Crossing the Equator

ST. LUCIA TO THE AMAZON

ST. LUCIA: We docked at the town of Castries. As it was Sunday morning the town was relatively quiet and didn't offer a lot. Thus, after walking a bit we hired a taxi for a tour of the island. The island is quite mountainous and we had some beautiful vistas.

Back in town we went into a high-end jewellry store where I may or may not have gotten a good price on Betty's Christmas present. Will not be much of a surprise but since Betty buys for everyone else my annual task is now more or less over.

WINE: The wine list on the ship is extensive and expensive. However, they have a second wine list, containing some great wines at better prices. The catch is that you have to buy in multiples of seven. Can't buy six bottles and can't buy eight bottles. Strange system! To make matters even more interesting the prices on everything (not just wine) rise by 25% as soon as the ship enters Brazilian waters. Yesterday, I selected (in multiples of 7) enough bottles of wine to hopefully get us up and down the Amazon and back to international waters.

TOBAGO: Monday morning we docked at the town of Scarborough. In Tobago the record all-time low temperature is 12 degrees Celius. No surprise but the temperature was much, much hotter.

The first place we came to was a KFC restaurant. Outside there were several hens and roosters walking around. I tried to warn them that it wasn't a good place to hang around but they didn't seem to understand my Patois.

In any event, Scarborough seems to be less than prosperous. Perhaps had we gone to one of the beaches it would have been more opulent. However, with black clouds overhead we decided to come back on the ship and spend the afternoon relaxing.

CROSSING THE EQUATOR: This morning (Wednesday) we approached the equator and at each crossing there is a ceremony to initiate the Polliwogs. Betty and I were initiated a few years ago and are therefore now called Shellbacks. Everyone gathered by the pool and awaited the arrival of King Neptune. He paraded in with his entourage in turn poured green slime over the head of each Polliwog. The Polliwog was then required to kiss a dead fish.

By tomorrow morning we shall start up the Amazon River. We are looking forward to our 7 or 8 days on the river.

THE AMAZON: The flow of water from the Amazon is greater than that from the next five largest rivers in the world. One-fifth of all the fresh water in the world is in the Amazon. Millions of years ago the Amazon was connected to the Congo River and the water flowed in a westerly direction. After the continents divided and the Andes Mountains rose the water was blocked from flowing into the Pacific and the direction of the river reversed.

The Amazon Basin is huge but the rainforest is being rapidly destroyed. Although the amount of deforestation is 1/4 of what it was even five years ago there is still an area equal to 1/5 the size of Vermont that is cut each year. Once the trees are removed the land only briefly supports crops before turning to dust.