Friday the 21st of November is a lazy day at sea. Three highlights, our second Thai massage, the ship builders sea/pool, trials, and dinner with Jennifer and Robert. Teams created ships from materials they could find on board. They had to be able to navigate the treacherous waters of the swimming pool and carry 8 cans of pop. Nine entries of various sizes and shapes but all very creative and all but two floated and carried their cargo safely. It is amazing that empty water bottles, paper from the daily programs, duct tape and items from the dining room and bar could turn into seaworthy ships. Kids have nothing on these adults. The teams dress the part of the crew and create a narrative of the boat details, special features and future voyages.
Bridgetown, Barbados---rain, rain, rain. This is a major West Indies tourist destination. We took a submarine trip to a coral reef and ship wreck. This sub was fun because it went down to 142 feet and traveled along the reef and ship wreck. Big schools of fish--horse eyed jacks and a smaller unnamed fish. Colors were muted in the rain and depths but visibility was good and we were very glad that we went.
On to Roseau, Dominica. It is a charming island with lush forested mountains, hundreds of rivers and black sand beaches. This is called the nature island of the Caribbean and is the most natural. We saw some of the island as we made our way to Trafalgar Falls. The road was narrow and steep with very green vegetation including banana, grapefruit, orange, cocoa, lime, coffee and palm trees. Then there are beautiful flowers, plants and grasses. We hiked into the two falls--the "mother", the shorter and stronger of the two and and the "father", the taller falls. Beautiful spot with lots photos snapped.
From there we headed off to snorkel the Champagne reef. The guides were fantastic getting us geared up and down to the very rocky beach. Once we put on our fins we went backward down a long black rubber carpet of sorts and eventually got deep enough to swim. This was one of the best snorkel experiences we have had. First stop is the coral reef with lots of fish and plant life. We were at the edge of the reef so could see the steep drop off. Once again it was raining and we all complained about getting wet.... Our guide kept a good pace, swam down to point out special features including a 500 year old cannon and piece of chain. The best part was the geothermal area were it truly looked like champagne bubbles rising everywhere. We swam among the bubbles, feeling their warmth as they popped against us. We could have stayed there all day but it was time to do our circus act to get out of the water. Traveled home along the coast through neighborhoods with small, simple, colorful homes. There is a national election December 8th, two parties identified by color. There are red and blue flags flying everywhere with very few signs. This was our favorite Caribbean stop.
Road Town, Tortola. This is the largest island in the British Virgin Islands. We did not venture into town here as we boarded another boat to take us to Virgin Gourda for a hike to the geological rock formations in the Baths National Park. Mammoth boulders appear to have been dropped on the coast Lots of nooks and crannies to explore. One called the Cathedral is a protected area surrounded by these rocks. Claim to fame, Tyra Banks Sport's Illustrated photo shoot took place here. The surf was pounding so we did not venture in for a swim or snorkel. Pretty spot just to relax and watch the surf.
San Juan, Puerto Rico. We have been hear before but never to the rain forest. A forty five minute drive took us up the mountain side to El Yonque National Forest. The only rain forest in the US Forest Service. Funny thing about the rain forest--it rained, lots. We took a short hike looking for the vegetation and the Coqui, a small singing tree frog that resides here and keeps the forest free of mosquitoes. Part of the group got to see one, he moved by the time it was our turn. Beautiful vegetation, flowers and waterfalls. We did not go into town as the rains were threatening. Two sea days to go, one on Thanksgiving, and we disembark Friday in Miami.
Sea day 1, day 23 of the cruise. Finally a sunny hot day for the country fair. The pool deck becomes the setting for carnival type games, rope tying, ring toss, fishing in the hot tubs, games of skill and races--putting on pillow cases, dressing mannequins.... Lots of fun, though hot. Prizes are raffled at the end, no luck for us. Later the same day the lounge is turned into a space for the gala tea. You have never seen anything quite like it--incredible pastries and sandwiches, with ice, pastry and fruit sculptures.
You will be glad to know we each had only one little cookie. We knew our favorites since the head chef sent us a plates of goodies one night. So there we were at 9:00 in our pj's sampling a plate full of pastries. Pays to know the head chef. The day ended with the Regatta Singers doing show tunes. This was by far the most talented group of singers we have seen on our cruises. Broadway quality. They blew us away with a rendition of "One More Day" from Les Miserables. Then all the crew came on stage to say goodbye. They have all been wonderful. The crew and good food on Oceania will keep us coming back for future trips and destinations.
Today is Thanksgiving and here we are on day 24--looking forward to turkey dinner on the back deck. Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. Miami in the morning and homeward bound.
