Who woke me up this morning? Was it my angel, was it the Holy Spirit or was it my neighbor with his favorite extremely loud church music? With my eyes still closed and half asleep I asked for a little bit more respect for me and my fellow sleepers, for the mothers who had small children or babies and had been exhausted and were enjoying the peaceful and quite moments of their loved little ones being still sleeping. He kept the volume for another 15 minutes but after several grims look he decided to turn the music off; for now.

I had missed the stop in Parintins this morning at sunrise and did not want to miss the next stop in Juruti. I was hoping to leave the ship and do some shopping at a local market to buy something to drink and some food; the prices for everything on the ship were quiet high, actually double. The ship would make enough stops and always at reasonable times of the day to cover at least 1 meal each day. Yesterday evening in Itacoatiara we were not allowed, this morning in Parintins I was still sleeping, my hopes now focused on Juruti.

Coming closer to the dock I could see already the amount of mobile salespeople waiting for the second for the ship to touch the dock so they could climb on board and starting selling. This was kind of a sign for me to be prepared for another short stop, be prepared not to leave the ship and be prepared to do the shopping with the mobile salespeople. The stop was short, the mobile salespeople did not have the time to attack the ship and instead they were selling from the dock.

The passengers had to walk down to the lower deck or receive the meal via a wooden stick with a hook and pay via the same wooden stick and put the money in a plastic cup. I did not see anything tasty and did not want to risk buying a lunch box without being able to open and have a look. The majority of the passengers, mainly indigenous did not bother about the quality and bought quickly their lunch. I did not need to see the meal to know that it was chicken, rice and feijao, no critic but I was hoping for something different. I had to postpone my hopes for some decent food to the next stop, only 3 more hours to Obidos.

I had new neighbors; I had more neighbors and in particular one family of 3 very close to me. I had been clever; I had learned my lessons from the previous ship tours and put my hammock first line next to the walkway to have easy access to the bathroom and next to an iron division/supporting bar to have a natural barrier. This is especially important during the night when all hammocks are occupied and in the first line one hammock is touching the other and crawling underneath is physically complicated. If you have little or no education you just walk between the hammocks, create a small earthquake and condemn the passenger to wake up. One of my new neighbors did not bother and I had to use my voice during my Siesta and educate her and ask her to use the space between the empty hammocks, which during daytime was more than possible. I think she understood; for now.

We arrived late afternoon in Obidos and the situation did not change, I could not leave the ship for some shopping and had to settle with a hamburger for dinner from the bar. The timing was perfect for a scenic sunset, which was best to view from the upper deck, from the smoking area behind the bar. I went to my hammock with the same funny feeling like yesterday about more strange surprises during the next days on board of the Amazon Star.

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. At the top right of this Google+ Album you will find the button for a Slideshow.

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!!! The link will open in a Google+ Album. At the top left of the Google+ Album you will find the bottom for a Slideshow.