Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

The River is a truly magical place.  Within this incredible ecosystem, there are millions of species of plants and animals working in harmony to produce over 20% of the world's oxygen.  From our boats, we have been witness to barely a pixel of this landscape, but what a pixel it has been.

The verdant greens, the shape of trees, and the competition amongst plant—it is all beautiful. There is green, green, brown water, and more green.  Having spent about three weeks traveling The River, we must unfortunately confess that at times, the shores have seemed boring, redundant, and simple. While we know this to be anything but, and frequently catch ourselves being awed by the thousands of kilometers of jungle surrounding us in every direction, we do fall into this trap…

…Well, at least for a couple of hours.   What truly makes The River awe-inspiring are the sunsets. For a couple of minutes at the end of the day, the sky and water erupt in a colorful performance. The sinking sun captures the silhouettes of trees and boats alike; painting them on a colorful canvas that is much more than green and brown.   While it is difficult to say that one sunset (or sunrise) is better than another, our limited photographic skills make it much easier to represent The River in its Technicolor best.

In addition to these polychromatic landscapes, on clear nights, the stars have been fantastic.  With almost no luminescent settlements, the middle of the jungle is a haven for stargazing.  While we never learned the constellations, we imagine they are all there, hanging out with the Milky Way and Southern Cross.

And on those unfortunate nights when there is a storm that blackens the sky and bars us from the sunset and stars, the accompanying lightning storm is also quite a sight.

In short, if you like beautiful landscapes and simply observing the ever-changing environment, The River should be on your Bucket List.