Taking a ferry on the Amazon River is considered an authentic Brazilian experience. Nowhere else are long-distance ferries such an integral part of life. With no roads cutting through the thick jungle and insane seasonal flooding, boats are not just the main source of transportation, in many areas they are the only mode of transportation.
The Amazon River has the largest volume of freshwater of any river in the world. One-fifth of all of the run-off water in the world flows down this river. In fact, there is so much water that it can take up to 100 km for it to mix with the Atlantic Ocean where it ends its journey. It is the second longest river in the world. Beginning in the Andes mountains and ending in the Atlantic Ocean, the river travels a staggering 6,400 km (4,000 miles).
We took two ferries, on the Amazon to get from Manaus in the west to Belém, near the Atlantic Ocean. The first ferry took us from Manaus to Santarém, 720 km away. We heard that sleeping in a hammock on a ferry was an ‘authentic Brazilian experience’ and we were excited for it to begin. Getting aboard the Amazon Star was a frustrating task and maybe foreshadowed our coming days. Usually Brazilians form lines and patiently wait their turn. That’s not the case when boarding a ferry. A lot of pushing and shoving ensued as hundreds of passengers forced their way along a narrow plank to get onboard.
When we walked into the sleeping quarters we were in shock. There was a mess of hammocks swinging in every direction and made us question our decision to take the ferry rather than a more expensive cruise, or even fly. Rows and rows of hammocks were haphazardly arranged with no rhyme or reason as to where they were strung. So much for our romanticized notion of cruising down the Amazon in a leisurely hammock.
We bought our ferry tickets from the same company that we used for our Amazon rainforest trip. It included the purchase and set up of our hammocks. We were so glad that we went for this option, because we wouldn’t have been able to figure out how and where to hang them in this mess. As it was, our new hammocks were expertly strung amongst hundreds of others. There was even room underneath our makeshift beds for our luggage. We knew then what it meant when we were told that this would be an ‘experience’.
We quickly discovered that departure and arrival times for ferries on the Amazon are rough estimates. While waiting to depart we took in the hectic scene taking place on the lower level. Some people were driving their vehicles onto the ferry on rickety planks barely as wide as their tires. At the same time hundreds of crates of supplies were being carried on to the ship. It was a reminder that anything and everything that goes down the Amazon does so by boat.
When everything was loaded, we thought we were ready to go, but we were wrong. The police came on board and an announcement was made that told everyone to go to either side of the ferry. Not understanding the Portuguese announcement, we followed the lead of the other passengers. Men went to one side, women to the other. We weren’t sure what was going to happen until we saw the armed police and their sniffer dog going through every piece of luggage and cargo on board. We suspect they were searching for drugs, and thankfully nothing was found. Finally, 1 ½ hours later, we were on our way.
The ferry soon reached the Meeting of the Waters. We had seen the confluence of Amazon and Negro Rivers going to and returning from our Amazon rainforest trip (read the story here), and it was no less impressive the third time. The jagged line that forms as the two rivers fight off joining is a fascinating site.
As the ferry slowly motored down the river we passed more of these confluences as many of the Amazon’s 1,200 tributaries came to join the mighty river. Each took a while to mix with the sand-coloured Amazon.
The ferry was a very basic, bare-bones boat, but it was reasonably clean and we figured we could survive it for a day. There was an area with tables and chairs on the upper deck where we could relax under a shaded roof. A gentle breeze kept us cool in the hot spring weather. A small bar at the end served drinks and snacks. It was really nice until they began blasting ear shattering Brazilian music at full volume all day and night.
From the upper deck we watched the riverbank slowly pass by. At times it was almost difficult to believe we were on a river. In the dry season, when we were there, the Amazon is between 3 and 9 km wide (2 to 6 miles). We couldn’t even imagine how it looks during rainy season when it can be up to 48 km (30 miles) wide! As it was we had at least 1 ½ km of water between us and either shore, making it difficult to see much of anything.
