Sawt Falasteen - All aboard! Cruise ships ease Belem's hotel dearth

AFP visited the river port of Outeiro in Belem on Brazil's north coast, surrounded by small communities of boat-dwelling fisherfolk awestruck by the enormity of the floating hotels.

With capacity for 6,000 people, the behemoths came from Europe at the last minute to provide extra room for foreign delegates massing on Belem -- a city of 1.4 million residents of whom more than half live in shantytowns.

Some guests have complained about small quarters and the long distance from the port of Outeiro to the conference venue -- some 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) that take about 45 minutes by bus.

Others see it as a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

"You know... in most of the conferences, we stay in hotels or in apartments," Lesotho forestry department official Bereng Mokete told AFP as he waited in port to board one of the ships for the first time.

"We wanted something that is different," he added, hoping the experience will be "something that I will always remember."

AFP was not granted access to the ships.

In the months leading up to the conference, with Belem's few hotels full, organizers scrambled to rustle up delegate accommodation in private homes, universities and schools. Then the two ships.

Prices skyrocketed.

- Irony -

Receiving the MSC Seaview and Costa Diadema in Belem required considerable upgrades to Outeiro port for a price tag of nearly $45 million, according to port officials.

Belem residents have welcomed the much-needed infrastructure investment in an underserved city that also got a brand new bridge leading to the port and resurfaced roads.

But green groups have pointed to the irony in fuel-guzzling, carbon-spewing, water-polluting cruise ships hosting delegates to a planet-saving conference.

Some have questioned the wisdom of Belem hosting the event.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva insisted it must be held in the Amazon -- a potent symbol of the importance of carbon-absorbing forests.

Seemingly irritated by persistent doubts, Lula said delegates can "sleep under the stars."

Instead many are sleeping on the water.

"It has been a good experience," said Jose Santoro, who works in logistics for Brazil at the conference.

"I mean I've never been on one of these things... the bathroom for me is a little bit small, but I'm a big person," he said. "The room is very comfortable, the water is cold and hot, the internet is working."

- 'A beautiful thing' -

Several conference delegates have grumbled to AFP about accommodation woes in Belem, with sky-high prices -- sometimes hundreds of dollars for a room -- topping the list of complaints.

Michel Omer Laivao from Madagascar's environment ministry said his delegation was "relatively happy" with the apartment they found in town after much struggle, though it's an hour by bus from the conference center.

"But Brazil has its reasons... I think the reason is that Brazil wants to showcase the Amazon. The lungs of the world," he added. "It's a beautiful thing. It's not every day that you get to see the Amazon."

Cruise ship prices, too, were prohibitive for many -- up to $600, according to participating delegations -- though some rooms were set aside for poor country representatives at lower fares.

Host Brazil said this week it had secured contributions from "non-governmental actors" to fund three free cabins per delegation from low-income nations.

Rosandela Barbosa, port director for the CDP ports company of Para state, told AFP Belem was taking a long view.

With Outeiro port's docking pier lengthened from 261 to 716 meters, it is now "suitable for receiving cruise ships."

The project "will remain as a great legacy... because there will be an increase in port operations" with hopefully a boost in tourism and business opportunities, she said.

Barbosa brushed away environmental concerns, saying the ships have "technology and mechanisms for managing and controlling the fuels they use" and agencies were monitoring their output.

"No immediate risk to the environment is observed," she insisted.

For guest Santoro, the logistics specialist from Brazil, the ship's bars, restaurants and swimming pools are a new kind of luxury.

The casinos, however, were closed.

"I think that they don't want people to stay there (on deck)... because the focus of the COP is bigger than staying on the ships for fun," said Santoro.

T.Ibrahim--SF-PST