I had promised the manager to leave the ship early in the morning in order to avoid a situation with the Federal police unit Esfron who would come on board to inspect the ship and search for drugs or weapons. Passengers were not allowed to enter the ship; all corners of the ship, all cabins and all personal belongings of the crew were inspected. I left the ship and was first in the queue of the passengers to board the ship after the inspection. The check in desk was already in place, the Federal police with the drug dog unit as well. I left my backpack in secure hands with the Federal police and had enough time to walk to the passenger terminal and the commercial street to have a drink and maybe a snack or an ice cream.

I arrived at the entrance of the passenger port overlooking the different docks and observed the activities, small wooden boats with indigenous traders or indigenous families from the nearby communities arriving or leaving, buying or selling. Nothing had changed from 2 month ago except the wooden bridge that connected the old part of the passenger port and the new part that had been under construction was ready now and I had the chance to cross the wooden bridge and observe the activities just from a different angle.

I arrived back at the port Voyager and saw my friends, the girls just walking onto a platform, which had arrived in the morning and anchored right next to the Diamante. I rushed down, took some secret pictures of the negotiation and then welcomed them. They had negotiated a price with the Diamante but were not really happy; the platform on the other hand did not have a fixed departure and not a fixed price and could only offer for them to come back in 3 days. I rushed to the manager of the Diamante and asked him to renegotiate the price before he would lose the business to the platform. He referred to the director; the girls had entered the ship and altogether we managed to lower the price, still expensive but with departure today, in 2 hours, 3 meals a day and a safe and quiet place for the vans in the front of the ship.

They reached an agreement. Yonathan had delivered his van to a local mechanic to do a service, actually, the mechanic had taken out the motor or part of the motor and now my friends did not know if they would have enough time to make it. The clock was running against them and in a way the clock was running as well against me; I wanted them to take the Diamante with me to Manaus and I wanted to go with them to Boa Vista on their way to Venezuela. The loading of cargo was complete, the last passengers had checked in and boarded the ship, and the Federal police officer indicated to me that he would close down. Maybe I see you in Manaus, maybe in Boa Vista or maybe in Natal.

Final seconds for the Federal police and, and, and the vans arrived and everybody made an exception; the Federal police for tourist reasons, the manager of the ship for economic reasons and me for emotional reasons; I was happy for myself and I was happy for them. It was a very delicate procedure now to get all vans onto the ship and finally have them inspected by the Federal police. A bit nervous but definitely relieved after all the procedures I met my friends again and with a High 5 celebrated their success. The arrival in Santa Rosa had been stressful, the passage to Leticia had been stressful, the passage today from Leticia to Tabatinga had been stressful, finally the rush during the last hour and now onto the luxurious Diamante had been stressful; but they were happy, yes they were happy, I was happy.

For a small understanding of the days travel, I have included a Google Earth map. The red pins mark the locations I have stopped and taken pictures. At the bottom of the page you will find a link for all the pictures I have taken. The link will open in a Google+ Album.

Please click on map to enlarge!!!

See map and distances / Siehe Karte und Entfernungen / Ver mapa e distâncias / Ver mapa y distancias

Please click on “View Album” to see pictures in a Google+ Album.