The car had been parked in front of the ship all night but was finally scheduled this morning to enter the cargo area. I was curious to understand the procedure because the lower deck of the ship where my friend will be parked was about 1 meter below the surface of the dock. At the same time, the ship anchored right at the dock and therefore the angle for the car to enter was quiet steep and I could not see a way for the car to enter without hitting the top frame of the ship. In my opinion, the ship had to move or turn to give more space and have a better angle for the car to enter.

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The procedure started and I learned an interesting and quick physic lesson. What appeared to be impossible to me was daily routine to the sailors and carriers. 2 wooden bars of 5 meter length were positioned, one end on the asphalted surface of the dock and the other end inside the lower deck. Then 4 carriers lifted the end of the bars at the lower deck up to the level that they were man high and in a straight line with the dock surface. The car now drove onto the bars and stopped exactly when the car was one half still on the dock and the other half kind of in the air. The 4 carriers now lowered the wooden bars at the lower deck so that they touched ground; the car changed the angel from straight to 45 degrees downhill and now it was easy to just roll down and onto the lower deck. Amazing, a miracle to me, basic physics to others.

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The Amazon Star was scheduled to depart at 12:00 hours and was punctual. The crew loosened the knots and the cord was liberated from the iron hook. The Amazon Star started slowly moving out of the parking position between the other ships and we were ready to turn and drive towards Belem, drive towards the delta of the Amazon. The fourth and last ship, the fourth and the last stage from my journey on the Amazon from Yurimaguas, Peru to Belem, Brazil. Total distance funnily put on the sign board in Tarapoto and given with 4135 kilometers.

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Half an hour later we passed the “meeting of the rivers’, for me now the third time just during my project Rio 2016. The ship was not very full with cargo but quiet full with passengers who were now all looking and taking pictures at the change of the water from black to brown. Then the routine started immediately and everybody went back to his or her hammock and rested, slept, read, played video games or like my funny but annoying neighbor who decided to listen to his favorite church music with an unacceptable loud volume. Nobody complained really, I did. He kept the volume for another 15 minutes but after several grim looks he decided to turn the music off; for now.

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I went for a walk to the front and to the back, up and down to my friend. I was hoping to get the car key back to work inside the car and have a comfortable seat and listen to more mixes from my friend Albert but the cargo manager just said “No”; they might have to remove the car, could make sense, not to me. He handed me the key to one time only get my necessary stuff.

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While I was reading all the sign boards actually one caught my attention and that was the price list for the meals from the kitchen; not the prices surprised me because they were actually reasonable, no, I was surprised by the fact that the ship did not offer free meals to the passengers included in the price. I went to the bar and had a hamburger; I was hungry and could not wait for the first stop, which as it turned out was not long enough to let passengers off board anyway. I went to my hammock with church music in my ears and a funny feeling about more strange surprises during the next days on board of the Amazon Star.

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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.

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

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