What we couldn’t see though was jungle. We realized that our idealized vision of a wild Amazon jungle doesn’t ring true in many areas. The forest was burned down long ago to make room for modern lifestyles. Instead of a riverbank covered in dense forest, the land hosts small farms with only bits of jungle interspersed between. Some farms raise cattle, others grow vegetables or fruit. There is still a lot of burning taking place to clear more land. Smoke from the fires made the sky glow red during sunrises and sunsets. It’s definitely not the wild jungle that our minds had imagined.
The large river was very busy. We watched from our spot on deck as other ferries, large shipping vessels and even the Brazilian Navy went by.
On both of our trips the ferries stopped at a few ports. Some were nothing but a small collection of local boats, others were busy harbours. At each stop some passengers got off, new ones boarded and of course vendors came aboard to sell their wares. In addition to the usual snacks some of the venders sold the strangest things. One lady sold dresses, another sold pots and cheese graters, which could be used by those who bought from the man selling bricks of cheese. Another lady was selling a type of tupperware. Who comes on a long-distance ferry realizing they need new tupperware at home? At a few of these stops the police also got on to go through the bags. We were getting used to it by then and knew the routine.
At each stop passengers, including us, would watch the action from the side of the boat. There wasn’t much to do on the boat so anything different was entertainment.
After watching the river all day it was time to go to sleep, but sleeping in a hammock amongst hundreds of others has its challenges. Some hammocks are very long and cross over others. A person at my feet frequently kicked me when he moved in his swinging bed. It’s a strange feeling to have a stranger so close when you’re sleeping. Richard’s hammock was next to a makeshift aisle. People bumped into him all night as they got up to go to the bathroom. He was awakened one time in the middle of the night by a funny noise coming from below. Richard looked down to see a guy crawling on the floor under his hammock. The sentiment ‘Do it for the experience’ was losing its charm.
In the morning we were very tired from a lack of sleep and desperately searched for coffee. All we could find was heavily sweetened coffee served in tiny cups. It wasn’t very good, but the sugar and caffeine helped to perk us up.
After more than 30 hours we reached our destination, Santarém. We hurriedly disembarked but many stayed on, traveling to ports further down the river. Our first ferry averaged a speed of 25 km/hr on the 720 km journey. We were told it would take between 30 and 36 hours, so it could have been worse.
Other than a lack of sleep, we weren’t too traumatized by the ferry trip so after a few days relaxing in Alter do Chão, we booked a second ferry to take us from Santarém to Belém. This time our boat was called Anna Karoline VII. For the first trip we slept in hammocks for the ‘experience’, on the second trip it was done out of necessity. We had planned to stay in an air-conditioned cabin for second ferry, but unfortunately all of the cabins were booked. That meant we were to spend 2 more nights in a hammock. Not the journey we had envisioned.
While we thought the ferry from Manaus to Santarém was disorganized, this ferry was a nightmare. There were a lot more vehicles and cargo to unload and load. Without any recognizable person in charge the process took hours. It had already arrived in Santarém 3 hours late from Manaus, and by time we were ready to go another 4 hours had passed. It was so disorganized you wouldn’t think they did this trip every week.
When walked into the chaotic sleeping room our stomachs dropped. A lot of people had already traveled on this ferry from Manaus and so the room was already full. Hammocks were criss-crossed over each other in every imaginable direction, taking all available space. We didn’t know how we’d ever find two spots to hang our hammocks. We had a new appreciation for the man we paid to hang them for us on the previous ferry. Every time we thought we found a spot, a passenger would tell us ‘no’. After a few failed attempts we split up to cover more area. Other passengers had also just boarded but were more familiar with the routine and were somehow finding places to hang their hammocks. We were getting desperate.
Finally, one lady took pity on me and moved her own hammock a foot to make room for mine. I was so relieved. That is until a lady on the other side kept yelling at me in Portuguese. I could not understand anything, but did hear the hateful way she spat out ‘Inglês’. All I could knew was that she didn’t like me because I spoke English and not Portuguese. Once my hammock was up, she was so disgusted with me that she moved her hammock to the other side of the room. She didn’t know it, but she did us a favour because Richard was then able to take her spot. At least we had two spots together, but we were so close that at night we had to move in unison, or one of us would get toppled out of their hammock.
