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Circumnavigation South America Mariner Jan 6


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Day 53 En Route to Fortaleza, Brazil

 

It is a hot one out here today. Can feel the humidity and the wind was blowing to make our walk that much more of a challenge. It was a sea day as we do not get into Fortaleza until 7p tomorrow.

 

Breakfast was in CR and we did notice that there are no more jalapenos or Pelligrino. Strawberries were suppose to be delivered in Salvador, but they did not appear. This does not bother us.

 

We spent some time lounging by the pool, soaking in the rays and reading. The seas were relatively calm, minor rolling side to side. We did see some oil rigs off in the distance. Have definitely noticed the temperatures slowly rising. The Captain said it was only in the 80's, but it sure felt hotter than that.

 

Lunch again in CR. Ice cream was up on deck in the cool shade. We had a very relaxing afternoon watching the seas, enjoying the gentle roll of the ocean.

 

Tea time came at 4p and it was a German theme. Had to have a piece of the Black Forest cake with cherries on the side. It was delicious. This is the problem with trivia, as tea time is right there and you can see all the delicious items calling your name. Too many calories were consumed by Rich and me, there is no self control here!

 

Trivia was a bit more challenging today. We lost to the number 1 team (Rachel's former team).

 

Dinner was in Prime 7 with Michael, Jane and Graham. Michael had brought along a bottle of champagne to start off our dinner. It was the best champagne I had ever had. We seem to have lively conversations when we get together. Graham ordered the 32 oz porterhouse all for himself. Usually this feeds two, but Graham was confident that he could devour the whole steak, and he did! I have before and after shots. Not sure how he will feel in the morning though! Jane had the special fish of the day, and Michael, Rich and I had the huge pork chop. It was so good. If you want applesauce with the pork, make sure you ask for it.

 

We decided to hear the comedian and magician, Mark Worgan. I am not sure I would go again. I would have preferred Seinfield.

 

In tonight's Passages were the upcoming cruises for Summer 2013 into the fall.

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Bev is doing a great job of reporting on our trip. Bob and I are also on for the entire 72 days. I am writing a blog and adding pictures when I can and anyone interested can take a look. It can be found at http://eileenandbob.blogspot.com.

 

It is taking some time to write these reports so you are welcome to look for more information. That is why I only do the one blog. We do get free internet but one does not want to spend that much time when there is so much to do and see.

 

Eileen

 

Dear Eileen:

We have just booked this same cruise for next January and I have very much enjoyed and appreciate your blog (as well as Bev's) as I know it takes time. Bob is an excellent photographer!

I notice that you have been on Seabourn ships several times and am wondering how the Mariner compares to the larger Seabourn ships. We have been dedicated Seabourn cruisers, but really want to do this South American circumvention.

If you feel this is not the appropriate venue to make a candid comparison you can go to my website and send me a message from there: http://cliffphotos.com/

I think we were in Montreal on the Sojourn about the same time you were there on one of the HAL vessels.

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Day 54 Arriving at Fortaleza, Brazil

 

Another glorious morning! It was a hot one out there at 7a and humid, to boot. However, as we were sailing along, there was no wind. This is a change. Luckily, there were some clouds every now and then to help cool us off. When that sun was bearing down, you really could feel the heat. One heck of a workout today.

 

Breakfast was leisurely in CR, followed by our catching some rays. The sun was really hot so we did not stay out too long.

 

There was a cooking demo, but we passed on that. Jane went and said the recipes were too bland. We decided to read and watch the sea. We did see some flying fish and this was a first for us on this trip.

 

Lunch again in CR. We had a 2p appointment with Janus, the fitness instructor. He put Rich through the paces and tomorrow he will be feeling the pain, I am sure. My time was less strenuous due to the torn meniscus.

 

Went to the tea time and now have to stop having the delicious snacks. Today's feature were cupcakes. This is not a good thing. We also lost at trivia. The questions were insane. What year was Braille invented? We had no idea and we were not even close. Rachael’s former team won again.

