14 nights Amazon Delta & Coast Of Brazil

The largest city on the Amazon and the main port for export and import on the river. It is actually located on the Rio Negro a few miles from where it meets the Rio Solimoes to form the Amazon at the famous Meeting of the Waters. The Teatro Amazonas is an Italian Renaissance Opera House constructed of imported materials, which hosted world-famous artists at the height of the rubber boom.

At this river town on the Amazon, there is a center that illustrates the history of mankind, both indigenous and immigrant, in the Amazonia region.

Santarem is a busy port for the trade flowing up and down the Amazon between the Atlantic and the inland forests. The most famous site for visitors is the “Wedding of the Waters” where the clear, dark Tapajos River meets the muddy ochre Amazon. Due to their different densities, they flow alongside each other for quite some distance, between the same banks. Local boats specialize in taking visitors to the site. Local markets are fun to explore, and other excursions include visiting the smaller tributaries and forests, and fishing for the infamous piranha fish.

An optional opportunity to join the naturalists among your onboard Ventures by Seabourn expedition team on a zodiac adventure exploring the banks of the Guajara River -- a tributary of the Amazon. At riverside buffalo farms, take advantage of the chance to interact with the 'caboclos' - the people who have adapted to living and working in close association with the river, and to learn about their lifestyle. As you pass through an area of gallery forest, keep an eye out for some of the many colorful tropical bird species that inhabit the region, as well as reptiles and mammals that may be glimpsed either in the trees or on the banks. The elusive pink river dolphins called 'botos’ frequent this area as well. Caboclo legend maintains that the dolphins possess the capability to transform themselves into handsome young men at night, and seduce unwary maidens living in the riverside communities.

On the north channel of the Amazon, at the river’s broad mouth, Macapá sits smack on the Equator, cut off from the rest of Brazil. The Marco Zero monument is a place where you can hop from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern. San Jose de Macapá Fortress, which supposedly guarded against riverine invasions, is an historic site, in a rather subdued way. Apa do Curiaú is a village of descendants of escaped slaves, with some unique local customs and commemorations. The Casa de Artesão sells handcrafts from the area’s indigenous tribes, as well as balatas, unusual ceramics covered in rubber.

If you are a “pollywog,” who has never crossed the line at sea, you will be expected to undergo a mock trial by King Neptune and his court for the entertainment of the “shellbacks” who have already done so. Mild but hilarious indignities will be conjured, and in the end a good time will be had by most, if not all.

Natal was built on the right bank of the River Potenji, right where the river meets the Atlantic; the soil is very sandy, with dunes and bays protected by reefs which appear all along the shore line. This "City of Dunes" invites you to ride in a dune buggy over huge sand dunes with sweeping views of the sea.

Its stunning setting and joyous lust for life make Rio a cidade maravilhosa, "marvelous city." Ipanema, Copacabana, samba - the words alone conjure Brazilian paradise.