We just finished three cruising days, two on the Atlantic and one on the Amazon. Life on board is slow paced and casual. Lectures on various topics including shopping, future trips, cooking demos, and Thai massage. That one inspired us to get a Thai massage the next day-- muscle and tendon stretching made Sue taller, or so she says. We watched "Now you see me" in the lounge complete with popcorn, went to the evening magician show and hit penny slots on occasion--playing with house money at the moment. Crossing the equator involves an initiation ceremony for polliwogs, folks who never crossed on sea, become shellbacks after kissing a fish and being baptized by King Neptune. We have crossed about ten times but always enjoy the show.
The Amazon is 120 miles wide at the mouth, wide and brown. We couldn't see the shore from either side. Customs came aboard to clear the ship and we set off. Butterflies and lots of bugs have found their way on board. We arrived this morning in Santarem. It has 250 thousand people located at the junction of the blue waters of the Rio Tapajos and the Amazon. The waters meet here and and flow side by side, the Amazon muddy, brown, earth colored cold water meets the warm deep blue of the Tapajos yet they do not mix. The area is surrounded by lush forests, the economy is driven by agriculture, cattle and mining. Henry Ford built a rubber plantation here to make rubber tires but is was a disaster and failed.
Our boat tour, since we have not been on a boat lately, took us in front of the city for quite a while and along the line where the rivers meet. Depending on temperatures the Amazon can push all the way into town or be held off. As we moved along we observed life along the shore line, first in the city and then in the countryside. We went past an island made by the Amazon floodwaters. People live there for seven months and move to drier land for five during the floods of 15-18 feet. The river is 4,000 miles long and during the floods can be 120 miles in width. There is only one bridge across the Amazon which supports 3000 known species of fish with new ones being discovered all the time. It also contains anaconda, one of the largest snakes in the world as well as pink and grey river dolphins. We saw several of each color as we made our way up a smaller tributary. Passing farms with crops and cattle, fisherman, and numerous species of birds we headed for Lake Maica. At this time of year the lake is confined but during the floods it spills over the land into the tributary, again the people move for five months of the year. On the return trip we stopped to fish for piranha. Several passengers were successful in this endeavor. More pink dolphins on the way back, a closer view of the city shoreline and back to the dock to catch our tender. One interesting thing we learned is that people in the rural area do not have wells. Instead they have filters to clean the river sediment from their water. Kids go to school from 7-1 or 1-6 so we saw lots of kids playing and/or hanging out with family at home.
Capped off the day with a lovely dinner in Toscana, the Italian restaurant on board.
8:00 am found us at the entrance to the Valeria river and the village of Boca da Valeria. Tendering ashore we were greeted by the village and neighboring village kids who wanted to be our guides. They quickly grab your hand and off you go. The village is tiny and contains a few wooden houses built on stilts, a small one room school for 36 students and a small church. Also the village was full of kids showing off local wildlife, monkeys, sloths, birds, caiman, parrots, turtles and a toucan. Several people wore traditional Indian dress of colorful feathers, paint and head dresses. The people here are called Caboclos, descendants of the Portuguese settlers who intermarried with the local Indians. They live off the land by fishing, raising chickens and pigs, and selling local crafts to cruise ships. The total population is 75-100 though it swells when the ships come to town. The crew brought donations for the school and came ashore in a small parade of boxes and kids following behind. We walked through the village several times observing the local painters, wood carvers, jewelry makers, and regular village life including a game of football. We agreed with many that this was our favorite stop to date. Unfortunately, this village demonstrates that there are two seasons in the Amazon, hot and hotter. Not such which we had today, 91 degrees with 91 percent humidity. That is the only reason to rush back to the ship after a few hours.
We are continuing west to Manaus, the largest city on the Amazon. We spend two days here and will see another meeting of the rivers, look for caiman at night and visit this city of 2 million which boosts a world class opera house.
Early departure for our boat cruise on the Rio Negro. Along the city shore till we turned up a tributary to switch to motorized canoes to take us further upstream. Pink dolphin sightings and then lots of birds along the shores. The egret is to this area as the sparrow is to home. Two boys motored up to show us a four foot caiman and to pose for pictures.
Some of the grasses here float during the floods and feed the manatee then as the water subsides the cattle feed on the same grasses. We saw a very rare bird, Hoatzin, that only flies between trees, looks goofy and climbs up and down trees to escape predators with its clawed wings. In addition it is a herbivore and also called a stink bird due to their natural eau de perfume. Grey heron, terns, hawk, vultures and jacana entertained us. It was a pretty landscape and nice ride along the narrow waters. Fortunately, the lightning stopped as did the rain, after a while. We learned that along the rio negro there are no mosquitoes--the ph of the water inhibits their growth. The water has cooper, tannins from the forest leaves of Chile and flows from volcanic rock. The meeting was much like the other day as the muddy waters from the silts in the Amazon meet the black water do the Rio Negro. Again a very distinct line and even as the waters swirl together they remain distinct. The guide got two pitchers of water from the two rivers, the difference was dramatic even in this format.
