Letter from the Amazon: Santana and Macapá

This was our last stop on the "Amazon leg" of our cruise. After this we travel to the West Indies, and then home.

Macapá is the capital of Amapá region which stretches from the Amazon delta to the borders of Guiana and Suriname. The city has no highway connections with other capitals in Brazil. It is only accessible by boat or by air. Amapá is the best preserved state in Brazil as less than 1% of it has been deforested.

Macapá is the only city to lie at the point where the Amazon meets the sea, and is situated right on the equator, which divides the north and south sections of the city. This is marked by the Marco Zero Monument, a large sundial located at the northern mouth of the Amazon.

We didn’t actually visit the city of Macapá, which is a fairly long taxi or bus ride from the port of Santana, where we were docked. The pictures below are taken from the deck of our ship in Santana.

This is our last port of call in the Amazon. We next visit Iles du Salute – Devil’s Island, made famous in the film Papillon – off the coast of French Guiana and then onto the West Indies.

View across the Amazon from the port of Santana

Heading out of the Amazon, on the way to Iles du Salute

A grey dolphin (or as much of it as I could photo!)

About Post Author

Stephen Dale

I’m a life-long learner with an insatiable curiosity about life. I love travel, good food, and good company. I’m happy to share what I know with others….even the interesting stuff! My outlook on life is pretty well captured in this quote from a book about the legend of King Arthur: “The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That’s the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.” ― T.H. White, The Once and Future King So much to learn, so little time!

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http://stephendale.uk