Finally settled in we gave ourselves a tour of our home for the next three days. Compared to Amazon Star, this ferry was a cesspool. It was filthy, old and smelled like a garbage dump. There were only 3 stalls in both the men’s and women’s bathrooms for hundreds of passengers. We had thought our previous ferry was crude, now we longed for it. We were reminded of old movies where the poor passengers stayed in the lower deck of luxury liners crossing the Atlantic. We felt like those poor passengers.
There were two sleeping areas on this ferry. We set up on the lower deck. The upper one looked even worse. It didn’t even have glass in the windows. Instead, the sides were open. One night it poured and a lot of water got in. In the morning the floors had huge puddles.
After leaving Santarém the ferry continued taking us east along the wide Amazon. The scenery wasn’t very different from the previous ferry. The area to sit was very small. It only had a couple of tables and they were always busy. There was a top deck but it wasn’t covered so we could only go up in the early morning and evening. The sun was too strong during the day. Eventually we found a small place at the front of the ship where we could sit on the floor in the shade. We spent the days reading in our hammocks or sitting at the front on the floor watching the river. Time passed slowly.
We learned from the first ferry that the trick to sleeping in a hammock is to lie on it sideways. We struggled each night to find that perfect position for comfort, but also not to knock into each other or one of the other passengers’ feet, legs or heads. Every morning passengers started making noise as they rose around 5 am. There was no sense trying to sleep any longer so we got up too, but it made the days even longer.
After 29 or 30 hours cruising down the wide Amazon River, the ferry turned toward Pará River on a small channel. This channel is so small that we couldn’t find it on Google Maps or Maps Me. A small river in this area though is a relative term. This small, unnamed channel was at least 200 m (650 ft) wide. When we reached where the channel dumps into the larger Pará River, we saw 5 other channels of the same size emptying into it. During rainy season the ground between these channels is most likely covered in water, making one giant river.
Traveling down the small channel was the best part of the journey. We passed small, wooden stilt homes along the water’s edge. Most were single-story, crude shacks with attached floating docks and multiple boats. There are no roads between homes and no second row of homes behind. Every house was located on the river. Their life is on the river.
It was pretty busy first thing in the morning. Boats of different sizes were traveling up and down the river. Some were painted in bright colours. Others were so worn they looked like they shouldn’t be able to float.
Life in this channel is very different from anywhere else. The villagers’ lives revolve around the river. A couple of times we saw villagers race up to the side of the ferry in their boats. Passengers on the ferry threw packages wrapped in plastic bags. We were told they were throwing food that is difficult for the locals to get because they are so isolated.
At another spot a man selling açai approached the rear of the ferry. He caught up to it, tied his boat to the ferry and hopped on. He brought several packages of açai berries with him. When they were all sold, he untied his boat and sped away.
At another spot the ferry was flagged down by people waiting on a dock. A small boat sped toward the ferry bringing passengers bound for Belém. The ferry slowed down and four or five people awkwardly climbed up the side of the ferry. At a few different places boats came along the side of the ferry to load or unload cargo.
Life on this channel was so different from what we saw on the large Amazon River and it was fascinating to witness.
After leaving the small channel we were on the larger Pará River. Here, much like on the Amazon we saw large ships loaded with freight. One had the company name ‘Nortelog’ written on its side. Richard used to work for the Canadian telecommunications company Nortel before it went into bankruptcy. He thought maybe they re-opened in a new industry.
Finally, after 51 hours and 847 km, our ferry slowly made its way to the busy city of Belém in the state of Pará. It was much slower than the previous ferry, sometimes less than 20 km/hr. We were told the ferry can take anywhere from 44 to 48 hours. For us it was much longer.