 

We pulled into Fortaleza a bit early due to the current and the wind conditions. The city looks modern and we cannot wait to explore it tomorrow. We are taking the 9:30 shuttle into town. We will do some shopping here.

 

Tonight Regent brought on board a local dance team with folk music. These young people in their colorful dresses were so full of energy. The music was from an accordian, drum and a triangle and the sounds they produced were amazing. The beat was so fast and the dancers were having so much fun, always smiling as they were performing. It was a great performance.

 

Tomorrow will be shopping in Fortaleza.

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Day 55 Fortaleza, Brazil

 

Off to an early start this morning as we only have a short time here in beautiful Fortaleza. Dorothy, George, Michael, Rich and I hopped on the 9:00 shuttle to take us to the shopping area. This is a container port where we docked and trucks were going out of the port the same time we were. So after a bit of a delay waiting in line to pass through the check point, we were on our way.

 

We had a great scenic drive along the beautiful beaches of Fortaleza. The white sand went on for miles, it seemed. The tall buildings facing the water were very modern looking. There was very little graffiti. We saw broom sweepers and the area looked very clean. This is a very busy city with lots of traffic and people.

 

The shopping center that we were dropped off use to be a prison. There were several floors of individual shops which had clothing, sandals, purses, jewelry, tshirts, etc. We started at the top (there were elevators) by walking up long staircases. It is a well lit area, and not very many shoppers. The shop keepers were not too aggressive so it made shopping fun.

 

They feature leather and lace here. I loved shopping here and could have spent an afternoon wandering around. We did minor damage here, Rich had a sigh of relief. There is so much packed into each shop that it would take forever to see everything.

 

The ride back to the ship was quick, only 15 minutes. The shuttle ran every 30 minutes. I do not know why we were to set sail at 1p instead of 3p.

 

There were a few tours this morning, one was the Highlights of Fortaleza, and one was the dune buggy ride. Spoke with several people who were on the highlight tour and they were not impressed. Those that went on the dune buggy ride loved it.

 

We were back in plenty of time for lunch in CR.

 

Spent some time out by the pool reading. We brought so many books and are trying to finish them so we can leave them in the library.

 

Dinner was by ourselves in CR. Very relaxing night. The staff continues to amaze us. I like those triangle wafer cookies, and once someone found that out, they appear with all my desserts.

 

Next few days are sea days while we head into the Amazon.

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. . . Next few days are sea days while we head into the Amazon.

Wow.

 

The Amazon.

 

I was there about this time last year, and, looking back on it, I think that I may have been in a trance the entire time . . . .

 

You will see what you think are the banks of that River, as you travel. They are not. Those are islands. You can't see the banks; parts of the Amazon are 30 miles wide. I had to keep reminding myself that we were not in the ocean, but a freshwater river, in the middle of a continent. I had to remind myself over and over and over again.

 

How absolutlely magical.

 

Again, Wow.

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Day 56, 57 Enroute to Alter Do Chao, Brazil

 

We had two sea days as we head to Alter Do Chao. The seas were rolling side to side, not making a comfortable ride at all. Thank goodness for Bonine.

 

Am combining these two days, as sea days are very relaxing for us and there is not much to report.

 

The first day, we dined with the group (Graham, Jane, Tom, Karen, Michael, Noel, and Tom) for another Indian dinner. We were not able to make the first one, so Graham and Jane were kind enough to ask the Chef for a repeat performance.

 

The meal started off with a soup, followed by these fried triangles (not sure what it was). We then had very hot plates placed before us and were served rice, lamb curry, salad, chicken tandoori, naan. The food was exceptional and we all really enjoyed it. The spices were just right, not overly powerful.

 

Yesterday Day 57 we entered the Amazon River. What a difference in the color of the water. It is like coffee colored, so different. We did notice branches and green patches of grass floating by. The grass patches have these very small white birds that hitch a ride on them.

 

The river has some activity with ferry boats, container or cargo ships, some very small boats. We are going against the current at 15 ½ knots.

 

The Amazon has many islands around and you may think that is the banks of the land, but it is islands.

