I woke up by the noise of the people using the bathroom and the screams of the small children playing and it was Christmas day. In a lot of Christian cultures Christmas time starts really with Christmas day but on the Voyager V nothing had changed. The majority of the passengers had an enormous patience and stayed in their hammock all day long, except for the parents of really small children who were running after their babies all day long.

Rio Amazonas 12   Rio Amazonas 13   Rio Amazonas 14

The passenger deck had two stair cases, one at the corner of the hammock area going down to the snack bar and the football pitch and the other next to the bridge going down to the front of the ship and you did not want your baby to fall down on either of them. Worse than this was the possibility to actually go overboard which could happen in the area next to the bridge which was part solid steel and part rail.

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I had missed breakfast again and spent the morning in front of the ship on the lower deck which was the part closest to the water. Just before lunch I noticed a small boat getting closer to the ship and then actually tighten ropes with the ship. First the luggage was handed over to the crew and then an old lady was lifted onto the ship before the small boat drifted away again and headed for the small village at the river banks. I had filmed the procedure and went to the back of the ship, to the kitchen to have lunch, salad, rice and pasta, feijao and chicken. Even in the meal you could tell that here on board it was not really Christmas.

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After lunch an elder man started a small talk and later a conversation with me. He was from Peru, the city of Pucallpa. He asked about my past travels and my future travels. I could not tell him whether I would take a plane to Bogota or another ship to Iquitos. I was still between the two options. He recommended taking a ship to Iquitos and from there another ship to his hometown of Pucallpa. Only in case of a decision to travel via Iquitos I could consider his invitation, thank you very much. I had found three options on the internet to continue onward after Iquitos, one four day tour to Pucallpa in the south, one three day tour to Yurimaguas in the center and one eight day tour to Coca in Ecuador.

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Today was the third day and we had not made a stop yet. The crew used some of the time in the morning and late in the afternoon to play football. At all times at least two tables in front of the snack bar next to the football pitch were occupied with the individual traveler’s playing cards or domino. The other three gringos had met each other rather quick and hung out together at the snack bar most of the time and played cards or domino as well, drank beer or had a cigarette.

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It was dinner time and we had rice and pasta, feijao and beef for a change. I met again with the elder man to continue our conversation while another man with his daughter joined in. I would spend most of my time up to arrival with them. They really sold Peru very well and I was looking forward to the friendliness and kindness of the population while I would be travelling the country next year. Further to these qualities Peru had to offer a lot of history through their ancient culture. Next to the culture of the Maya of Mexico I had become fond of the culture of the Inca of Peru.I had been worried a bit about my knot of my hammock and tonight when I entered the maybe expected happened, the knot loosened and I fell to the front and hit my butt. I fixed the knot hopefully better at a more distant iron bar and gained some comfort.

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For a small understanding of the Amazon River 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 Picasa album. At the top left of this Picasa album you will find the button for a Slideshow.

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