Enjoying The Amazon In Santarem

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Santarém is about 36 hours by river boat from Manaus and 60 to 70 hours from Belem. It is situated on the right bank of the Tapajos River, near its confluence with the Amazon River.

Santarem, State of Para, Brazil Monday, February 27, 2017

Santarem is the 3rd largest city in the Amazon. Portuguese colonist founded the city in 1661 and it is one of the oldest cities in the Brazilian Amazon.

Santarem is an amazing destination because it is located where the Amazon meets the Tapajos river, another massive Brazilian river and together they make a natural phenomenon called "Meeting of the Waters." These two rivers meet, they run side by side without merging for several miles. This rare occurrence is created by the two rivers's difference in temperature and density.

Such is the force of these two rivers and is truly an amazing sight. You'll be able to pick out the two rivers, as the Tapajos is emerald green while the Amazon is a muddy brown.

The Meeting of Waters is the confluence between the dark Rio Negro and the pale sandy-colored Amazon River, it is one of the main tourist attractions.

Few roads exists in this area of Brazil so riverboats literally cover the city's shoreline, form end to end. These boats take animals, people, supplies up and down the river 24/7.

There are also lots of small boat tours available to get a close-up look at the rivers but we were able to clearly see the rivers from the 9th deck and on the 12th deck of our ship.

Welcome dancers performing for the cruisers.

Pretty and very friendly welcoming crew.

Piranha's for sale at the flea market.

The most common souvenir item are dried piranhas.

They come in all sizes from small key chains to huge ones.

Rows of sharp teeth on a piranha.