The rivers of the Amazon support 3000 species of fish. The largest of which is the arapaima that can reach lengths of 6.5 feet. They often can weigh up to 220 pounds. They have large blackish green scales that can be used as nail files and will last for 20 years. The tongue is thought to have medicinal qualities and is often used as sand paper to scrape cylinders of dried guarana, an ingredient for some drinks. They also have a feared, tiny fish-- the toothpick fish-- that swims in the flooded forests. It enters the body and attaches its hooks internally. It can only be removed with surgery and it must be done within three days. Turns out it has happened but the hype is more fiction than fact.
Rather than go out to the same place caiman spotting at night we choose to stay on board to watch a local Brazilian dance and singing group called Simetria Norte. Brazilian rhythms, dances and brightly colored costumes made for a festive evening. The fun fact of the show was that the troupe is thirty years old and the founder still sings and has her very adult sons, daughter and grandchildren in the show. She also had a collection of "not sons".
Manaus is about 900 miles from the Atlantic, is the heart of Amazonia and the cultural center of the upper Amazon region. It is surrounded by jungle and the closest major city is 600 miles away. The only way to reach Manaus is by boat or air. Out tour started at a local museum with indigenous artifacts and scenes of daily life. While small, with a limited collection, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Next stop the opera house or Teatro Amazonas. In 1882, at the height of the rubber boom, Manaus was one of the richest cities on earth. Manaus had street lights and trams before most of Europe and they began building an opera house with the plan that it would the grandest opera house in the new world. It was the only building on land at that time as all the homes and boats were part of the floating city on the river. The opera opened in 1886 on New Year's Eve. It's wrought iron staircases where from England, crystal chandelier from France, classical busts and marble from Italy. The wood was Brazilian but sent to Europe to be carved. The 22 marble columns were topped with Greek masks of comedy and tragedy. The residents of the city were so rich that they would send clothes to Lisbon and Paris to be laundered and pressed. Because carriage wheels made so much noise on the cobblestone drive, thus interrupting the show, new bricks were made with rubber mixed in to muffle the sound. All was well until 1910 when rubber seeds were smuggled out of Brazil to Indonesia and the Brazilian monopoly ended. The city literally went dark as they could no longer afford to import coal. Rubber barons went back to Europe and the theater was left empty. Two renovations took place, one in 1990 without opening and the second just four years ago and upon completion the first opera in 90 years took place.
From the opera to the zoo. The local zoo is owned and operated by the military. We were especially interested in seeing the cats--panther, jaguar, and puma. Lots of other local birds, monkeys, caiman, snakes and animals were also intriguing. Tour is over, back to the ship and set sail for Parintins.
Next day. WOW. Dropped anchor and tendered ashore this small island. We wandered around town, shopped at the local tourist market and visited the church--very simple yet elegant. Our treat for the day was to attend the Boi Bumba folk show. Each year this town hosts a three day festival where two teams compete to tell an ancient myth concerning an ox, a love affair, the killing of the masters ox and the revival of the ox by Paje, a kind of medicine man and witch. The rivalry between the two groups is 86 years old and the town and it's visitors from the north of Brazil are divided in their loyalties to the two groups--red and blue. In town the houses, doors, telephone booths and clothes are red or blue, even Coca cola as the main sponsor had to invent a new logo. The red team put on a show for us. Incredible dancers and musicians wore elaborate, colorful and artistic costumes and headdresses. Often the main dancer arrived on an animated float representing a dragon, lizard, bat or dolphin. With headdresses the dancers almost touched the ceiling of the convention center hall. Did I say, wow! It was quite the sight and this became one of our favorite stops.
Two more sea days on the Amazon to go and we will turn north on the Atlantic headed for Devil's Island, Barbados and more Caribbean islands. Devil's Island is six nautical miles off the French Guiana coast and was a pleasant surprise. The island and Ile Royale were once the home of the notorious French penal colony opened by Napoleon in 1852, it closed in 1946. There are three islands close together, that held political prisoners, thieves and murderers. A great many of the 80,000 prisoners sent there were never seen again. Alfred Dreyfus was wrongly imprisoned and eventually released. The movie, Papillion, was based here. Strong currents and shark infested waters made escape virtually impossible. We had a delightful morning walk around Ile Royale, through the grounds of the penitentiary, including the demarcation of where the guillotine was located. Also governor's home, lighthouse, hospital and chapel. There is a modern hotel overlooking Devil's Island. On the mainland is the Guiana space center. The island must be evacuated during eastward launches over the sea. It was a great day out in the middle of nowhere. Another sea tomorrow before Barbados.
