tremendous strength near the equator The river was wider now and the shoreline looked more like an African svelt than Amazon jungle Near late afternoon we entered the clear waters of the Rio Tapajos one of the Amazon’s important tributaries It proved to be a great place for swimming A long stretch of wide sand beach made for a perfect picnic spot The setting could have been the Caribbean or South Pacific so idyllic was it Fifty or sixty Brazilian children came out of the jungle to help finish off the barbecue leftovers After the delightful beach party of the night before a 5:40 am wake-u- p call came mighty early the next morning But sunrise is the best time to be out in the zodiacs for it is then that the jungle begins stirring The banks were muddy as we made our way up the Dona Rosa stream to a pond filled with piranha Several squirrel monkeys yacked at us overhead while colorful birds soared above ' It was up early again the next day to explore a narrow channel near Lago Caraocou The landscape was breathtaking with scattered cottages large trees and fishermen casting nets from dugout canoes The sunrise was spectacular During the afternoor we explored the Furo Silva in the zodiacs and had our first chance to examine the two species of freshwater dolphins at close range The pink Amazon dolphin grows to eight feet and is the color of bubblegum The smaller and has grey dolphin is porpoise-lik- e a prominent dorsal fin Unlike ocean dolphins these river mammals are unusually shy and avoid contact with humans Because the water is so murky they locate food by sending out sound waves They proved to be extremely difficult to photograph The sixth day found us at Lago do Rei a placid part of the river lined with farms and river boats Though it was clear when we set out by zodiac in the afternoon dark clouds formed lightning flashed and thunder rolled The storm burst drenched us Even though we were soaked and shivering it was still a pleasure to be caught in a true tropical rainstorm As we headed back to the Polaris we noticed many dead fish floating downstream At first we thought they had been poisoned but later we learned that fishermen further upstream had been dynamiting It is a common practice during early November when fishermen try to get a few more before the river rises too high and disperses the fish into the forest The highlight of the day was a late evening caiman hunt After dinner several boat loads of passengers under the glow of a bright moon went after the little alligators so prevalent along the banks of the Amazon It is not hunting per se but the act of capturing the crawly creatures behind the neck with your bare hands ex- - of Mestizos or mixed bloods paddle their dugout canoe alongside ship in Amazon it fl I i TOURS I Parade i Rose $445 San Diego I i Rose Parade $380 I i Disneyland SUNDAY THRU THURSDAY DEC 13-DE- C aming and photographing them and then returing them to the water To find the caimans which grow to about seven feet in length you shine flashlights along the river banks The eyes of the reptiles are reflected in the beams like pairs of tiny rubies The final day we arrived in Manaus but not before we witnessed the “wedding of the waters” where the black water of the Rio Negro meets the lighter water of the Rio Solimoes to form i i Southwest i i Special 0 r Sunny the Amazon The dividing line between the two rivers is clearly visible for some 50 miles downstream Manaus is a teeming city of more than one million people It is home to an amazing opera house the Teatro Amazonas as well as a military zoo It is a major port on the Amazon as well as a free trade zone At the turn of the 20th century it was considered the wealthiest city in the world thanks to the rubber boom begun by Charles Goodyear in 1839 Manaus though in the middle of the jungle rapidly expanded creating instant wealth This newly formed elite class built elaborate homes traveled regularly to Europe fed their horses champagne and had their laundry done in Portugal In 1896 the ornate Opera House was opened featuring such international stars as Enrico Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt Alas! Today the building is once again being restored and most of it is covered in scaffolding Rubber was eventually produced more cheaply in Malaysia and the Brazilian rubber boom collapsed Thanks to Manaus’ free trade zone the city is enjoying some much needed prosperity Still there are extensive slums In fact it is one of the worst cities this author has ever visited Modern day Manaus is a crowded hot unappetiz 1 They're filling fast! ! BERLIN I SHANNON I ZURICHGENEVA I BRUSSELS ROME 385 7 Jan 20 Elko $x Stockmen's & Casino Downtown Las Vegas Free validated covered parking VIENNA as low as ORIENT TEL AVIV Varig-Cruzeir- detector That only jangled people’s nerves even