March 9, 2016 - It was another day at sea, and Terry Breen's lectures at 10:30 a.m.; it's been informative and one of the highlights of the day. This morning's lecture was on the flora and fauna found along the Amazon - those that we are most likely to see from the ship, those that we are likely to see on the shores, and those far away that we are unlikely to see.
Dr Breen let us know that there are over 5 million species of insects, 900 species of birds, 138 species of parrots & parakeets (always in two), in addition to the magnificent Scarlet Macaws, Sargent Majors, 14 species of Tucans... More than enough to keep me happy! I hope I'm lucky enough to see just a few of them!
On the river, the Amazon, not the Rio Negro, we should begin to see giant rafts of grass and islands of hyacinths, and farther up the river, the giant Victoria Regina water lilies, large and sturdy enough for an adult to stand on!
We should have the chance to see river Otters, Manatees, Tucuxi, the grey river Dolphins, and the Boto, the pink Dolphins, and with over 3000 species of fish (contested by Jean Michel Cousteau to be closer to 5000) taste a few exotic fishies...The Tambaqui, and Pirarucu (related to the catfish...but HUGE!)
Along the trails there are over 1200 species of Orchids, leaf cutter ants, Amazonial ant eaters, Auuoti, Capaybara (the largest rodent in the world, can be as big as a pig!) Kouatimunde, slight, and 25 (and counting) species of primates. Over 300 species of hummingbirds, and the "Jesus Bird" that walks on water!
What we won't see are the Boas and Anacondas, doubtful we will see he Roseate Spoonbill and the Hyacinth Macaw, and the most primitive bird in the world (closest to it's dinosaur ancestors) the Hoatzin. 22 species of Marmosets, from the size of your finger to about a foot long, and the magnificent Ocelot and Jaguar, both endangered with fines and imprisonment for the purchase of items using their skins.
We learned that there are over 22 species of piranhas, and that although they are bony, they make tasty eating...and forget the scene in the movie that depicted the cow being gobbled up by the school of piranha. Piranha tend to leave you alone unless you are bleeding, so don't bleed in the water! One more scary creature is the Candiru - attracted by urea expelled by the fish; it swims into the gills of fish and sucks them dry of blood. But this nasty little parasite is also attracted to human urine, so don't be peeing in the river! You'll be sorry!
The variety of fauna is astonishing, the Blue Poison Dart Tree Frog, the Red Eyed Tree Frog, the Morpho Butterfly, Walking sticks, the Peruvian leave-mimicking katydid, Tree hoppers.. And the list goes on! What an amazing Eco system. And we've only touched the surface.
There are only about 750,000 indigenous people left in Brazil. They have been moved to reservations much like the American Indians, however they are much more isolated to maintain their lifestyle and as they are susceptible to our modern day diseases.
In the course of our travel down the Amazon to Manaus, we will be crossing the Equator three times, and there will be no doubt when we enter the Amazon, although at five in the morning, most of us are unlikely to actually "experience" the entry. We will be entering north of Marajo Island (an island at the entrance of the Amazon the size of Maryland) tomorrow morning, and then cruising to Macapa for a service call to pick up our pilots for the remaining trip up the Amazon to Manaus.
We are still under code Red, so all of our meals and snacks have been served to us, which I don't mind at all. It's comforting to know no one else is touching the serving utensils, or bread or anything. The ship continues to be cleaned multiple times a day, inside and out, every surface that is exposed, and I'm very impressed by all that they are doing to protect us.
No comments:
Post a Comment