LEAVING THE AMAZON

 Betty wanted very much to see the Boi Bumba Folk Show at Parintins, Brazil.  However she was advised by Destinations Services not to go because of the distance of the walk from the pier to the theatre.  She sent me to report.  This hour long show was traditional native dancing with very, very elaborate costumes.

I don't know much about dancing but it seemed as if all the dances were the same.  The dancers were accompanied by a 9 piece band.  Six of the nine could have taken an extended smoke break as they could not be heard.  On the other hand the 3 amplified drummers pounded steadily for the full hour.  By half way I had my first headache in 20 years.  The highlight was locating Betty's bottle of Tylenol when I got back to the ship.

Our boat ride at Santarem was much more pleasant.  The boat came aside the ship which saved us from using the tender.  Our guide explained that the tour boat was normally used as a ferry to take people to various towns along the Amazon and that some rides took up to five days.  When used as a ferry all the chairs were taken off so that passengers could bring their own hammocks and hang them from hooks in the ceiling.

After sailing to another meeting of the waters we headed up what our guide called a stream (not big enough in Brazil to be called a river).  Here we passed wildlife as well as some farms owned by indigenous people.  What may look like a herd of cattle is actually water buffalo.

We stopped for piranha fishing.  Although I was unsuccessful many of the other passengers caught at least one of these small but vicious fish.  I did see some dolphins but my finger was not quick enough to capture them on a photo.

Perhaps the most interesting tour was called "Behind the scenes".  Eight of us were taken on a 3-hour tour of the bowels of the ship.  In addition to our various guides we were accompanied by a security officer.  In the evening the social hostess told Betty that I had behaved myself.

We first visited the bridge where I learned that the ship can carry up to 2000 tons of fuel.  In the engine room I learned that the ship has its own sewage treatment plant.  Backstage in the theatre I learned that a few stateroom attendants (housemaids) earn extra pay by helping the singers and dancers with their rapid costume changes.

We visited the laundry.  In addition to towels and bedsheets there are tablecloths and lounge chair covers.  Guests can send stuff to the laundry for an extra charge.  As platinum members this service is free for us but I don't bother, finding it simpler to use the laundromat down the hallway.  In addition, each staff member wears 3 uniforms per day (morning, afternoon and evening) and each uniform is washed daily.  Each washer can handle 240 pounds of clothes and the laundry operates 24 hours per day.  The pictures show a washer, dry cleaning apparatus, and a machine that irons bedsheets.

We visited the galleys of three of the restaurants.  The ship makes all of its own food, including ice creams and pastas.  The flour for all the breads (including the wonderful poulichette baguettes) come from France.  However, flour for the pizzas comes from Italy.  An exception to the "ship makes everything" is bagels, which come from New York.  The fuzzy picture is of a baguette oven which runs 24 hours per day.

Each galley has a cold and a hot side.  Salads, etc. are prepared on the very cool side and on the hot side the air temperature is at 43.  At that temperature when the food is plated on scalding hot plates and is sent on the perhaps long trip to one's table it arrives at the correct temperature.

The next picture is of the tasting table.  Each night before the meal the head chef or the 2nd chef tastes all the sauces for all the dishes as a quality control.  The 2nd chef has 1/2 hour before dinner to explain each dish to all the waiters so they are knowledgeable for the guests.

 Washing dishes is a big deal.  In the galley of the main dining room there are only 3 dishwashers, specialized for plates, cutlery and glasses.  Each machine cost $ 350,000 US.

All dishes are washed twice and then tested for bacteria.  In all the restaurants combined there are 49 staff involved with dishwashing.

Finally we visited the storage area.  The ship has a maximum of 21 days of food on board.  This make things difficult in Brazil because the ship was not allowed to restock any American beef while in Brazilian waters (tariff issues).  Perhaps that explains why they had trouble supplying prime rib in Polo (see previous blog).

We walked into many, many freezers.  Each freezer is for a specific kind of food and the freezers are at different temperatures.  I didn't take any pictures of the freezers but the potato bags seemed to be enough to keep us in truffle mashed.

The final picture is from the wine storage area and shows cases of Prosecco.  I took this picture to alleviate Betty's fears that they might run out and that she would be forced to drink Champagne.

