Home Sweet Home
Two days at sea before we docked at Miami were well appreciated. We were able to relax in the shade as it was still very warm, but much less humid. We finished our bridge games for the cruise and had lots of last minute meals with our friends.
We arrived right on time at Miami and took a cab to the airport. It was hot in Miami, but we still had to dress for Nova Scotia! Our flight to Newark was scheduled for 1:15, so we had lots of spare time to spend at the airport. When we arrived at the airport at 9:30 we checked in and went through security, thinking we would have a long wait. We decided to check out which gate we were to leave from and as we approached the gate, the attendant said "You must be the Marshalls. Just wait a minute and I will arrange for your luggage to be put on this flight which is about to leave." We were immediately put on the flight and upgraded. Got to love United Airlines! The flight was half full.
It was raining hard when we arrived at Halifax at 10:30. Andrea picked us up and handed us our winter coats. We spent the night in Halifax and drove home the next day. Wouldn't you know it .... we had snow coming home on Wednesday; in fact, we were driving 50 km/hr on the 101 between Dartmouth and Kentville.
Everything was fine at home and we are looking forward to spending Christmas in Bridgewater with the family. Thanks to everyone for following our blog. It was the trip of a lifetime and when we are asked if we would do it again with said definitely "no". Not because we did not love it, but there are just too many other places we want to go. We do not repeat our vacations.
Stay tuned .... on January 31st we leave for a month in Costa Rica and I will do another blog.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. May God bless you and your loved ones.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Barbados, Antigua and
Puerto Rico
Bridgetown, Barbados
Barbados retains a very British atmosphere. Afternoon tea is
a ritual and cricket is the national sport. Barbadians are a warm, friendly and
hospitable people who are genuinely proud of their country and culture. Beaches
along the island’s south and west coasts
are picture-perfect and open to cruise passengers. On the rugged east coast,
the Atlantic Ocean attracts world-class surfers. The northeast is dominated by
rolling hills and valleys; the interior of the island is covered by acres of
sugarcane and dotted with small villages.
Entrance to Sugar Cane Plantation
Atlantic Ocean Beach
View From Atlantis Hotel
Eric’s shore excursion was 4 x 4 beach Safari which took him
to the Atlantic side of the island.
Judi’s shore excursion was a Barbados photo adventure with famous
Barbadian photographer Ronnie Carrington.
They were both excellent shore excursions, with magnificent scenery and
a taste of the famous Barbados rum punch. The weather was spectacular and it
felt so good to be rid of the hot, humid temperatures.
St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
It is so nice to wake up each morning to a new port. St.
John’s is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda. It is one of the
most developed and cosmopolitan municipalities in the Lesser Antilles. We both
took the same shore excursion, 4 x 4 Luxury Beach Safari and got a spectacular ride
around the more isolated spots on the island. This is a beautiful clean island
and we could see why it is such a popular tourist destination. The beach
portion of the tour took us to a lovely beach destination where we were able to
swim for an hour. The nice part about going off-road was that we were able to
drive to some high hills for wonderful views of the towns along the water.
View of Harbour from Hilltop
Our Beach Stop
Abandoned Sugar Mill
We drove back to the ship at 5 pm and got caught up in the
Santa Claus parade. While we were stopped, we were able to enjoy the local
culture.
Friday Rush Hour
San Juan, Puerto Rico
We had been to San Juan before, so we chose not to wander
the streets …. which is so much fun. Instead we chose a trip to the rainforest.
El Yunque National Forest. It was a 45 minute drive from the port and just as
we turned the first corner I saw a Tim Hortens and Scotiabank. Actually we saw Scotiabank at pretty well
each port town, even in Brazil. The island is very busy and thankfully it was
Saturday so the roads were only moderately crazy. The National Forest, run by
the US, was excellent.
At the National Forest we visited the visitor’s center,
stopped at a waterfall, did a 30 minute guided walk through the rainforest and
went up an observation tower. This was a
very good experience and of course I have lots of good photos.