 

Last night after dinner, Dorothy, George, Rich and myself went outside to look for bugs, moths, beetles. We did not find any insect. Were a bit disappointed as we really want to see something.

 

Tomorrow we will be in Alter Do Chao.

 

We will be posting many pictures of the Amazon tomorrow!

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Day 58 Alter do Chao, Brazil

 

The views are simply amazing on the Amazon. We saw a few villages, high cliffs, more debris in the water, lots of ferries, some more container ships. We went past Santarem which is a very large town right along the edge of the river's banks. The houses from the distance looked rather modern, not up on stilts as I would have thought. The river is high so some trees are in the water.

 

After playing trivia (not going to talk about this unless we win as we all know which team is the winner, Rachel's team)!! We went up to deck 12 to see the giant roach. Unfortunately, he was dead, little legs stuck up in the air. Did get a picture of this monster. Next we saw a moth and it was rather large. The pictures will show how large. I was hoping it would fly as I wanted to see if it had blue wings.

 

We have spent many hours on our veranda just watching the Amazon and the banks.

 

After a 15 minute tender ride we made it to shore around 3:30 p. This is a very small village that sells a lot of their handicrafts in small stalls. The children and some adults were swimming near where the tenders dock. We walked along the street and some of the homes were very modern, lots of glass. We came to where there is a little church and more of the stalls now selling food as well as crafts. There were many outside restaurants and we decided to sit and have a look of the view along with beers. Jane, Graham, Michael and Rich had beers and I had a coke. Unfortunately, the bees also wanted the coke and they drowned in my can, end of my coke.

 

The weather here was hot and very humid. In the shade it was quite bearable, standing in the sun was not so good. We sprayed ourselves with Off to ward off any bites from the insects. We walked around for a while then decided to head back to the ship for the a/c.

 

The tender ride back was like an oven. I was waiting for people to faint as there was no relief from a breeze. The air movement was nil. There were people that rode on top and I think even though they had to deal with the sun, the wind must have compensated for it. Regent stresses drinking lots of water and it is so very necessary.

 

We dined in Prime 7 with Michael. My chicken in the skillet is a must have if you love crispy chicken. As always, the food was great.

 

We finally decided to go to the Liar's Club. Seeing we would be gaining an hour, it made sense to see this. It was really good, lots of laughs. The stories they told were so funny. Franck is such a comedian!! I am glad that we went.

 

Tomorrow we will be in Boca de Valeria, Brazil.

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Day 59 Boca De Valeria, Brazil

 

What a great day it was today! We woke up to partly cloudy skies with some rain forecasted. Breakfast was in CR then we were to meet Michael and head out to the tenders. First we had to go to the theater and get our colored slips and when your color was called then head down to the tender.

 

Our tender was full at 9a, no room at the top. The temps were so different from yesterday's sweltering heat as it was cool but humid, a big difference. The ride over was short about 7 minutes. Along the way the tender stopped so that we all could see the pink dolphins!! They swim on their backs and we were lucky to catch a glimpse of them.

 

The tender left us out on a very primitive wooden pier. Along one side were boats to rent that would take you up and down the tributary. For $5 each, one could not go wrong. We were very fortunate to have a covered boat made out of fiberglass. Most of the other boats were more like canoes with a small motor. There were five of us that took the adventure.

 

We saw the Amazon up close and personal. It was one of the best times we have had so far. We saw small lily pads about 2 feet in diameter with flowers. We saw some birds, ducks. Also saw many homes along the way. When we were going along we saw two little children on their small pier. We all gave them a big wave. One the way back we noticed that they were still there, so we asked the driver to stop and pull along side the pier as we wanted to give the children our chocolates. Graham and Jane donated theirs. The little girl and boy were quite shy but they did take the chocolates and walked back to their house.

 

This boat tour was a must if you come here!!

 

After we disembarked we were in for a rude awakening! The children, masses of them, swarmed us taking our hand or pulling our hand looking for handouts. Michael had a big bag of chocolates and the children were pulling the bag away from him. Finally Michael just dumped it all out and let them scramble for them. There was no way of just handing them out to the children.

