River boat for 2 days along the Amazon...

So we are off to the beautiful quaint town of Santarem which is about 2 days on river boat from Manaus (the capital of the Amazon in Brazil).
We were going to stay in hammocks but once we saw the crowd eyeing all of our stuff (literally they looked like they were about to mug us...) we decided to pay up for a cabin room. The hammocks were in a big room sharing with about 100 other people. The cabin might not be the safest either since the locks can be opened with just about anything, but at least we can keep a better eye on our things.
Fact is, that since we are carrying expensive equipment, we are trying to avoid these types of inviting temptation to get robbed.
Had Paula and I been traveling with only clothing, it would be totally cool, but with my cameras and computer, gps, blackberrys, etc, we look like a feast to some of these folks.
I mentioned to you that we had already been relieved of some of our belongings! I can sort of understand them because, a camera, or sneakers, or a cool shirt or jacket can be the equivalent of a month of work for a typical worker. The base salary here is about 200 dollars a month, so I can see how appealing a digital camera really is. Can you imagine a laptop or something like that!
Anyway...talk to you guys more if the blackberry~s get service or on friday when we get to the next town along the Amazon River.

I want to say hi to Martin C., Edson and their family! Thanks for your kind words.

I do want to let all you guys know that we have met some very cool people in the past 3 weeks. We hope soon to talk a little about each person in the coming weeks.

Gary B. (guide from Leticia) we owe you that contact in Peru, we haven~t forgotten!