El Yunque National Forest Welcome Center
Waterfall at National Forest
Love the Rainforest
We left San Juan at 9 pm and about 1 pm I awoke when I heard
the side thrusters on the ship. This was not supposed to happen at sea! Then I
realized the ship had stopped. Well, we
were back at San Juan as a lady had had a bad heart attack and they had to get
her to port. An ambulance was waiting for her and they took her, her husband
and all their luggage off the ship. By now we had lost 8 hours and the captain
is trying his best to get us to Miami on time. Many of us have flights out on Tuesday
and people are getting a bit nervous. We’re not concerned as this would be when
our trip interruption insurance would kick in. Eric has been doing the math and
figures we are okay. Never a dull moment while at sea.
The seas are calm and right now we are passing close to
Haiti and then Cuba. All for now …..
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Parintins, Brazil
Parintins is located on Tupinambarana Island in the Amazon
River, halfway between Santaren and Manaus, Brazil. Accessible only by air and
boat, the city of 115,000 is a 25-hour river boat trip from Manaus. But Parintins is no isolated third-world
community. In 2006, the Intel World Ahead Program brought in computers and
connected two schools, a hospital, a community center and Amazon University to
the WiMax broadband wireless Internet service.
Because there are not enough hotels in Parintins,
out-of-town visitors either rent bedrooms from locals or sleep in hammocks in
the Amazon river boats, which brought them from Manaus. Most people don’t sleep at all, preferring to
sing, dance and party around-the-clock.
Riverboat Hotels
The only shore excursion offered was the Boi Bumba Folk
Show, which was presented in the large, air-conditioned convention center. Boi
Bumba means “bull dance” and is a comic re-enactment of a legend based on a resurrected
bull. We were all tendered ashore and
seated in the theatre. The production
was absolutely spectacular, with lots of drums, guitars and singing. The music was non-stop for over an hour,
accompanied by a wide array of beautiful costumed dancers. All the feathers on
their costums were authentic and not dyed. It was one of the best performances
we have ever seen and we have lots of great photos.
Photos from the performance
This was our last stop on the Amazon River and each stop was
unique and well put together.
Devil’s Island, French Guiana
We didn’t know what to expect on Devil’s Island. It is the smallest and northernmost island of
the three Iles du Salut located about 6 nautical miles off the coast of French
Guiana, South America. It has an area of 34.6 acres and it was the smallest of
the nortorious French penal colony in French Guiana until 1952.
Once again we were tendered ashore and we spent the morning
hiking around the island. It was incredible hot and humid, worse than the
Amazon River, but we had a very enjoyable day.
Part of the ruins
Beautiful hiking path around the island
Not very much to say about this island, as most if the
buildings are in ruins. There is a hostel and a hotel still operating on the
island. We were able to see monkeys, peacocks and lots of other wildlife. Off in the distance, on the mainland we were
able to see the rocket launch site. If there was to be a rocket launch, the
island would be evacuated.
The resident peacock
The prison cell ruins
The hotel
Another day at sea to rest up for 3 more days of shore
excursions!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Manaus, Brazil
Manaus is the capital of the state of Amazonas and is
situated at the confluence of the Negro and Solimoes rivers. It is the largest metropolitan area in
Northern Brazil and the twelfth in all of Brazil, with 2,006,870 inhabitants,
making it the 8th most populous city in Brazil. It represents 50% of
the population of the Amazon.
Manaus was at the centre of the Amazon region’s rubber boom
during the 19th century and was labelled “one of the most gaudiest
cities in the world”. The decadence of the city extended to the grand opera
house which cost $10,000,000 to construct. After the collapse of the rubber
industry in Brazil, the opera house went through years of neglect, but has been
fully restored and is fully operational.
We had an overnight stay in Manaus which gave many of the
crew members a chance to go ashore. The city is very large and quite spread
out. A beautiful new bridge has been constructed over the river and has been
dubbed the “bridge to nowhere”. There is one highway out of Manaus and it
extends north to Venezuela.
We did a tour of the city and really enjoyed it. Our driver
made certain to take us all over the city to show us the different levels of
housing and types of shopping. Near the harbour was the market where the people
on the riverboats buy and sell their wares. Downtown are many elite shops,
hotels and restaurants. We toured the
opera house, which is a magnificent building. They were preparing for a huge
Christmas concert which was going to be broadcast outside, so the seats on the
main floor were covered to make a stage. We have many beautiful photos of the
opera house.
Next we toured an Indian museum, operated by nuns. It was
interesting to experience the culture of three different tribes. Afterwards we toured the zoo, operated by the
Army and saw lots of wonderful animals and birds. It was a long tour and it was very warm, but
we enjoyed it.