MANAUS

 

A short tender ride took me to the tiny village of Boca Da Valeria at the mouth of the Valeria River.  The people of the village are Caboclos (Brazilian equivalent of Metis) and the population is less than 100.  When I stepped ashore there were several young men with signs offering a boat tour of the river for $ 5.  The boatsman came on board with a coke bottle full of gas for his hand-held motor.

The river was very scenic and part way up we "sailed" through a large area of lilies and other plants.  On that part of the river the motor quit and I was happy to help remove reeds and grass from the propellor.

Upon my return to the village my hands were taken by my two handsome guides who led me through the length of the village.  

The village has a church and a one-room school.  Each time an Oceania cruise ship visits the company leaves a crate of school supplies.  Leaving good tips to my boatsman and my guides didn't seem enough to leave behind so I purchased something for Betty that she didn't need.

A few miles up the Rio Negro is the city of Manaus where the ship turns and heads back down river to the Atlantic, 1500+ kilometers away.  Manaus is a city of 2 million and is only accessible by water or air.  During the rubber boom of the 1890's the city was arguably the richest city in the world.  However, synthetic rubber and competition from Asia resulted in a dramatic decline in the early 20th century.  Nonetheless the declaration of a free trade zone in the latter part of the 20th has brought manufacturing to the city and an economic resurgence.  The temperatures are high and the humidity is between 80 and 100 per cent year round.  For that reason paint on buildings lasts only about two years.

We had a tour booked for the meeting of the waters but discovered that people with walkers were not allowed on the boat.  First thing in the morning I took a shuttle into the city to scout out possibilities for our visit.  I found a guy selling tours and he customized a tour suited to my interests and Betty's needs.  I went back to the ship and got Betty. We found our private car waiting with a Portuguese speaking driver and an English speaking guide.  Whenever the guide and I left the car to take pictures Betty and the driver conversed using an i-phone translator.

The pinkish building is the opera house built in 1896 with materials imported from Europe.  It was intended to rival La Scala in Milan.  After years of abandonment the house now has a full opera season.  As Brazilians are traditionally not opera fans, appreciation of the art is encouraged with most of the singers coming from Europe and local citizens being given free seats.

The next building is now a museum but it was originally the private home of a German rubber baron.

One of the features of this city is the many huge murals on the sides of buildings.

We stopped at a gigantic fish market where they sell over 400 species of fish caught in the Amazon.

Although we have been on the ship for three weeks we do not tire of the food.  I frequently have a light breakfast at the buffet and then take a fruit plate back for Betty.  I have learned that the three places for picking up bacon are not the same.  One has crispy bacon, one has extra crispy and at the third the bacon is arguably underdone.

The other night we had a reservation at Polo where I wanted to have their featured prime rib.  Unfortunately, they had run out of prime rib so I ordered a porterhouse.  The steak came in two sizes and I ordered the small one.

Betty's dessert at lunch was a little more modest.  It was a cappuccino parfait.

 After our tour in Manaus we had a very late lunch.  We didn't feel like a big meal in the evening so we went to the pizzeria for a couple of slices.  I cannot say it was the best pizza I've ever had but the view of the city lights from our window side table beats any pizza joint in Nova Scotia.

 

Incidentally, when we left Polo I told the maître d' of my being disappointed in their being out of prime rib.  When we returned to our room last night there was a reservation on the foot of our bed for tonight's dinner at Polo.

BRAZIL

With 213 million people Brazil has a land mass that is the fifth largest in the world.  Brazil has a very long coastline.  Sailing from Rio to the mouth of the Amazon River, with a brief 6-hour stop in Recife, took more than 5 days.  Recife, the most easterly city, is closer to Africa than it is to the western boundary of Brazil.

The city of Recife, with its 4.5 million people, is not particularly interesting.  I did take a shuttle bus to their famous shopping center set in an old prison. Each shop is in an old cell.

 The best part of that trip was watching the bus driver try to navigate congested streets.  At one point the driver got out of the bus and ran down the middle of the street.  He apparently spotted a policeman who came and stopped traffic to allow us to illegally enter a side street and escape the jam.

Our cruise schedule includes 8 days on the Amazon River.  This river is massive and disperses 20 % of the world's fresh water into the Atlantic.  It's output is 12 times that of the St. Lawrence back in Canada.  So much water comes out with such force that at its mouth the fresh water goes out about 100 miles before it is mixed with salt water.  The picture shows the brown color of the fresh water pouring into the ocean.