In total we travelled 1,567 km in over 80 hours on two ferries. Would we do it again? Not likely, but having survived are we glad we did it? Most definitely.
Tips For Taking A Ferry On The Amazon River
- Before you book a ferry or even before you decide on a departure day, spend some time researching which ferry you would like to take. Each week there are a few different options and they are not all equal. Some are basic but clean, others are falling apart and are not very clean.
- If you want an air-conditioned cabin you need to purchase your tickets at least a week in advance.
- Every ferry has a rudimentary restaurant. They aren’t as bad as many reports, but the food does not look or smell appetizing. They serve three meals a day of typical Brazilian rice, beans and chicken. On both ferries there was also a bar that sold burgers, instant soup, snacks, coffee as well as a fully stocked beer fridge. We brought our own groceries to make sandwiches and have fresh fruit.
- You need to bring your own hammock. As we discovered in Manaus, if you can get someone to put it up for you and it helps a lot. We only paid R$100 ($18 USD) for this service and it included the purchase and setting up of two hammocks as well as transportation from our hotel to the port so was more than worth it.
- Ferries will not run on time.
- You may be able to charge your electronics, but don’t depend on that.
- Trips going upstream will take almost twice the time of those going downstream.
- The ferry was R$150 ($28 USD) each from Manaus to Santarém and R$250 ($46 USD) each from Santarém to Belém. An air-conditioned cabin is not too much more if you have two people. From Santarém to Belém it would have been only R$900 ($165 USD) for both of us. There are faster, but more expensive options.
To read about our other adventures in Brazil click here.
Coming Next – Idyllic Beaches Of Alter do Chão
For pictures from other blogs go to Gallery at monkeystale.ca
To read about more of our adventures go to Destinations.
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Monkey's Tale 
A very enjoyable read!! Yes, definitely an experience and so fortunate that you managed to get the hammocks set-up! Did you buy a cheesegrater?? 🙂 Wonderful photos too! 🙂
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Hahaha no cheese grater! Or cheese for that matter. Maggie
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😉 🙂
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it looks like a nice and comfortable trip!💓
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It was a Brazilian experience as they say 😊 Maggie
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Now that’s an adventure I think I would be happy to skip.
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Yes, I’m not sure I would have done it if I knew ahead of time. But having survived, I can laugh about it. 🙂
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What a journey! I agree with your “not likely” assessment if I was asked, but glad you shared this whole “experience.” 😊
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Thanks Nes, it’s not too bad to look back on it now, but I was quite disgusted at the time 😊 Maggie
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Goodness, such an exercise in patience. The ferries would push far beyond my normal discomfort levels.
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They were well beyond ours too. I actually was very close to crying on the second ferry. But now I can laugh at the horrorible mess!! Maggie
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You’re right – so much of it is not what you expect of an Amazon trip.
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Yes I somehow thought the whole river would be a wild jungle, and not a major thoroughfare. Maggie
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You certainly had an interesting adventure here! The rows and rows of hammocks all on top of each other- it’s amazing that you could sleep at all. I would be anxious about moving around too much or having someone else move around too much and become a life size version of the swinging balls people put on their desk. And to have armed guards come on board but not understand what they were saying would be worrisome. But beyond that- to get to see those small river towns must have felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity. Fantastic write up 🙂
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Almost every part of these ferry rides were new to me; sleeping on a hammock, the police on board, Portuguese! But that small channel that we went down and watching
how people in this area live was so incredible to see. Like I said we wouldn’t do it again but are glad we did it. Thanks for sharing uour thoughts Meg, Maggie
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What an adventure! A lot of what you report is consistent with my experience on an Amazon ferry ride in northern Peru. Except it was a G Adventures tour and luxurious by comparison, also much more expensive.! Keep adventuring!
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Ha ya there were a few times when we asked ourselves why we didn’t take one of those boats! 😊
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It was still cheap for a tour and we had a naturalist on board….
