We crossed the "bar" entering the Amazon River at 3am this morning. We had to time our bar crossing during high tide in order to get over it. There was only 15 feet of water under the keel when we crossed it. The river is 200 miles wide at its mouth where it flows into the Atlantic. In contrast to the beautiful deep blue color of the ocean, the river water looks like hot chocolate due to all the sediment it's carrying. It is now about noon and has been mostly sunny this morning but clouds are building. Just as last evening I expect more showers later today. It is 85F and 67% humidity so far. I will be making a separate posting with facts and figures about the Amazon basin & river that I think you will find amazing.
We have both just finished our workouts. I ordered a burger & fries from room service for lunch. Rebecca is going up to buffet for a salad. We will be dropping anchor for a couple of hours at about 2:30pm today at Macapa. This is described as a "technical stop" to get clearance to proceed on up the river. Two river pilots will also board here to assist our Captain with navigating the river during our 6 days on it. The river changes all the time because of sediment deposits changing the depths plus they know all the other hazards.
Hallelujah!! We got a Dallas Morning News paper today. It's been over a week with no papers due to technical problem of some kind. There is an Armed Services veterans get-together in late afternoon that I want to attend followed by another get-together for "Texans" hosted by Lt Col William Rothschild. He lives near Houston Space Center and is lecturer on board, as he worked in our space program for over 40 years. After dinner in Compass Rose we want to catch Jean Ann Ryan singers and dancer's show, "Le Cirque Mariner" at 9:30pm. It is our favorite show of theirs.
