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Travelling in the Amazon, the world’s most famous river, is a typical dream. But… the Amazon world may be rather different to that which you expect. You may end up disappointed. You should plan your Amazon trip correctly, and shape it to your style and to the time you have to enjoy the Amazon.

There are different ways of visiting the Amazon rainforest. If you are pressed for time, or if you think you would not like to live for four, five, six or more days in a beautiful and calm, but repetitive world of water and trees, then avoid a long river trip.

In that case, a quick flight to Manaus (a city in the very heart of the Amazon, 1,000 miles upstream from the river mouth) is preferable. Once there, you can model the tour to your tastes. You can enjoy several short local cruises, you can explore some rainforest treks, you can swim and fish, you can visit local people living in the forest (the caboclos), you can get a good grasp of what the rainforest and the river are… And you can even play golf.

This option demands a stay of, say, 3 or 4 days minimum. It all depends on what you want.

Another alternative when visiting the Amazon involves a longer tour on the river - typically a trip from Belem (at the mouth of the Amazon) to Manaus, or the inverse.

This cruise can be made on a transatlantic cruiser, and includes a great range of cities and ports outside the Amazon. Tours of two weeks are very common. You just need to cost it, and to book the cruise early enough (there isn’t a regular transatlantic cruiser route to the Amazon, and so you should plan the cruise well in advance).

More adventurous travellers may prefer other kind of boats and travel for a long river cruise. There are, in Belem and Manaus, local tourist riverboats and regular river vessels (for local passengers and goods) making the trip between the two towns.

And these two kinds of riverboats - the tourist and the regular ones - constitute the best way of experiencing the full mood and the immensity of the Amazon (and, in the case of travelling in a regular vessel, the best way to have contact with the real people, and feel their friendly mood, their way of facing the life).

But you should also ponder the possible downsides of these options. One of them is the uncertain duration of the trip: it can be four days, if the weather conditions and the currents and other factors are favourable, but it can also be extended for one, two or more days, which may clash with your travel plans, flights, etc.

Another possible inconvenience involves the regular vessels (not tourist river boats): the toilet facilities in the boats are rather improvised, which can be disagreeable; also, you can be forced to sleep in a hammock, surrounded by local people. So, think well…

In any case, do not also expect to see profuse fauna on your cruise. Birds and monkeys tend to hide themselves in the treetops… You will sense them, but most of the time you will not see them.

What you will see all the time - and feel deeply in your heart - is a different world… a calm green water world. A world with moments of exceptional beauty, but also a repetitive one, with its endless elements succeeding minute after minute, for days on end…

A world in the antipodes of ours, involving another pace, other elements: one that makes us feel small, and awakes thoughts about our place in the universe, and the meaning of our life and our values.

Eduardo Reisinho publishes Brazil-Travel-Guide.com

( Brazil Travel Guide), a website where you can look for more information about travel in the Amazon rainforest, and other themes and travel information involving Brazil.

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Have you heard of the Permanent Cruise Ships? It is pretty cool and you can buy a condo on the ship, which is in perpetual motion, with every thing on it. Food, restaurants, activities and your own built in condo, and the whole thing continually travels the world to ports of interests and exotic locations. Does that sound cool or what?

There are a couple of companies doing this now. Some sell condo timeshares and you can go for six months. Other sell condos you are required to permanently live in or sell. Is it expensive? No not really considering the costs of a normal cruise ship vacation. Many residents go for two-years then allow the condo to appreciate and then sell it? It is the perfect get away from the World way to live. You will be living with people who are fed up with the rat race just like you. You will see the world and the sea, without joining the Navy. Over a two-year period you have traveled around the world.

Do the ships avoid Typhoons and Hurricanes? Yes, indeed they do, as they have just as much to lose as you do and they are not going to risk a billion dollar ship in extreme weather. For those who have done this, they report back that it is the smartest thing they have ever done and are so glad to have done it. Some love it so much they want to stay onboard the rest of their lives. What do you think, would you consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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If you are cruising for the first time - congratulations! You are in for a unique, worthwhile experience. As a newbie, though, you probably have questions about some of the do’s and don’ts of traveling aboard a cruise ship. Luckily, there are many die-hard cruisers who are happy to share some tips to make your first time more rewarding.

Before You Leave Home:

Have a friend or neighbour take in your mail daily. Accumulating mail is a big sign to thieves and other troublemakers that no one is home. You could also have your mail held at the post office until you return.

Set your lights on timers so that it appears someone is home to deter troublemakers. Tell your neighborhood community patrol to make a few extra passes by your home while you are away.

Preprint labels and stamps if you plan to mail postcards out while you are on your cruise. This saves some time and you won’t have to lug around an awkward address book.

Money Matters:

Stock up on traveler’s checks since they are replaceable if lost or stolen. To expedite the replacements should your traveler’s checks be lost or stolen, write down the serial numbers and put them in a safe and separate place. That way, it makes the bank’s job a little easier and speed up the process for your replacements.

Keep a handy supply of small denominational bills, usually one’s and five’s. Tipping is appreciated for porters and stewards at both the airport and docking pier of the ship. This is especially important in foreign countries. Horror stories abound about stolen or “lost” bags that never make it to the ship. Sometimes, you have got to grease their palms with cash. It’s a small price to pay for having your clothing and toiletries aboard for your cruise.

To avoid long lines at the end of your cruise, check out your ending invoice on your account. Check for any errors and resolve them as soon as possible. There is no sense adding the stress of standing in line to pay your final tab after you just had a relaxing vacation.

Take a few rubber bands with you to wrap around your wallet. The rubber will “grab” onto your clothing. This makes it very difficult for a pickpocket to part with your wallet without you feeling it.