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That would have been nice, but we did have a guide at our jungle lodge and there was much nature to see on this ferry!😅
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An experience indeed but too much of one for me to be tempted, I confess! However I thoroughly enjoyed reading about it, and loved the photos of the houses and activity in the channel 🙂
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Yes I don’t think many would go for this option. But seeing life on the small channel was such a great part of the looooong trip.
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What an interesting but harrowing journey
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It wasn’t luxury that’s for sure 😊
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Wow, what an experience. Based on the use of the word “ferry” I was not expecting something so primitive and chaotic (though in retrospect I guess it makes sense). Well, it will certainly be something you’ll never forget.
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Well we weren’t either! I knew it wouldn’t be luxurious but I did have higher expectations. I even had higher expectations for the second ferry! True I will never forget this one 😊
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Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me like it’s hard to get good photos of the wildlife on the banks of the river if you are taking a ferry through the middle of it? The Amazon just looks so wide. Plus as you said things can get dramatic!
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Exactly. It was too far away and I don’t think there are a lot of animals here anyway. We did see a lot of cows and pigs, though they were on the far away shore. 😊
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Makes sense. One gets the impression that the Amazon river is teaming with wildlife, but that doesn’t seem to be the case IRL
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Well, in the Amazon basin there probably is, but not where we went on the large river, either in Brail or a previous trip in Peru. But if you get into the jungle or the smaller tributaries there are a lot of animals. There’s just so much of it that isn’t accessible, which for the animals is good.
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That’s a fair thing to say!
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What an experience, I’ve never seen anything like these hammock sleeping arrangements before. Certainly different but not something you’d want to do often!
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No, I’ll probably never do it again! It was quite a bit more rustic than we expected, but as they say ‘when in Brazil” 🙂
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Good lord what an experience! One that I definitely won’t be doing now after reading this! Lol. I’m not fancy or snobby or whatever, but I couldn’t handle so many people sleeping so close together. And swinging on a hammock to sleep? No thanks! Lol. Great write up!
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I’ll never do it again, that’s for sure. In a way, now that it’s over and we survived, it was a bit fun. But I never need to experience that again 🙂
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You are truly intrepid travelers. My hats off! I would have bailed after (or maybe before) the first ferry much less the second one. I can relate a bit to the relief you must have felt after completing the journey. I took a 40-hour train ride from Beijing to Lhasa, Tibet. I was the only Westerner aboard. But it was comparative luxury because I had a sleeping compartment shared with three others.
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Well, never again…. I hope anyway. Actually once we got to Santarém it would have been very difficult or very costly to get to our next city. Plus the people were so friendly and helpful even though our Portuguese was minimal as was their English. But if we knew how bad the ferry was we would have stayed another couple of days to take another one. We had a number of bad train episodes in India, so the idea of a 40 hour train ride sounds just as bad.
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You got to experience the way average people live. That is one of the most valuable (and usually fun) aspects of travel.
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The Amazon is so important to existence. I enjoyed your journey down the river. Hammocks, oh wow. I hope they were comfortable. Wonderful share. Thank you for taking the reader along.
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Thanks Suzette, comfortable? Well let’s just say I don’t want to spend another night in a hammock!! Happy Friday! Maggie
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I understand. Well thank you for the exciting read, sorry for the troubles, loud music etc. And thanks for not leaving us hanging.
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Oh my! What an arduous ferry journey! As I was reading every word and paragraph about it, the memory of taking a slow long-distance passenger ship to a remote location in eastern Indonesia slowly came to my mind. It was so exhausting on the way back two weeks later my friend and I decided to take the fast boat. Well, at least now you have this story to share with your readers. 😁
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Next time I’ll take the fast boat too!! I would imagine your slow boat was no less boring than ours. It’s crazy how exhausting boredom is.
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This is one of a kind experience. So glad to learn that you survived the situation and this extra long second ferry. I guess the channel part of the ferry was the best of this long journey in the two ferries.