On the Marina there is a free laundromat on each deck.  For that reason one only needs to pack enough clothing for 3 or 4 days before washing.  However, the ship is not allowed to disperse "grey" water into the river, and for that reason all the laundromats are closed for 8 days.  The picture shows guests early in the morning on the last day before the Amazon waiting for the laundromat to open.

As we crossed the equator we attended the "Order of the shellback ceremony" whereby pollywogs become shellbacks.  A pollywog is first convicted of his/her sins, then is sentenced to kiss the fish and is then punished.  As Betty and I are both shellbacks we did not need punishment.

  

As we sail up the Amazon we pass various tributaries flowing into the main river.  The picture shows the color difference as the less brown waters of the tributary meet the very brown water of the Amazon itself.

Our first stop on our 1500 kilometer sail up the Amazon to the city of Manaus was at the village of Alter Do Chao.  There is not much to see other than stands selling jewelry.  I wasn't very interested in standing in the hot sun looking at what appeared to be amateur handicrafts, so my visit to this village was brief.

I'll end this blog with an anecdote about "Big Brother" looking after you.  On our last Oceania cruise Betty complained on her mid-cruise questionnaire that the shampoo bottles were too small and hard for her arthritic hands to squeeze.  Within a couple of hours we had different shampoo bottles sent to our stateroom.  When we boarded this time there were very nice shampoo bottles in our room.  I assumed that the company had changed suppliers.  However, I noticed that the attendants were delivering replacement bottles to other rooms, and that they were the old small bottles.  I have since confirmed with other guests that we are the only room with the easier to use bottles.  I am not going to tell the ship that Betty is not using the new shampoo as she is trying to use up our onboard credits by having a hair dresser at the spa wash her hair.  Maybe I should use double the amount in case our usage is being monitored.

JANUARY RIVER

We tendered off the coast of Ilha Grande.  This relatively large island is pristine and completely covered in rain forest, and with the exception of at the one small town development is prohibited. 

There are no cars allowed on the island.  Ilha Grande has an interesting history.  It was a leper colony before being converted to a prison colony for Brazil's worst.  No one was allowed to go to the island until the prison closed in 1994.  The town has a nice beach, but the town itself is a bit tacky.  I think most of the tourists come here are young and come for the jungle hiking trails.  I decided, however, not to take the 5 hour return hike to see the remains of the prison.

Our next tender stop was on the quite beautiful peninsula of Buzios.  

There was only a small fishing village on the peninsula until Brigit Bardot moved there in the 1960's to follow her then Brazilian lover.  She eventually was driven out by the paperatzie.  There are 26 beaches, all of which seemed to be busy.  The second picture below shows Bridgit's statue.  Lots of the shops have a variation of "Bardot" worked into the name. 

I enjoy having brief conversations with other guests (particularly while doing laundry).  A few days ago I chatted with a British woman who told me she had visited Halifax on a cruise and that it was quite lovely; but, "I couldn't live there."  I expected that she would continue with a comment on the weather, but instead she added:  "It's far too quiet."  Today I chatted with a Chinese woman taking her first Oceania cruise.  She was shocked when she got on what she described as such a large ship (Marina is small by today's standards).  Apparently because we are going to go up the Amazon she thought she was taking a river cruise. 

The first of our back-to-back cruises ended in Rio de Janeiro (strange name since there is no river here) and our second cruise started in Rio.  Fortunately we didn't have to change staterooms as did several of the other guests.  Rio has some beautiful sights (the cathedral, sugarloaf, Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches and Christ the Redeemer statue on the mountain top. 

We had gone up the mountain on an earlier visit and got to the cross, so we skipped that this time.  I have no picture to show as it was too hazy both days that we docked here.  Despite these sights the city itself is grubby with an amazing amount of graffiti on most of the buildings. We did take a bus tour but spent most of that in traffic jams.  Of the 7 million people who live in Rio, two million are in favelas.  These are hilltop slums, usually without services such as water, sewer or garbage collection.  These are absolutely "no go" areas for tourists.

 

Although we have been on Oceania many times until last night we had never experienced a wait for a table in the Grand Dining Room.  Perhaps the entree menu that gave a choice of steak, prime rib roast, lobster, or duck l'orange lured guests away from the buffet and pizzeria.  We didn't mind the short wait, however, as the sommelier visited our table as soon as we were seated.

Finally, I shall end this blog with a picture of a sunset from our balcony.