Alter do Chao (MAR13)

Alter de Chao is 20 miles up the Tapajos River from where it merges with the Amazon at Santarem.  It is a picturesque resort community. 

The rainy weather of last night continued into the morning, but we were not deterred.  There being no pier, we went ashore by ship’s tender.  The dock onto which we disembarked the tender was basic.

After being momentarily disoriented because our landing spot was at the opposite end of town from the last time we were here, we got our bearings and headed out.

When we were here in 2014, the "silver beaches" were submerged by the less than advertised “azure waters”.  (Click here to read 2014 post.) Fast forward to 2017 and the conditions were the same.    

We walked around town, looking in a few shops while generally heading for a restaurant on the beach.  Pam had a swim while I did some people watching, camera at the ready.

We worked our way back to the place to catch a tender to the ship, still surprised that all the scruffy street sellers we had encountered in 2014 were nowhere to be seen.  We speculated that either they had moved on of their own accord or were motivated to do so by the local merchants and residents.

As VEENDAM approached Santarem at the confluence of the Tapajos and Amazon Rivers, we saw a Seabourn ship at the dock we had occupied several days ago. 

VEENDAM proceeded past Santarem at a slow speed to minimize its wake.  By the time the city was astern of us, all we could see was its lights.

This was our last port in the Amazon River Basin.  Late tomorrow we will be back in open ocean.