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Some experiences are fun after the fact (and knowing you survived)! Sleeping in a hammock sounds much harder than I thought it would be. And how stressful to find a spot to hang your hammocks on the second ferry ride. At least you managed to find two spots together thanks to that angry woman!
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It is a lot more uncomfortable and difficult than it sounds. Especially when you’re surrounded by strangers. That lady would have been so mad once she realized she did us a favour! She made me a bit worried that Brazilians don’t like foreigners but she was the only person in all of Brazil that were rude or mean to us. It was an experience I’ll never forget! Maggie
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Sounds like the kind of adventure I would rather read about than experience myself!
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Yes it probably is 😊
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Oh. My. God. This was like a car crash – I couldn’t look away. First the positives: nowhere in American can you travel on public transport for over 80 hours for about $75 a person. What a bargain! Now the negatives: hahaha – too many to list. Still, I’m glad you are glad you did it. I’m very glad I only read about it and didn’t do it. It’s the hammocks – I could never sleep in one. I don’t have a bad back or anything but I’d still be in agony after about 20 minutes. What a fun read and so interesting to see lives being lived so differently than mine.
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Haha, I wish it were as fast as a car crash! Sleeping in a hammock is the worst, but it was amazing how good the other passengers were at it! I should have mentioned that actually. While lying in them they were able to also use their hammock as a blanket, cover their eyes, stay perfectly still while rocking their kids in the neighbouring hammock. I couldn’t get in or out without a big disruption!
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What a set of experiences. There must have been times on board when the combination of boredom and bad conditions made you wonder what the hell you were doing. I can only imagine how good it felt to reach something more recognisable as civilised, the relief that you’d got through it and it was at last over. Sad to read how much of the jungle has been destroyed- we have all read about the deforestation but from your description seeing it with your own eyes really brings it home. I don’t think we’ll be planning to catch that same ferry somehow.
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There were many times when we wondered what the hell we were doing. I almost lost it on the second boat, tears were not far away. This is not a part of the adventure that I would recommend unless you REALlLY want to ‘experience’ how Amazonians live 😊 But now that we survived I’m glad to tell the story. Maggie
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Proving that every travel experience gives us a story to tell!
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Ha, yes I suffered so you could read our story 🙂
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In a nutshell, Amazon river travel seems to be a very slow and largely unentertaining process. Lounging in a hammock with a book in hand sounds like a great way to unwind from everything, but I am not sure for how long one can do it. It’s amazing how there’s a clear line and colour change in the water between where the two rivers meet. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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The confluence line between the two rivers was fascinating. I’ve seen confluences before but none this dramatic. I wish it was a relaxing place to lie on a hammock and read but it wasn’t as leisurely and calm as that sounds. And 50 hours is a bit too much 😊
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What an adventure. Your photos are great. I’m glad you decided to show what it was like. I cannot imagine doing any of it, but am really happy that you did. Bring your own hammock? Oh my… just… oh my…
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Thanks Ally, I don’t think many people will repeat our trip now. In fact we won’t repeat it. But it was a different adventure and in the wind I’m glad we did it. Maggie
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What an experience! The sleeping quarters, I’ve never seen anything like it. How amazing though to have been able to witness life in that small channel, to see people going after their daily business in such a remote location. Your photos are wonderful, and the sunset shots are incredible.
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It was definitely an experience we’ll never have in Canada! Let’s just say we had different expectations of sleeping in a hammock on a ferry. The small channel though was such a fascinating part of the trip, and made it worth it, I think. It really was a whole other world. Maggie
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those hammocks look like fun
✨🦋💭🐇🗝🌱🌅☀⚖☺🤍✨
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All I can say is EEK! that is definitely more adventure than you had hoped for. The sleeping quarters look more than challenging and the description of that second boat is horrifying. You are both troopers! I sure hope you had a nice place to stay in Belem where you could settle in and recharge 🙂
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It was definitely not what we thought it would be, it was a huge challenge to sleep. Both Belem and a beach town near Santarem were just what we needed. It’s crazy to think that the other 298 passengers do this trip a few times in their lives, not just once!
