Busy Sea Day and Belem, Brazil


Yesterday just happened to be one of those sea days where there were many things I wanted to do. I started at 9:00 for the final session of our book club - we read ‘Letters from Paraguay’ this time. The book was interesting in that it took place in the general area we are visiting albeit in the late 1800’s.

After book club, I returned to the cabin for a quick drink of coffee before heading to a lecture on the upcoming port of Belem, then Trivia… then lunch and then a presentation by the Captain on the history of cruising. He says that not only is his profession cruise ships, but it is also his hobby. I did find bits of time to lie down flat to give my back a rest, but by the time we finished dinner I was ready to hit the bed and read. So far I haven’t had any problem finding books to read in Prinsendam’s library - it’s fairly large.



Belem, Brazil

We woke up this morning and looked out the window to find the brown water of the Amazon. Yup… no more blue sea - it’s truly brown. We were going very slowly as it is very shallow - so shallow that we need to anchor about 20 miles downstream from Belem and the transfers are being done via local ferries and then a long (45 minute) bus ride that has no air conditioning. I decided that I’m too much of a wuss for that kind of heat and the fact that both the buses and the ferries are running kind of a random schedule so there could be a very long wait for a return. It’s currently just after lunch and Jim still says he might just ride the ferry across to the dock and then return… I’ll let you know. I’m enjoying just watching the activity on the water; there are many little boats ranging from local ferries to small rowboats. The close-by village of Icaraza looks like it would be interesting to explore; very green (duh!) with many businesses and houses. I just watched a huge cloud build and then sweep across the river dropping rain and within 10 minutes clear out again. You can see Belem in the distance and it is another very modern city with many skyscraper (or at least very tall) buildings.

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Well, I got interrupted as I was writing above. It’s now late afternoon and people are returning. Those that just rode the ferry over to the little town said it was wonderful, many little local bars/cafes right on the edge of the water and a great local market. The few that have returned already from the long trip into Belem aren’t quite as thrilled with their day. It looks like I missed a really great port - I seem to do that on every long cruise. Oh well, we have a few more to go, but time is getting short.

Fortaleza, Brazil

Another city of about 2 million people. We took the shuttle into the city early as it dropped us at the Central Market and a block away is one of the largest Cathedrals in Brazil.

The Central Market was a disappointment in that it really seemed to be a huge tourist market rather than a market where the locals would shop. The cathedral was huge and beautiful and had many many stained glass windows, but either was fairly new or had been totally refurbished and had none of the old architectural interest that I love. We debated on walking a few blocks, but all we could see were more shops so we came back to the ship. It was 95 degrees and bright sunshine… as the Cruise Director said later… a heat index of 350 degrees. Ok, I’m a wuss, but the heat just knocks me these days, I was so poopled when we got back to the ship I didn’t want to move off the bed (I had a nice cold washcloth over my head!).

Jim said I should post this picture of me with two of the dancers that welcomed our ship into Recife a couple days ago.

Recife, Brazil and Random Thoughts

Recife is another big city - a couple million people live here. We were docked a distance from the town so there was a shuttle that took us into town. We left the ship just before 8:30 - again trying to beat the heat and it was good that we did as it got hot really fast. We wandered several streets on one side of the river and looked at the market stalls and then crossed one of the bridges and did the same on the other side. There were a 5 or 6 churches in a very close area and I had to check each of them… I still love seeing the ornate interiors. One, St. Anthony’s, was covered in gold plate and they didn’t object to photos as long as you didn’t use flash. The highlight of the day… I finally found a shop that had hair barrettes so I can get my hair up of my neck! It was a quiet rest of the day and we placed last in trivia by 2 points. We are certainly maintaining well… and we are having fun where we hear some of the other teams fighting.

 

I don’t have any really interesting pictures here, so I’ll skip uploading any.

 

 

 

Random Thoughts

 

I love the small ships - ok, you are probably getting tired of hearing that, but they are so much more ’ship-like’ that the floating hotels. They aren’t geared toward families so kids would probably be very bored, but for adult travelers they are perfect.

 

• Prinsendam was built in the 1980’s (the exact year escapes me right now) and she is needing constant maintenance on the large systems. They have been constantly working on the sewage system and water systems and occasionally the air conditioning system. So far the outages have been not too bad and the Captain has rewarded the passengers with wine or drinks for our patience. The AC in our cabin is on its last legs… the little flap that moves to change the airflow (how you control the temp) is almost rusted out so Jim has had to move it by hand, but once we figured that out it really hasn’t been a problem for us but it needs replacing.
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• The Captain was asked recently if he felt Holland America would keep Prinsendam and he replied that since she almost always sails completely full and people love her it looks good for her to remain in the fleet.
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• While some of the lecturers have been very good, some have been pretty poor. With all the ships today looking for speakers this would be a perfect time for anyone with the urge and the talent to join the speakers agency. You would need to be a good speaker and very knowledgeable about your topic as cruiseship passengers aren’t too forgiving and will walk out on bad lectures.
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• There have been no complaints about the food - both the Lido and the dining room have been getting great reports. I’m particularly impressed that they can serve lobsters that are fairly large and cooked well. I had given up on ordering lobster on ships several years ago as they were never good. The beef is all cooked very rare and if I want it more well done they just toss it on the grill for a minute and it comes out perfect.
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• In listening to the passengers it seems that the Asia/Australia Grand Voyage is the choice for most for their next cruise -- or the World Cruise. It really does seem that once you have taken a long voyage that is all you are interested in doing.

 

That’s it for now - more later.