In the evening, Eric went “caiman spotting”. He found it
interesting, but not well organized. The
next day was the tour to see the “meeting of the rivers” where the black and
white rivers meet and flow side by side.
Both the meeting of the rivers and the caiman spotting at listed in
“1,000 things to do before you die”.
Caiman Spotting
Meeting of the Waters
It was interesting to watch the activity on the dock while
we were docked. Outside our balcony there was a commotion below us. It turned
out to be a small fishing boat which 2 crew members had rented. They had caught
2, 35 kg fish and had them in the small boat. We watched as they tried to lift
the fish out of the boat, on to the ship. It was tough, but they made it.
The slum area of Manaus on the waterfront
Our ship at night
The bridge to nowhere
Manaus was our last port before returning down the Amazon
river and we travelled a total of three time zones. As we left Manaus, we realized that our
cruise was half over.
Christmas tree at the stern of the ship at sunset
Monday, December 10, 2012
Boca Da Valeria, Brazil
The Boca da Valeria Port in Brazil means “mouth of the
Valeria River”; it is where only 100 people live. It is a tiny Indian fishing
and trading village where the people sustain a livelihood through tourists’
purchases of their products. The Amazon
Basin Rio da Valeria converge to form this village. Boats are its means of
transportation. The children are dressed
up for the tourists to have photos taken of them and receive payment. They also act as
escorts to the visitors. The village
allows visitors to witness the lifestyle and hardship that the residents
experience daily. The river dwellers’
houses are made of wood and built on stilts. There is a church and a school in
this remote village.
The Church
When the ship dropped anchor, the canoes and small river
boats , full of people suddenly appeared. They had fresh produce and trinkets
for sale. They pulled up along side the
ship and spent the whole day there. Since
we were being tendered ashore, there were several canoes that would come along
side the tender boats as they were being loaded. The children had jewellery for
sale and two boys held sloths inside the window for photos to be taken.
Children with pet sloths
We were advised to bring small things from the ship as
payment. We had shampoo, soap, lotion, small jars of honey and jam and the most
popular item …. the leftover balloons from my birthday. All these items were gone in no time! We had bottles of water which they
loved.
We were adopted by 4 children; one on each hand and away we
went to the village. Our 4 little boys were so cute and one of mine spent the
whole time repeating my name over and over. He would say it and giggle. It was so interesting to see their homes, all
on stilts because of the rainy season in July. Their gardens in most cases were
raised, either on the rooftop or on raised wooden platforms, all covered with
mesh.
The village has a power generator and the batteries are
replaced on a regular basis by passing riverboats. The houses have lights and
deep freezers. Also each home has a satellite dish … they love to watch soccer. It is interesting to note that since they are
located right on the equator, the satellite dishes point directly up.
The families line both sides of the pathway from the dock to
the village and they have their children dressed in native costumes and the
children also have their pets on hand. We
were able to see caimans, monkeys, turtles, rats and sloths. There were lots of
fish in pails of water and many more birds and animals. All from the local rainforest.
Home with raised garden
3 of our 4 little boys
It was a wonderful day and we took many photos, too many for
this blog.
We have enjoyed experiencing life along the Amazon
river. Sometimes the river is quite
narrow and next it is several miles wide.
This is the dry season, but in the wet season, the river floods in some
places to 30 miles wide. Riverboats are
the only means of transportation and the trip from Malaus to Belim takes 9
days. People bring their hammocks and hang them on the open decks. They sleep
all day and party all night. They arrive
hours before the boat is supposed to leave in order to get a good place to hang
their hammock. These people are very
social and happy.
Amazon Riverboats
Goods and cars are also put on the riverboats; but most
goods are shipped by tankers and barges. Our ship had to change pilots
periodically since the pilots have a very specific area they cover. The people
in the little villages are very poor, but Brazil is a very wealthy country. The
Amazon river consists of many island and it wanders all over the place. We travelled
from the mouth of the river to Manaus and went through 3 time zones. It is all
rainforest, but we did see “slash and burn” many times.