 

There was a school there and a very small church. Also, handcrafts, wooden objects, some jewelry. There were small children dressed up in their feathers holding all sorts of animals, from alligators to parakeets, sloths. If you wanted a picture, then you had to pay them. We have some cool pictures of some of the children. They will be posted soon.

 

It was quite muddy in places as this is their rainy season, but there were some boards in places were the mud was quite thick. The tender ride back was good, but we did not see any more pink dolphins.

 

We dined in CR for lunch. Played trivia and there was a 3 way tie and we were part of that tie! Yay!! us!! Need I mention that Rachel's team also tied with us?!!

 

Had a delightful dinner in CR with Dorothy, George, Jane and Graham. We almost closed CR down. We chatted so much, time just flew by.

 

Tomorrow we will arrive in Manaus.

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... the pink dolphins!! They swim on their backs and we were lucky to catch a glimpse of them.

 

This boat tour was a must if you come here!!

 

... a rude awakening! The children, masses of them, swarmed....

 

Tomorrow we will arrive in Manaus.

1) The dolphins swam on their backs!? You are *very* special, dear lady. I racked my brains and my camera to barely finally catch a swish of blurry pink....

2) The childmob is astonishing. I just dropped my bag, too, after being pushed back....

3) I am *so* sorry I didn't take a boat tour. I had time; I had no idea ... thanks for the info!

4) "Are you a man or a mouse? Manaus!" That's very close to how you pronounce it: man-ouse.

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Day 60 Manaus, Brazil

 

What a city! There are 2 million people living here along the Rio Negro. The Amazon is further down stream and there are differences in the water color. Rio Negro is black while the Amazon is the coffee colored water.

 

We were docked right along the pier and could see hi-rises in the distance. This city is not modern by any means. The buildings look like they could be from the 60's or earlier. We could see the Custom House right away.

 

One thing that we have noticed is there are very, very few planes in the air. Back home, we always can hear a plane. But that may be because we are near Logan. Plus at home we can always see planes in the air. Here we cannot see any planes.

 

Our day began with the Meeting of the Waters tour. We walked over to a pier and boarded a large ferry boat. It was two tiered and we went on the top deck. The sun was out and it was a bit humid, but not overbearing.

 

We rode along the harborside of Manaus and saw floating gas stations. That was a first for us. The need for all the boats to obtain gas makes it easier for them to get the gas from the floating platforms. There are all kinds of boats in the water from large ferries, to 10 person boats to small canoe types. It is a very busy place. Some of the ferries will go for days before reaching their destinations. They have hammocks for the people to rest in. It is all open so I can only imagine the noise from everyone.

 

We sailed along the Rio Negro until we got to an ecological park where we got off the ferry and transferred to a 10 person craft. It was easier to board that boat than get off. There is a steep step from the boat to the pier and no one helped me get up. But that is another story!!

 

We then entered the Amazon and cruised along hoping to see some wildlife. The only thing we saw were birds. We could hear the sounds of the jungle, but that was it. There were about 6 of these boats traveling along together. We saw some homes with people doing their laundry or bathing. We did see one ranch house that had a herd of cattle grazing along side of their home. This area just got electricity two years ago and now you can see satellite dishes. The ladies of the home must be watching their soaps!

 

We cruised along and soon we were deep into the Amazon where only a single path lead us around. I was worried about mosquitoes but the Off seemed to work. It was so dense in there that all I could think about what if something happened, would I have to trek in the Amazon and climb a tree?

 

The guides described different trees, and plants. It is amazing that the water levels have not reached their high point yet, probably not until June. There was about 8 more feet for the Amazon to rise. You could see the water levels of years passed.

 

Near the end of this part we saw the Victoria water lilys. They are rather large and the flip side of them are spiny which protects them from the fish. Rich got a great shot of one of the flowers which last for only three days.

