Fred's Logbook
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| Date / Time: 2017-11-09 22:22:18 | Voyage from: to | ETA: |
| Fred-Report: Hi everybody! I have had a great adventure in Brazil on the MS Fram that sailed us in and out of the Amazon River and down the Brazilian coast towards Uruguay! As you might remember from my last update, we sailed from the Cape Verde islands across the Atlantic Ocean towards the Amazon Rainforest. Out on the ocean, the water had an intense blue color that soon changed the closer we got to the mouth of the mighty river. The Amazon is a very sedimentary rich river that brings out a lot of material into the ocean. Its color is golden brown in some locations, almost the opposite of the Ocean’s dark blue color. When we got closer to the south American continent, the color did indeed suddenly change from blue to brown which was a very special sight!  Once in the Amazon, we stopped in cities like Parintins and Santarem where we got to meet the locals, learn about their history, and appreciate their architecture.  The most exciting thing about traveling in the Amazon is that you get a chance to spot a lot of wildlife. The best way to get close to nature is to go out on an excursion in a smaller boat that is able to take you into narrow and undeep water. Me Tom did exactly that and it was a really nice experience:   During our excursion, we spotted many animals such as Yellow Headed Caracara and the Amazon King Fisher bird that you see here:  Apart from other bird species, we also saw Green Iguanas sunbathing in trees and yellow butterflies sitting on the edge of the water to soak up minerals out of the mud. The most special sighting for us all was by far towards the end of our excursion. Once we came out on the big Amazon River again to go back to MS Fram, we spotted a few rare Pink Water Dolphins! It might be hard to believe but there really are fresh water pink dolphins in the Amazon! These creatures look very different from the dolphins we see in the oceans because the ones in the amazon are practically blind. Since there is so much sand in the water, it is impossible to see through it, so the dolphins have slowly lost their vision capabilities and developed their sonar detection skills instead. They developed this so much that their skull has even changed shape, so much so that they now look very different from the regular dolphins we all know. Here is a picture of one of the pink dolphins we saw:  Discovering the Amazon Rainforest was very special for me. I had never seen anything like it and did not know that so many species of animals call this place home! It was a very peaceful experience to just sit on a little boat and wait for wildlife to put up a show!  After the Amazon we sailed towards Uruguay and stopped in a little place along the Brazilian coast called Paraty. The city is beautiful and classified as a UNESCO world heritage site. However, what I liked most about the city is that it is located close to Rio the Janeiro but surrounded by nature and countless green islands. This also means that there are many shore lines and beaches where you can go and enjoy the warm climate. That is what I did there, a nice relaxing day at the beach with a beautiful view. I really enjoyed the feeling of the fine sand under my little feet!  In my next report, I will tell you about a very special adventure that Tom and his friends have taken me on… It is very different from what I usually do but we had an amazing time! For now I will just tell you that to this this adventure, we went to the United States of America again! Stay tuned, I will tell you all about it soon! Greetings, Fred. Photos  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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