All for today. My next
blog will be about our 2 days in Manaus … a city of 2,000,000 people in the
middle of nowhere!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Sea Days + Santarem, Brazil
Three Days at Sea
How wonderful to have three days at sea. The weather was
perfect and we enjoyed every minute of it. Of course, this meant we had lots of
time to play bridge. Each afternoon at 2 pm we met at the card room and had a
duplicate game. Our bridge directors Patti
Lee and Marti Miller are top class.
Once we entered the Amazon River, life became very interesting.
First, King Neptune showed up to initiate the Pollywogs who had never crossed
the Equator.
Ice Caring of Eagle by the Pool
At the Equator, the rainbow goes around the sun!
The weather was outstanding, with high temps and moderate
humidity.
The mouth of the Amazon is incredibly wide and the landscape
very flat. We began 2 days of a journey
that was so interesting. Because there are no roads, the only transportation is
by boat. Our ship seemed to attract so many small boats and dug out canoes that
would come out to greet us. The Amazon
River is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by water
flow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers. Its
width varies between 1.6 and 10 km at low stage, but expands during the wet
season to 48 km or more.
Natives coming out to greet our boat as we travelled along the river
Life on ship, while at sea, is fun and interesting. At noon,
they had themed lunches by the pool. It is rather sad to see the people who
spend all their time in the sun. They
come in all shapes and sizes really don’t care how much sun they absorb. I
guess the free alcohol probably has a bit of influence! They had an ice carving demonstration by the
young man who does all the carvings on the ship … from the ice carvings, to
vegetables, fruits and fancy breaks.
Quite a talent.
December 4 … Santarem, Brazil
This probably has to be my most memorably birthday. We docked early in the morning and set off
for our various shore excursions. Eric did
a jungle trek, which did not interest me in the least. I did a tour of Santarem
and it had to be the best shore excursion I have ever done. It was so nice that
my friend Pat, who we have done three cruises with, came along.
Santarem is a city in the state of Para in Brazil and is an
important regional market center in Lower Amazonia located midway between the
larger cities of Belem and Manaus. The economy is based on agriculture, cattle
and mining. Its population is about the same size of Halifax (200,000) and it
the beginning point of the Pan American highway which extends south for many
thousands of km. Only 150 of the highway is paved and the rest is a combination
dirt roads and unpassable roads. A huge road rally is held yearly on this
stretch of highway.
We did a tour of the city, which involved much more than
expected. The busses were not air conditioned as air conditioning really is not
a luxury in the city. The people have adapted to the hot, humid
temperatures. It was very hot and sunny
there, but were okay. I love the heat!
Our tour took us through the main road along the coastal
market in the city and we stopped to tour a catholic church and small museum.
We were fortunate to be able to see the meeting of the two rivers, the black
and white rivers which flow side by side. The Amazon’s milky colored water
carried sediment from the Andes in the East, while the Tapajos’s water is
somewhat warmer and has a deep-blue tone. This phenomenon is called “The
meeting of the waters” by the locals.
The meeting of the waters
Next we drove through the city and out into the countryside
to visit a farm. This farm area represented the life of the farmers in this
area; including fruit, agriculture and all the food production for living. We met the owner of the property who was 73
years old and had 11 children.
Owner of rubber tree .... 73 years old with 11 children
It was a wonderful birthday and we ended it with supper at
Prime 7 with our good friends, Pat and Gordon Gray from Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Next ….. Boca Da Valeria, Brazil!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
St. Bart’s, St. Lucia, Tobago
Gustavia, St. Bart’s
Finally, our first stop and it felt wonderful to put our
feet on solid ground, especially when the skies were sunny and the temperature
was in the mid 80’s. This island has only one town, Gustavia, and this is where
we docked. Actually we were out in the
harbour and tendered into town. It is a very small and shallow harbour, but did
contain many beautiful yachts and boats.
We were warned not to shop on this island because items are highly
priced, but we did walk past all the high-end shops. They speak French and very little English.
Our shore excursion was scheduled for the afternoon, so we
walked through the town and swam at a lovely shell beach near town. All the
beaches are public and free of charge. Animals are forbidden and nudism is
prohibited. Apparently the locals don’t
abide by the rules! I nearly lost Eric a
few times when he almost walked into a tree and a large rock.