Kid Stuff:

If you are traveling with babies or toddlers, paper throwaway bibs are perfect for protecting your child from stains and messes at meal times, thus prolonging the wear of their clothing.

Bring a collapsible stroller for your young child. The cruise ship is a happening place and before long you will hear the strains of “I’m tired! Carry me!” This is exhausting to parents. With a stroller, you can just pop your kid inside and roll on.

Pack a few portable, self contained snacks for your child like peanut butter or cheese crackers. These will come in handy and are much cheaper than buying some once you are cruising or at port.

Odds and Ends:

Throw inside your suitcase a few of those annoying plastic shopping bags that you usually get from the grocery store. These are handy for storing dirty clothing.

If you have an inside cabin, take a nightlight with you. Darkness is not fun when you are in a strange room. No sense running into walls or stubbing your toe if you can avoid it. Little maglight keychain flash lights are handy too.

Bring a little first aid kits for those minor emergencies. Wet wipes are handy too for those instance were a sink isn’t handy.

There are literally hundreds of cruise tips that can save the sanity of newbie travelers. Think of those little shortcuts or ideas that you use at home. Decide if they are adaptable to the cruise ship. The less you have to worry about, the more relaxed you will be after your cruise.

Kirsten Hawkins is a cruise and travel expert specializing in discount cruises and travel. Visit www.luxury-cruise-deals.com/ for more information on how to cruise the world for little or no money.

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There are a few companies, which engineer, build and sell rotary boat hull cleaning machines, which they sell to Marinas. Cleaning the hull of your boat can add as much as 3-5 knots in the water. Some United States regions do not allow these because when removing the algae and organic film into the water can deplete the oxygen in the localized water killing fish. These overseas companies seem to have the right idea, however if you were to check on the NPDES permitting for the San Diego to San Francisco Coastal Regions and with Coastal Commission and California Water Codes 13.263 and Fish and Game and EPA you will find it is quite a sticky issue.

There is also an issue with run off if you clean your boat hull near the water because the water goes somewhere, generally into storm drains and back into the ocean, river or lake you see? Like wise even if you design a system to clean it in the water how do you bring the boat into the lock, clean it (swimming pool clean the water) for 10 hours to insure wash water volume is accumulated and discharged? Then how will you monitor it? And since there is not yet such a permit even available you have to wait for the Government Regulators to get off their asses and coffee breaks to create one, with public hearings, etc.

This is the kind of environmental issues faced by Marinas and even though you need that hull cleaned for savings in fuel efficiency, speed in water and safety of the hull’s integrity, the Marina may not be legally allowed to clean it. The poor Marina owner even if they go thru the process to get permitted their project loses the money it could have made sitting on idle property that they could have put a slip in and been collecting fees?

Imagine in Ft Lauderdale sitting on a property that you could lease out for over $50K - 100K during the winter months; so much for that income property. Also you must build your system to and have space to use it. If you use it in a slip already there and put an inflatable raft under the boat and blow it up around it, do it there. Great, you do not hurt the environment (which is BS anyway, algae on a boat does not kill fish), as we have cruise ships dumping 1 million gallons of gray and black water into the sea? I suppose they could clean the hull and then leave, before any regulators come to see what they did. If they did happen by no one could cite you because you did not hurt any thing and collected the water and filtered it from the dock on your hand truck pool cleaner filtration system? But sometimes you might be better off to ask forgiveness in this way than to ask permission and be denied because no one ever asked the question that the brain dead regulators never pondered because they never had to make a friggin payroll?

The issues with this are different size expandable rafts are needed. If you break the ionic bond of the crud on the bottom somehow you may be able to clean the boat hull, still the issue is collection, but if you had the thing mounted on a roller to suck the water around it while it ironically departed the crud, then you could do it? But still getting that approved would be a real problematic issue indeed. Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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All boats need to be certified by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and inflatable dive boats are no exception. The high quality inflatables manufactured by Sea Eagle meet NMMA manufacturer’s guidelines that assure a better experience to consumers. Sea Eagle designs their own boats suitable for applications that include scuba diving, hunting, fishing, kayaking and pleasure boating.

Sea Eagle currently offers over 15 different inflatables through their online store and via a network of nationwide dealers. The king of the line is the 14′ Sea Eagle 14SR Sport Runabout which makes a great diving boat with its load capacity of 2000 lbs. or 7 divers. The plastic enclosed wooden transom takes a 40 hp outboard to take you to a new scuba diving spot fast. The manufacturer claims a top speed of 30 mph with 2 adults. The boat achieves planing easily due to the rounded rear pontoons.

With its 6′ beam, the Sea Eagle 14SR makes for a stable fishing and scuba diving platform. The 7″ diameter keel of this top-of-the-line inflatable boat assures stability and control when the water is choppy. Four air chambers and a reinforced keel provide safety and peace of mind. The roomy interior provides plenty of space for several divers and equipment. Scuba divers can haul themselves into the inflatable with ease using the 5/8″ grab lines along the length of the hull.

The Sea Eagle 14SR weighs 187 lbs which includes the weight of the molded floorboards. A trailer is recommended if the engine is permanently mounted on the transom. For scuba divers who don’t mind inflating this boat before use, assembly and inflation takes approx. half an hour. With extras such as aluminum seats, oars, storage bags and a repair kit, this inflatable is an affordable alternative to higher priced aluminum or fiberglass diving boats.

Sea Eagle inflatable boats and kayaks are backed by the manufacturer’s 3 year warranty. Customers can take advantage of a 30 day on-the-water trial. Free shipping is included in the continental United States.

About the Author:

Kevin Urban is the editor for Inflatable-Boats-N-Kayaks.com, a consumer guide on inflatable pontoon boats, inflatable fishing kayaks, dinghies and catamarans.

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