It's been a long day and its not yet 4pm. Worse still its been violent and the fear is things could get much worse.
Today, shortly after dawn, we launched three inflatables from the Arctic Sunrise, raised the anchor and steamed over to Cargill's illegal export facility. Our intention, to peacefully shut down the complex for as long as possible and prevent the unloading of rainforest soya from farms complicit in illegal land grabbing and slavery.
Over the past few weeks, I've seen how this company operates and the thugs it relies on for violent protection. Watching the inflatables skimming over the river ahead of the ship, there was a real sense of bravery and determination from those involved, no one knowing what kind of welcome would await us when we arrived.
Cargill was true to form. As our inflatables approached the foot of one of the legs of the conveyer belt, which sits high above the water, it was rammed hard from behind by a boat used by Cargill. The impact forced one of our team into the water, nearly crushing him between the inflatable and the jetty. The thick red line on his face, from mouth to ear, and the bruises on his arm were a testament to their brutal force.
Meanwhile, three of our activists attempted to climb up to the belt but had their legs and ankles grabbed, pulling them back down. One managed to climb half way up the metal structure only to meet an employee who mercilessly kicked him from above, our climber dangling like a rag doll from his safety rope. Volunteers who tried to occupy the barges of rainforest soya were also roughly manhandled and ended up with guns pointed at their heads by federal police.
As the ship attempted to dock alongside one of the barges, a vessel carrying 40 soya farmers arrived, complimented by an onshore force of well over 100 farmers shouting, jeering and making death threats. We dropped a banner from the stern, the words a segment of the Brazilian constitution articulating the right to freedom of protest. And so a stand off ensued - peaceful demonstration versus the violent force of multinational power.
Arrests came quickly. Six initially and then more, the police moving fast to take those at the facility. Meanwhile the farmers' boat came close enough to hit the ship's railings with metal bars. Then the fireworks - their weapon of choice - started blasting against the ship's sides. With the farmers seconds from boarding, the crew retreated and literally bolted down the hatches. From within the belly of the Sunrise, the thud of metal on metal reverberated around the hold, as they desperately tried to find our Achilles' heel and force their way.
Finally the police boarded the ship, forcing the farmers to retreat back to their vessel which nevertheless stayed metres from our ship. Even so, we would not move for the police any more than we would for Cargill or the farmers.
It took a good hour for the police to bust their way in - smashing glass, breaking down doors and unlocking hatches. Once inside, they found 25 Greenpeace activists sitting in a circle in the hold, the Captain and head of the Amazon campaign chained to the floor. It was only the threat of pepper spray, which the police had already used to evacuate the radio room, that led the Captain to send the crew up on deck. Yet he stayed, only moving when he could no longer cope with the pain.
When we emerged from the hold, the scenery had changed. We had been towed away from the facility towards the middle of the river. On deck lay the constitutional banner, shredded by the farmers. Holes had appeared in the side of the ship where both they and the farmers had tried to find a way in. Most of the damage is cosmetic but will take some time to repair but worryingly one of the photographers, who had been shut in the radio room upstairs, emerged with a gash in the chest - a result of the earlier firework display.
And then more arrests, five of whom have been taken to the police station including Frank from Greenpeace UK. The federal police remain on board, keeping watch on us - one looks at me through the porthole as I write.
And now the fear is for those on land, at the police station and at the hotel. The soya farmers are on the march with a convoy of approximately 700 cars moving through town and we have no idea where they are headed.
* * *
It's now 8pm and we've had really great news. Everyone has been released from the police station and is back on board and there are no charges, for the moment.
