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Live from Oceania Sirena (December 16th to January 20th)

travelberlin

By travelberlin,
in Oceania Cruises

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travelberlin "Live from...." Rare

travelberlin

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Sadly Crystal have run out of champagne once before, a couple of years ago now, can’t recall why that time

 

I’d be telling them they need to serve from the reserve selection in such cases - as you say Champagne is Champagne - not sparkling wine or Proseco

 

Keep the photos coming - it’s my pleasure to post them up for you

 

Yes Terry, please do what you can to ensure that Crystal does not run out of champagne in our cruise next year.

I will send you some pictures later. Thanks for your help!

Ivi

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travelberlin "Live from...." Rare

travelberlin

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We're traveling on Sirena next month. Which cabin number was so noisy?

Thanks!

Michele

Hi Michele, it was 3007. It was a noise coming from some kind of ventilation. It is due to the location of that cabin. We would not choose that cabin again.

Enjoy your cruise!

Ivi

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travelberlin "Live from...." Rare

travelberlin

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We had a good dinner at the GDR. I had chosen a veal scalopini with a mushroom cognac sauce as a main dish, and I had a nice San Giovese to pair with my selection. I usually prefer red wines more than white. My husband seems to like very much the wine called Francisca and he orders it almost at every meal. Overall we are continuing to enjoying our meals at the Oceania Sirena.

Our first port in the Amazon river was Santarem, located at the junction of the Tapajos river and the Amazon River. Santarem economy, we were told, is based on agriculture and mining. What we could see was a place full of shops. The area near to the port, was like a big shopping center. Many young people working on those shops and other’s just hanging around, gave us the impression of unemployment and underemployment.

One of the things we found very different was how loud the city was. Many loudspeakers from the shops praising their products… People living there do not seem to notice. For us was for sure noticeable.

The Tapajos river displays a blue color and the Amazon river is brown, so it is interesting to see how the two rivers meet. I was not able to make pictures from Santarem. Somehow, I did not find something that motivated me. However, I did one picture of the meeting of the Tapajos and the Amazon. To my surprise, at the same moment I was doing that picture, a bird crossed…I have almost dropped my iPhone because it was so unexpected. I will send the photo to Bodogbodog, so you can see it.

Bye, bye

Ivi

 

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travelberlin "Live from...." Rare

travelberlin

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Good morning! Today on our way to Boca da Valeria, I have seen a pink dolphin swimming next to the ship! At the beguinning I have tought, I was just imagining because it was only one. But I have seen it a couple of times and pointed it to some passengers.

It was unusual because when I have seen dolphins, there were always on groups. But this one was alone. Does anybody know if it is common for pink dolphins to be alone?

Ivi

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travelberlin "Live from...." Rare

travelberlin

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Our second port along the Amazon river was Parintins. This is a colorful city in which once a year in June, a dancing festival called Boi Bumba takes place. A bull is an important figure of the city and of the festival. The city seems to be divided into two rival groups featuring the colors red and blue, who at the dancing festival compite for the main prices.

The city is decorated with street art, and in the square called Placa da Libertade, the street art, tells the history of the city since the arrival of the Spanish until now.

 

 

We hired a guy with a bicycle, who took us to all main atractions. That was a very good idea. It was an interesting place, and even though our driver did not spoke English, he did his best to show us his city. Some photos are following.

Have a good evening

Ivi

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Paulchili

Paulchili

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Our second port along the Amazon river was Parintins. This is a colorful city in which once a year in June, a dancing festival called Boi Bumba takes place. A bull is an important figure of the city and of the festival. The city seems to be divided into two rival groups featuring the colors red and blue, who at the dancing festival compite for the main prices.

The city is decorated with street art, and in the square called Placa da Libertade, the street art, tells the history of the city since the arrival of the Spanish until now.

 

 

We hired a guy with a bicycle, who took us to all main atractions. That was a very good idea. It was an interesting place, and even though our driver did not spoke English, he did his best to show us his city. Some photos are following.

Have a good evening

Ivi

 

Did the cruise line offer an excursion with Carnival recreation in the stadium? It was a lot of fun even though it wasn’t the real thing.

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travelberlin "Live from...." Rare

travelberlin

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Did the cruise line offer an excursion with Carnival recreation in the stadium? It was a lot of fun even though it wasn’t the real thing.

Yes Paulchili, the ship offered for US 159 pp a 1 and half hour excursion to see a small demostration of the Boi Bumba. This was too expensive for us, so we thought we would try to get the tickets on our own. However once in port, the excursion manager from ship told us that this event was only for those who bought the excursion.

We had however the opportunity to see many dancers on the streets during our privat visit.

Ivi

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travelberlin "Live from...." Rare

travelberlin

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Travelberlin, just wanted to say how much i am enjoying your blog of this trip. Your kindness appears to be bone-deep, and your positive view of life is much appreciated. I hope I get the chance to sail with you one day!

 

This is such a nice compliment Kate-AHF! I am very grateful. I also hope we will meet one day on a cruise ship...

Ivi

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travelberlin "Live from...." Rare

travelberlin

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Hi everybody,

Somehow I am behind with my daily reports. Today we were in Alter de Chao and I still have to report from our experiences in Manaus and Boca de Valeria!

In Manaus we stayed overnight. The first day we did a 7 hours tour in the Rio Negro river (called like this because it really has a black color due to some sediments). We booked this tour privately through the internet. A company operating here had good reviews on trip advisor and I have booked several months ago with them. It turned out to be that we were not the only ones from the ship. A pleasant group of other 21 passengers had the same idea, so we were in total 23.

We have visited many places on this tour. However the highlights were a visit to a small village and an encounter with the pink dolphins.

At the small village, the indigenous people came to greet us, friendly and so natural as they live. It is amazing how a smile can be enough as a way of communication...they have played their musical instruments for us and we have danced together. They have showed us what they eat, manioc, ants, worms, fish... The most adventurous from the group have tried some of that food. Unfortunately, I am not very adventurous...

We have bought some souvenirs from them and we have left the village saying ANIOU to them. I am not sure, if this is how you write it, but it is supposed to mean thank you in their native language.

Another highlight from that trip was the encounter with the pink dolphins. They are called "botos" and are large, friendly animals that come to interact with humans. Some of the people from our group went to get close to them. My husband was one of those people. He told me that he felt a little uneasy because these dolphins, who live in the wild, appear suddenly to receive their treat (a fish), and they are big and crossing next to your legs. My husband has enjoyed it very much. I have done what I could to make some photos. Not easy... hands touching those dolphins everywhere...what a beautiful encounter with high intelligent creatures!

With help of Bodogbodog, I will show you some of the pictures.

Bye, bye

Ivi

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