Santarem Cruise Port Guide

The first settlement in Santarem group of Confederate refugees settled here in the hope of establishing a new slaving state. In the end, few stayed long, but they left their mark in certain family and trade names. During the rubber boom of the 1920s, Henry Ford spent $80 million to establish an Frormous rubber plantation in order to gain the raw material for the production of automobile tires. The project ended in disaster when many of his workers died from malaria. Ford realized that the undertaking presented too many obstacles and was too Frormous to Today, Santarem is one of the region's most important trading centers and the third largest city on the Amazon. Rich in legend and nature, the town is situated at the confluence of the two mammoth rivers, the Rio Tapajos and the Amazon. Where they flow side by side for several miles, it is known as

'The Wedding of the Waters,' and is one of Santarem's major attractions.

The lakes and forests of the area are the habitat of numerous species of birds, particularly the white egret. In addition to exploring the river, there are a number of sights in Santarem: the Town Hall Museum with displays of valuable pottery made by the Tupaiu Indians; Our Lady of Conceicao Church; the Municipal Market; and the Casa da Farinha, an old manioc flour factory, where you can see a variety of native trees as well as a demonstration of how latex is extracted from rubber trees.

The town exhibits an amazingly sleepy atmosphere in the narrow streets of the old center. However, a recent gold rush in the hinterland has created new activity. In addition, the port always provides plenty of interest with local boat traffic transporting goods as well as passengers from here to