more as some rather shady characters toting briefcases also boarded If you are interested in birdwatching this cruise is for you Even if you are not you will soon grow to appreciate these flying wonders By the end of the journey I was able to discern a tern from a forktailed flycatcher In all 125 different yellow-bille- d species were spotted And my favormaniite — why the crimson-hoode- d kin A major disappointment was the lack of wildlife in the jungle But after being in the Amazonas region 1 now know why Jaguars anacondas tapirs capybaras and manatees have been hunted to extinction And of course we didn’t come in contact with any Indians They have been pushed further and further into the jungle by the encroachment of “modern civilization” But it was still an enlightening journey Particularly helpful were the naturalists aboard who brightened the trip considerably with their vast knowledge of flowers trees plants animals birds reptiles Indians and the Amazon in general The frightening thing about the Amazon region is the fact that the Brazilian government is systematically cutting down the forest at an alarming rate A portion of forest the size of Massachusetts is chopped down each and every week for such n follies as the Highway Once the forest is gone it cannot regenerate for the soil is sandy and shallow Trans-Amazo- For more information on Special Expeditions write to Special Expeditions Inc 720 Fifth Avenue New York NY 10019 I COMPLETE ITINERARIES CALL NOW AVAILABLE - tam ifoftifUfte frte EID frimirt 488 518 448 658 555 4S8 575 669 IS DAY NEW ZEALANDAUSTRALIA 750 363-792- Salt Lake City To: HAMBURG R I I LEISURE TOURS TRAVEL I I 122 WAND So Temple Suite 101 ft 2 Hotel Special Expeditions provides intellectually curious travelers with the opportunity to explore remote wildernesses and different cultures The company was founded in 1979 Lindblad son of Lars-Eri- c by Sven-Ola- f Lindbald dean of adventure travel Based in New York Special Expeditions offer programs such as whale watching off the coast of Baja California glacier gazing in Alaska expeditions to Antarctica as well as journeys to Canada Amazon Caribbean British Isles Scandinavia and coastal Maine The trip I took was entitled “A Thousand Miles Up The Amazon” Our group met in Miami and flew Bolivian Airlines (LAB) to Manaus where we stayed overnight at the Hotel Amazonas an incredibly bad hostelry We spent virtually the entire next day at the Manaus airport ato tempting to fly via airlines to Belem We didn’t arrive in Belem until 2 am where we spent another night at the Hotel Novotel considerably cleaner than the Amazonas but without hot water Our return flight aboard a Varig Boeing 767 was scheduled to leave at 4 am from Manaus but in reality didn’t even arrive until then from Sao Paulo With no assigned seating and rumors of an oversold flight to Miami passengers’ nerves were frayed When the attendant finally opened the single door there was a mad dash for the plane Little old ladies were literally stepped on by others intent on corraling a seat It proved to be “survival of the fittest” The capper however was the fact that the Brazilian airport personnel didn’t see a need to use the metal FARES TO EUROPE MEMBERSHIPS THROUGH DEC 31 1987 I ing place with nothing to brag about save its famed Opera House and enough electronic equipment to fill a Silo warehouse UNBELIEVABLE I FREE TRAVEL CLUB H n yellow-brow- H jJ°"-Day152-- $41 XA Yellowstone CALL TODAY 'Excludes taxes suites Jacuzzi rooms holiday periods and weekends (Friday and Saturday) Not available to groups Subpct to availability a i 23 i Snowcoach 650 modern and luxurious rooms low prices friendly people plus a FREE valuable WELCOME BOOK all in the heart of downtown Las Vegas located right on Fremont Street Travelers with Special Expeditions explore the Amazon River aboard rubber zodiac boats ROSE PARADE CUR THIS AD FOR $ 2500 DISCOUNT ON ANY '87 ROSl FARADS TOUR BEST ROOM VALUE IN DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS MY 4 ALL INCLUSIVE TOUR APRIL 1988 CALL JACKIE 042-542- 6 E 7000 S Sett Laks City 3690 DUYAimumimi BETA FREE ISLAND TOTAL PRICE PER PERSON Five Day Mexico Cruise $560°° (From Tampa to Cozumel and Cancun) Seven Day Mexico Cruise (9 day package) INCLUDES: Seven Day Mexico Cruise Cabo Son Lucas) (From San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Mazotlon per ton dot occ -- $910®° (From New Orleans to Key IVest Cozumel and Cancun) Round trip airfare $885°° Transfers Full cruise to Cozumel and Cancun One night in Tampa Two nights in Disneyworld Three day car rental Complimentary Sight Seeing Tour with Post Cruise Stay Above prices all include air fare transfers over night hotel accommodations PORT TAXES NOT INCLUDED $62500 1265-222- anaimm - 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