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What an experience – I don’t know how I’d handle the hammocks but wow, what a story to be able to tell. That sunset also looks so beautiful.
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I didn’t handle the hammocks very well either, we were quite sleep deprived by the end. But since we survived I can look back and enjoy the good parts 😊
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Fascinating story. This is a real travel story but the pictures give you a real indication of being there. I would have been just as suprised to see that the riverbanks were similar to many other parts of the world, but the smaller river – that was how I had imagined it. I am also staggered by how wide that river is in flood. Amazing.
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The river swells so much it’s difficult to imagine what it would look like, more like a lake a guess. The small channel was the best part of the trip and is how we hoped the river would be too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Maggie
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It reminds me of some of our rivers in the out back when they flood. They cover great areas because the land is so flat and the rainfall is so heavy.
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What a cracker of an experience! Not always comfortable, but always amazing. Thanks so much for sharing. Mel
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Now that it’s over and we survived it was a good experience. Always need a little suffering from time to time 😊
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I think that’s called ‘perspective’…. 🙂
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What an adventure! Did you purchase some Tupperware? 😉
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Haha no! 😊
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Wow, that was an experience. At times like those, you realize you are not in Canada any more. The drug search was an added time on the tour, that luckily went well and the crazy hammock placements make you realize you need to be patient. Thanks for sharing Maggie. Allan
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We found we needed patience, but also we needed to be a little more pushy. We were definitely not in Canada, I’m pretty sure neither ferry would be allowed on the water for safety concerns. 😊 Maggie
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Oh my GOSH! I hung on your every word, trying to imagine not so much the deprivations of the trip but those deprivations for ALL THOSE HOURS! I can take any kind of discomfort for a chance to see how others live … for a short time – haha. That second ferry for two days+ might have caused some serious angst, though. Like you, I’d love the memory and sharing it, but in the moment, it would be rough. The part on the smaller river reminds me of a day we spent in the Paraná Delta near Tigre (Buenos Aires) with all the stilt houses and people who depend solely on the river for movement and commerce. At the time, I fantasized that it was “just like” being on the Amazon – now I know differently!
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The Paraná was likely similar to the small Amazon tributary but not like the big river itself. We definitely preferred going down the small channel. The days were quite rough at times. The first few hours were the worst and then we just had to learn to enjoy where we were and not stress out. Overcrowding, boredom, and dirty. Each were enough to make me almost lose it, but in the end that seems petty seeing that it’s a part of life here and we only had to suffer for a few days. I’m not interested in another ferry or cruise any time soon though 😊 Maggie
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well you survived to tell the tale! But let me tell you, if I ever find myself in your position I will be forking out whatever they ask for a more comfortable experience! YIKES! sounds like pure hell!
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Haha I’m sure you’ve encountered the same or worse over the years!
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Sensational and brought back wonderful memories of the Amazon 3-day Barge from Yurimaguas to Iquitos (Peru), then we continued with a speedboat to the tri-border (Peru, Colombia, Brazil) back in 2011. The rustic transport barge didn’t have a restaurant but we were fed basic meals of rice and a little protein. The main function of the barge was to transport livestock/food/products to the isolated villages along the Amazon. It was a fascinating experience. I’ve also written about this if you’re interested.
How long did you travel through South America?
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One of our friends did this too this past summer. I think they enjoyed it more because there weren’t very many passengers. I’ll look for your post. On this trip we were in South Ammerica for almost 5 months. It was our 5th time to SA. Thanks for sharing your story. 😊 Maggie
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Fabulous! We spent just over 9 months mostly travelling overland – it was amazing!
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Wow, what an adventure Maggie! Glad you survived, so you can tell us the stories😊 I would have definitely had same selections, for ‘experience’, but glad I only came along with you from the comfort of my chair LOL
The meeting of the Waters is amazing, I’ve seen something similar before, but nothing on this scale. You’ve had so many unique experiences, can’t wait to read your other posts😊
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The ferry was definitely not for everyone and I hope to never do it again!! But there were a few good points out of it that we wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. It’s amazing to me that the power passengers have to do this ferry ride many times in their life. It is a different world. Thanks for your comments Christie! M
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What a fascinating experience! Thank you for telling it so vividly, it’s like being part of the adventure.
