hammocks at the centre of the ship. it was quite interesting an uplifting to witness how a natural order arouse out of a process which i would have imagined highly chaotic and possibly conflict-ridden: hanging your hammock, storing your belongs and co-existing with strangers in this tight space. people seemed to know how to organize themselves, and i didnt see any conflict or dispute arising out of such squeezed population. no episodes of radios on loud or late, no mobile phones ringing annoyingly and endlessly (amazingly i had normal mobile reception for most of the trip and saw many mobile phones being used during the days on board - i latter learned that the brazilian government has built a vast network of radars and mobile stations throughout the amazon basin in a programme called SIVAM, and thus it is possible to get mobile reception in the middle of the jungle - go figure :) ) . For more information on SIVAM and the Amazon, check out these sites: http://www.global-defence.com/2003/sivam_03.htm; http://www.amazonia.org.br/english/