 

Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

We’re not in Antarctica any more - aaacckk - I’m ready to go back. It was about 87 when we left the ship at 9:00 (trying to beat the heat) with humidity of about a million percent and it just got hotter. Some of the decorations of Carnival were still around on some of the squares so it really looked festive and there was a combination of old architecture and newer buildings. We visited several churches; one is quite famous, St Francis, as the interior is completely covered with gold. We looked at some of the souvenir stuff and then stopped at a café with umbrellas for a Coke. Good timing as it started raining - so we just waited there until the rain stopped and then we walked several blocks to the elevator and returned to the ship.

This city was a surprise to me; I expected a quaint small city and it is a huge city of 2 million people. Luckily the quaint part of the city is right near the port. It is built on two levels, the higher level is way high, you either take a taxi or shuttle the long way or you ride the elevator. We had been warned not to bother to try to walk up - even if you are in good shape. We decided to take the H Stern shuttle up and then ride the elevator down.

This city was the center of the slavery trade both for North and South America so the majority of the population is black and much of the culture is derived from Africa. Frank, the onboard tour guide, had told us that there would be many very large costumed “Mammies” for picture taking and that they would want a dollar for the picture. There were many around and they were all dressed in great clothes, but I will say that most are not really that large; they wear considerable padding and a bustle-type affair under their skirt to make them look very large. The price has certainly gone up… no more $1 for a picture - now it was $5 and they would chase you down to get it. There we also some other street performers, jugglers, dancers and acrobats… and they all had their hand out. We had gone with a ready supply of $1 bills, but it got old quick. I sure preferred Peru where the people wanted you to take their picture and many refused to take anything in return.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

We should have booked a city tour here. There is only one cruise ship terminal and several ships in and they are having a turnover day which means that the terminal is a madhouse. We took the H Stern free shuttle to their main headquarters since that seemed to be the only transportation possibility. It was actually a nice ride of about 25 minutes through the city to the Ipanema beach area. We did their short tour through their workshops and then looked at some jewelry which was beautiful, but either beyond my means or the rings and things I could afford I just really didn’t need. We then walked to the beach and watched the ‘beautiful bodies’ strutting by and the men playing volleyball. The few juice bars nearby were all completely full so we decided to wander in the other direction and soon tired of just looking at the shops so we headed back on the shuttle. It was nice that they took a different route back to the ship so we were able to see all of Ipanema beach as well as Copacabana beach and hotels.

We had a local show in place of the regular shows in the evening. It was done as a small version of Carnival and put on by one of the Samba schools. The costumes were great and quite skimpy. I’m sure this will be the favorite show of the men onboard. I’ve decided if I go and buy a sparkly thong, bra and some feathers I’ll suddenly have a figure just like theirs! Ok, I’m just wishing… it wouldn’t have happened even when I was young.

I should back up here and say that as we arrived into the port we were out on the deck and could see Sugarloaf and Corcovado with Christ the Redeemer on top. It was about sunrise and it was quite misty, but at least I have seen them and have a few (rather poor) pictures. We are supposed to pass by those same areas again this afternoon when we leave port so maybe I can get some better shots then.

There is a huge U.S. aircraft carrier, Number 70, the Carl Vinson, anchored here in the bay and we have been watching the sailors being shuttled back and forth to the ship. It’s quite interesting to see it this close.

We have been following the CNN coverage of the earthquake in Chile. 8.8 is a huge earthquake and it makes it seem so much more real since we were just there a little while ago. Our guide there talked some about their earthquake risk and the fact that they are constantly having tremors. Although what we are seeing shows the devastation, I actually am impressed with what didn’t happen. Most of the new buildings in Santiago and other cities have been built to stringent earthquake standards and seem to have come through this remarkably well. It is so sad to see the old historic buildings that have had so much damage - the historic architecture is what I love.

Safe in Rio

We arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this morning. We went out on deck to take pictures as we came into the port - that was when several passengers mentioned that there had just been a huge earthquake in Santiago. We have been watching the coverage on CNN. I’ll write more later.

Monte Video, Uruguay

Monte Video, Uruguay


We crossed the river from Buenos Aires during the night and arrived in the port at Monte Video about 30 minutes late - about 8:30 in the morning. It was a beautiful sunny but cool morning - probably a little less than 60 degrees with a little wind and predicted to be about 75 - couldn’t be better.

This was our second Ensemble Experience private shore excursion for our group. We all met in the Half Moon room at 8:45 and about 5 minutes later they announced that the ship had been cleared by the local authorities. So we weren’t late at all to meet with our tour guides, Maria and driver, Jorge. Maria was a fantastic guide, she is a school teacher during the school year and also a lawyer. And as most of our guides have been, her English was perfect. We did a bus tour of the city with a number of photo stops and it was interesting to see the preparations for the inauguration of their new government next week. She did say that much extra security will be in place since “Hillary” is attending. We traveled through the downtown and government areas of this city of over a million people and then through several suburbs which enabled us to see the wealthy areas, middle class and low class areas. In the lower class areas she referred to them as shanty towns, but all the houses were brick or concrete block so they were far better than sum of the slums or shanty towns we have seen on our travels.

Then we went into the countryside to a winery where we had a short tour. This is actually a harvest and production time for them so it was very busy and smelled very ‘winey’. Then we went into the dining room and for a very large Uruguayan barbeque lunch and the opportunity to sample many of their wines. There were two local musicians playing guitars and singing and a number of the people in the group had great fun dancing. A considerable amount of wine was consumed! J Everyone was disappointed when we had to board the bus and return to the ship.

I was totally pooped… I did manage to go up to the Lido for a bowl of soup and then I didn’t move the rest of the evening except to look out the window a couple times during sail away.

Today is a sea day as we are heading north to our many stops in Brazil. I can report that we are holding a steady last place in Trivia and enjoying every minute of it. It is amazing how many times we have the right answer but decide to use a different one.