 

Next we went back to the ferry to see the Meeting of the Waters. This was about an hour from where we were and now the weather was threatening, dark clouds and rain in the distance. It wasn't long before we were in the downfall. The ferry had canvas type sides that rolled down to protect us. When the rain came, the temps dropped. It was sweater weather again.

 

The guide took samples of both the Rio Negro and the Amazon. It was like we were looking at lemonade and Kahlua. There was a difference in temperatures as well.

 

As the rains finally let up, the sides of the canvas were rolled up. We were now on the hunt for pink dolphins. We got near the fish market and we could see swarms of water, and before we knew it, up popped a pink dolphin, followed by another. We spent about 5 minutes in awe.

 

I think this was a spectacular tour to do here. Even if the weather is not the best, go for it. The rain just poured down on us as we finished this tour and had to trek to the ship. It was warm and there were large puddles we had to walk through, but it was so worth every step of the way. The Amazon is just simply amazing. I am so glad that we got to experience this!!

 

We changed our drenched clothes for dry ones and ran up to the Poolside Grill for a quick lunch followed by our chocolate martini.

 

Dinner was in CR with Dorothy, George and Michael. It was another night of great conversation and food.

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What a great tour and what a superb description! Thank you for that.

 

Friends who have been to Manaus tell me there is a magnificent opera house there. Have you seen it?? And the one thing that is keeping me from taking the cruise you are on - at least the Rio to FLL portion - is my snake phobia. Ken keeps reminding me every time I say I want to do it that the Amazon is home to the anaconda... and do I really want to see that?? (Personally I think he is jsut trying to save money!!!) So my second question is - have you seen any of these slithering nasties? If not, I shall redoublemy efforts to persaude him about the cruise!! Oh! and If by some chance you do see one please don't send me a photo!!

Gerry

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What a great tour and what a superb description! Thank you for that.

 

Friends who have been to Manaus tell me there is a magnificent opera house there. Have you seen it?? And the one thing that is keeping me from taking the cruise you are on - at least the Rio to FLL portion - is my snake phobia. Ken keeps reminding me every time I say I want to do it that the Amazon is home to the anaconda... and do I really want to see that?? (Personally I think he is jsut trying to save money!!!) So my second question is - have you seen any of these slithering nasties? If not, I shall redoublemy efforts to persaude him about the cruise!! Oh! and If by some chance you do see one please don't send me a photo!!

Gerry

 

I am now on the Rio-to-FLL portion of this cruise. Yes, the opera house is very impressive, but my favorite part of yesterday's "Manaus City Highlights" tour was their Zoo. It gives you a chance to see animals that you otherwise would not see along the Amazon because they live deep in the jungle.... like the jaguar. You do not have to worry about snakes at all as they only come out at night.

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Day 61 Overnight in Manaus

 

This morning we took the Highlights of Manaus tour. The day was sunny with some puffy white clouds. The coaches were lined up right on the pier so the walk was just about nil.

 

Some of the people that took this tour yesterday were not happy cruisers. When it downpours here, the streets get very crowded with traffic making the driving extremely slow. Some said they did not like the zoo, some wanted to go back to the ship before the tour ended. My opinion of this is that if you are in a rainforest it might be a good idea to come prepared and take an umbrella and to have some patience!!

 

Our guide was fantastic and friendly. Our first stop was the zoo. Before we got there, we drove by some of the buildings that were old, lots of stalls along the edge of the roads. The traffic moved along quite easily and we got to the zoo in no time. The zoo is run by the military and it is kept up quite nicely. We saw monkeys, eagle, macaws, parrots, caiman, black leopards, snakes (I did not see them as I am too afraid of them to even look at them in a cage), etc.

 

The cages were all clean and the animals looked well fed. It is a very small zoo, but enough there to see and the grounds were quite nice. There were workers there tidying up the walkways to keep it very clean.

 

Next stop was the Opera House. This place is must see if you are here. There are several steps to get into the House. Once there we were escorted right into the performance area. There was a strict no talking policy and no flash pictures were to be taken. Some people think this did not apply to them so the conductor turned around in his seat and our guide had to reinforce the no flash policy.