Our shore excursion was called “trekking in St. Bart’s” and
we, along with another couple were picked up by the tour guide and driven to
the opposite side of the island to begin our trek to “Anse de Colombier”, a
beautiful secluded beach on the north eastern end of the island. We were about half way along the lovely trail
when I tripped on a small rock and fell. I scraped the side of my leg and
seriously wounded by pride! I could not continue the hike, but did find a nice
shady spot to sit and wait for the rest of them. I am okay now, but my leg has
a nasty scab. I have never fallen while hiking and was not impressed.
Our trekking pathway
The injury ... very swollen
Airport runway ... over the ocean
St. Bart’s was a pretty island, but really doesn’t have much
tourist appeal. We did start to see some nice shore birds though.
Castries, St. Lucia
Magnificent St. Lucia – with towering mountains, dense rain
forest, fertile green valleys and acres of banana plantations – lies in the
middle of the Windward islands. Downtown Castries was within walking district
of the pier and the produce market and adjacent crafts and vendors’ markets
were the main attractions. There were 4 ships in the harbour; Carnival, Regent,
Danish and another European ship.
Castries Harbour
This was the day that Judi did the 4 x 4 Beach Safari
Adventure and Eric went zip-lining.
The beach adventure was wonderful. We were seated in the
back of an open 4 x 4 (14 of us) and driven across the island. Of course, the
roads were narrow and wound all over the place. We then went off road to the
beach. This road made the road to our wood lot look like a 4-lane expressway.
The beach was beautiful and it was so nice to sit in the shade and relax. They
served spiced rum, but I knew to stay clear of it.
4 x 4 Beach Safari Beach
The zipline was interesting to say the least. All 14 of the group piled into a bus for the
hour long drive to the rainforest site.
Along the way I noted that the islanders have not thrown away any
corrugated metal since the product was invented . It would not be possible to imagine any other
uses for the material.
The rainforest was as dense as can be imagined in a climate
that would overgrow any open area in a very few months. We were outfitted with
a helmit , gloves , a safety lanyard, a secondary shoulder harness and a main
seat (mountain climbing) harness. The instructor showed the method for sitting
in the harness and controlling the experience. The zipline was constructed in 12 segments with walkways between the
sections. The shortest line was a couple of hundred feet long and the others
varied from 500 to 1000 feet each. The walkways were trails with stairs ,the trek between line 11 and line 12 was
several hundred feet in length with 104 stairs
in various places as well as
inclined ramps. Some of the lines ended
30 to 50 feet up in a tree and you transferred from one zip line to the next by
the local youth that were employed to ensure our safety. One tree in particular
had a zipline attached near the base . Another 30 feet above it . The low ziplines
went through narrow trenches cut between the trees, others were through
circular openings trimmed through the passage and some were above all. The
highest was 150 feet above the valley. Not recommended for the faint of heart.
Scarborough, Tobago
Another beautiful, hot day! We docked at 8:30, but only had 6 hours in
port. We were the only cruise ship. We were looking forward to this island
because Alan and Lydia had spent quite a lot of time there. Our shore excursion
was to the rainforest and this was a major undertaking for such a short stop.
We were loaded into two busses and started out on the 90
minute drive to the rainforest. It was a wonderful drive along the coastline
and then 1,600 feet up into the rainforest. We drove through the area where
Alan and Lydia had volunteered, some of the names I remember are Goodwill,
Pembroke and Argyle.
Once we arrived at the hiking trail, those who had worn
sandels were outfitted in rubber boots or running shoes. They passed out
walking sticks and I was very thankful that I had brought mine along. Eric was
busy running around taking bird pictures … this was the first time we had seen
colourful birds.
We hiked in the trail for about 45 minutes and it was quite
rugged and wet, making it a challenge at times. But it was so beautiful to stand
there, look up and down and marvel at all the types of vegetation. The beauty
was overwhelming! We wished we could
have hung out there a lot longer.
Trekking through the rainforest
Our trip back once again hugged the coastline
and we were very impressed with the beaches. We got back to the ship 10 minutes
before it set sail, so we did not get a chance to shop. This island was far
nicer than the other two stops and we wished we could have stayed longer.
Relaxing after a hard day!
Today we are still heading south and we must be very close
to the equator, as sunrise and sunset are at exactly the same time.
We are enjoying life on board and have met more lovely
people. Today’s temperature was 91 and the water temperature was 86.
All for now ….. love to everyone.
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