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Glad you came along! 😊
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Enjoyed reading about your ferry ride. I would definitely venture to sleep on a hammock during such a ride. Did you by any chance track your route on a map? I am looking at google maps and cannot find the Para river. Perhaps it also has another name.
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We did track it by only on Maps.me and Google Maps but we didn’t keep it. For some reason Google Maps lists Pará River as Furo Santa Maria, which doesn’t make sense, at least we never saw it referred to as that. It is on Maps.Me and they actually have most of the ferry route mapped out, but not exactly where we went on the little channel.
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I see the Furo Santa Maria. The route through the little channels looks interesting. Did you go through any big enough towns whose names might appear on the map?
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In aproximate order, from Manaus we stopped at Parintins, Juriti, Óbidos. From Santarém we stopped at Monte Alegre, Almeirim, Gurupá, and about 50 km after Gurupá we turned down toward the channel near Itamarati, but it’s not on Google Maps. We joined Pará River somewhere between the huge estuary between Breves and Nazare on an unnamed channel. During the time on the channel Google was trying to reroute us and Maps.Me said we were in the middle of green space. It was quite a different adventure for us, the long time on the ferry, communal sleeping in hammocks, the overwhelming boredom, but in the end we did enjoy seeing what they live like in that part of Brazil.
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Thanks so much. Based on your landmarks, I see a possible route on channels (with names) shown on Google maps. Perhaps the map is not accurate.
Your adventurous spirit is commendable!
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Yes we thought we knew the route too but the ferry went where the map showed there was no water!
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“Do it for the experience’ was losing its charm.”That’s the statement of the year! Thanks for this report. You saved us time and lack of sleep!
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Haha yes I wouldn’t recommend unless you want ‘an experience’ 😊
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Sad to see the burned and cleared jungle. What a crazy situation with the hammocks! I wouldn’t have gotten much sleep at all.
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No we didn’t sleep much, but it was something I’ll never do again 😊
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I enjoyed very much your description of these interesting voyages.
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Thank you!
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The hammocks … now that’s a unique (and interesting) way to travel on a ferry 🙂. Like you, I find the ‘meeting of the waters’ fascinating – how wonderful nature is! Haha, tupperware seems to be sold everywhere! What can I say … to me your ferry rides (that second one 👀) sounds like an adventure (or wait, maybe it was more of a challenge)? I have to say, you got some beautiful sunset photos, as well as in the Channel. But oh my, 51 hours on that second ferry sounds like a month to me!!
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51 hours did feel like feel like months. It was the lack of privacy and things to do that were the hardest. Oh and the food, the bathroom, the crazy lady that hated me….. but now that it’s in the past, it wasn’t so bad . 😊
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What a journey! It had all the charme, on paper, of a trip from a bygone era, and I do wonder how it would feel to be travelling up a “smaller” river.
The idea of a hammock doesn’t sound bad, but having been on a grand total of 3 in my life I have learned that I can’t sleep in one… I wonder how those poor bastards press-ganged in the Royal Navy managed to do it way back when. I’m glad I was born in the XX century, that’s for sure.
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It did feel like a bygone era, I can’t imagine how the locals do this trip once or twice a year, or like you said the navy and adventurers from centuries ago. The channel was the best part of the whole trip and more like we expected for the length of the Amazon. Glad to have done it, but won’t do it again 😊
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Sorry for your experience. You had me laughing. I’ll be sure to skip the local experience and take a cruise this time!😂
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Glad you got a laugh 🙂
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What a journey and what an enormous article about such a wild ferry experience. I can tell you that everywhere over the world ferries barely run in time, there is always something on the water!
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Thanks! It was the experience of a lifetime!
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