 

Next we were taken to the upstairs balcony to have a look and at that time the orchestra started some of their rehearsing. Unfortunately, we had to move on.

 

We went upstairs and saw the many costumes that were worn during some of the operas. Amazing and some were very detailed.

 

Next we had to adorn oversized slippers to go into the next room. The floors were all parquet and quite interesting with the different types of wood. We all were sliding our feet across the floors (actually it was a great way for them to keep the polished look!!).

 

As we climbed down the stairs to the first level, on the right side was a model of the Opera House all done in Legos!! There were over 50,000 Legos!! Seeing our grandson is a Lego buff, we made sure to get some great shots of this.

 

Next stop was the Indian Museum. Our guide was very punctual and he was constantly checking his watch to make sure we would be back to the ship on schedule. It seems other tours ran late and the passengers were upset that they missed their lunch. Room service is always available so I do not know why the rush, but we were not on that tour group so maybe it was something else.

 

Along the way to the Museum we drove by the slums. There were many, many electrical wires hanging from the post. I would never be able to tell which wire belonged where as there were so many of them.

 

It was a great ride to the museum, going by more street vendors, shops of all kinds, a hospital.

We did not have much time to see the Indian Museum as the guide was keeping to his schedule. It was good as far as museums go. We were given 10 minutes to shop in the gift store.

 

We were fortunate that it did not rain and there were no traffic problems.

 

After lunch, we decided to hit the streets and see what was out there. We had to go through the terminal and up a huge ramp to reach the other side for the vendors. It was crowded with people and vendors. We did manage to buy a few trinkets. We were told not to wear any gold or watches, etc. I do not typically wear my jewelry out as there were just too many people. We only heard of this second hand, but one lady had her gold necklace ripped off her neck.

 

There was a local band that came on to perform before dinner. They were very good. The musical instruments were very different. There was a large tin pan filled with water and on top of the water were some half shelled large round bowls made out of wood. The man would rap them and play them like a drum. Along with all the other different instruments, made you think you were right in the middle of the jungle.

 

We dined in Prime 7 with Noel and Tom. It was a great time and food!

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Day 62 Parintins, Brazil

 

Walking today had to be done on Deck 11 as Deck 12 was way too wet. Deck 11 has the wood flooring which I feel more comfortable on and do not slip. It was so humid out, but not that hot. Actually the temps are not what we thought they would be, probably mostly in the 80's.

 

Trivia was at 11a today and we tied three ways. Of course, you all know we tied with Rachel's team! Not sure who the other team was, but we were happy with our tokens!

 

Lunch was up at the pool side grill as we had grilled fish that was bought at the fish market in Manaus. It is one of those fish that have to be caught by the Indians. The fish was on display and the chef filleted the fish right there and cooked it up! The scales are very large on this type of fish and there was a basket full of them for us to take some home. You all are probably wondering what to do with a very large fish scale, but I am going to make some pendents!

 

The tour today was the Boi Bumba Folk Show. We all had to board tenders for the 8 minute ride to shore. This show was done exclusively for Regent, so there must have been about 500 of us there. Once we got to shore, it was a very short walk, about 5 minutes, to the a/c auditorium. We sat on chairs and we were comfortable, others depending where they sat, said it was rather warm.

 

The show was vibrant with both music and costumes. The energy these people have is way beyond anything I have seen yet. I think in order to describe this, you would have to experience it as words do not come to talk about this fantastic show. It is a lot like Carnival. If you have a chance to see this show, by all means do. It lasted about 1 ½ hours but was worth it.

 

After the show we had time to do some shopping which was right there. Venders were set up selling everything from jewelry, masks, tshirts, etc.

 

The tender line going back was long, but it moved very quickly.

 

A few of us gathered at the pool area, for a cocktail. The sun was shining and it was a great way to spend some time with our new friends.

 

Dinner was with Michael and we were all pleasantly surprised when we were asked to dine up in Signatures! They just had a menu change (no cream of mushroom soup) and it was the best yet! We all had the lamb chops that were coated with spices and they were so good. Cheese was for dessert.

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