and the end so far....caught up for now

January 19^, 20th Thursday and Friday.

Rio de Janeiro,  Brazil

‘The River of January’. What a huge immense City. It goes on for miles and miles surrounding a huge natural harbor.  Sailed into the Rio harbor and docked about 8 am. Sailed by Sugar loaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado Mt.  and the famous beaches, Ipanema, and Copacabana.  Magnificent!  Did not realize that Brazil had so many oil derricks in the ocean and all around the harbor, along with the tankers to haul it with.  Rio has about 7 million inhabitants, with over 6 million living in poverty.  Much of the city consists of shanty towns, but they are hidden behind the mansions and hotels on the beach and around the harbor.  The traffic is horrendous.  At any given time, there are 3 million cars, and 7000 buses and taxies on the roads 24/7. We were stuck in several traffic jams on our excursions.

 They are just starting to clean up the city and its environs due to the upcoming World Soccer Cup and the summer Olympics being held here in the next few years. They have a long way to go, but these are very persistent, passionate fun loving people so, I give them credit. They are very proud of their city, but not of their government. Carnival is next month, so everyone was getting ready for that. I just can’t imagine what that would be like with all of these people and then some.  7 days of partying……24/7, heck yea.  We were warned again about crime, but we felt very safe everywhere we went, and were never bothered.  We went up to Corcovado Mt. to see Christ the Redeemer.  You can either drive or take the tram to the top. We took the tram which reminded me of the streetcars in San Francisco. A Very steep incline and decent (2,400 ft) with the brakes a little iffy and screechy.  A 15 minute ride to the top with Samba drummers entertaining us with great music. Bruce even joined in, they liked his mustache…. Again.  Arrived at the top and it was amazing. Views to die for and the statue was awesome. And not very crowded.  It was hot, about 90 and humid. Hello summer. Went to the famous beaches, and a Catholic church shaped like a pyramid.  Mass was once held there by Pope John Paul for 20,000 people.  They were all standing, but it is huge. 

That night we went to a Brazilian barbeque place where meat was king…and I mean meat. Any kind you wanted, right down to the chicken hearts. Which we did not partake of. It was the Gaucho way of cooking meat over an open flame and skewers.  Enjoyed that, but I think I will be off of meat protein for the next few days. After that we saw a Samba show with lots of elaborate costumes, dancing, and a little nakedness here and there. Just can’t seem to get away from that. Very good show. We got back to the ship around 1 am. We were exhausted, but for the Brazilians the night was just starting.  The next day was a holiday for them so it was party time. I guess taking a siesta in the afternoon does have its advantages.  Rio would definitely be worth coming back to. Good thing our Brazil Visa is good for 10 yrs, because they are expensive!  If you want to experience lots of action, this is the city.

still more.......

January 16^th

Recife Brazil

 The Venice of Brazil, because of all of the waterways. A very large, beautiful city on the eastern most part of Brazil on the Atlantic coast. The ocean is warm (85) and most of its tourists are European, and they come for the beaches. Booked a Best of Recife and Olinda tour which took us to a beautiful beach, a couple of churches and historic Olinda, which is a World Heritage site. Old stucco buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, and an old prison that was renovated into shops. Each shop is a ‘cell’ and not very big. In the 18^th century, up to 15 prisoners were kept in these small rooms with no facilities. Hard to imagine what that was like.  The tour was about 5 hrs and we rode in a very nice bus and saw the sights. Mostly churches and views. The city looked very productive, but our guide told us that unemployment was about 33 percent and very poor.  Brazil just passed a law that every child has to attend school until they are 16 yrs old. Before that many did not go to school at all, or just off and on. And it was never enforced. Surprised me.  Did not see much poverty, but we were mostly in the center of the city. Did not feel as hot as other days, but maybe we are finally getting used to it. The port was pretty far away from the city, so it was a good thing we booked a tour. And once again the guide was informative and interesting. This would be a great place to vacation, but would need to know Portuguese, since very little English is spoken or understood.   Recife is a very interesting city.  Returned to the ship around 2 and enjoyed Happy Hour in the Crows nest with Tom and Jerry.  No, not the cartoon characters, but our table mates at dinner.

ON ANOTHER NOTE……We sailed south over the equator and now it is officially summer.  The ship gave us a certificate signed by the captain which was a nice touch. Recife is 1 degree below the equator so they have no time changes, daylight to standard, or vice-versa.  Right now they have an equal amount of day time and nighttime. Almost to the minute.  As we sail further south the days will get longer.  And I think when we get to Antarctica; the days will be really long.

still more.....

January 13^th Friday

Belem Brazil

 The Gateway to the Amazon River. Booked a ‘Best of Belem’ city tour which left at 8 am. We had to tender in since they did not have a decent port to dock in. As it was, it was low tide and the ship was sitting in just 6 feet of water. The tenders held 200 people and it was very primitive. They looked like the boat in the African Queen. The Amazon delta is very wide, and the tides can be up to 10 feet.  We could not see the bottom of the river because it was very murky and there was a lot of garbage in the water. People were washing clothes and taking baths. We walked to the tour bus…..not a very nice area. Was surprised that the bus was new and air-conditioned. The ride to the city took about 45 minutes one way so we saw a lot of the area. Very poor, and run down.  The average income for many people is around 500 reals which is about 700 US. And that is if you have a steady job.  I think that this is a fairly new port to dock in because most of the people seemed surprised by our presence.  They loved Bruce’s mustache, so we received a lot of attention, smiles and waving….the universal language.  The official language is Portuguese and very few people speak English.  We had armed security with us the whole time on and off the bus.  We wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. Before we got to the Ver-o-Peso market they told us to stay together and not wonder off on our own. The security was pretty tight all around.  We heard later that a couple did get pick-pocketed, but they told us no jewelry, purses, and to dress down.  We walked through the market and saw lots of fruits and vegetables. They have 13,000 mango trees in this area alone. Huge bags of Brazil nuts and Cashews, and they peel each one by hand.  The vendor food is displayed uncovered but there are no flies….and we didn’t see a one. No bugs at all really. Bruce was approached by a woman and we didn’t understand if she wanted money or was propositioning him. Must be the mustache. Security rousted her, and to prove that she did not steal anything she stripped right there in the street. Needless to say she followed us around totally naked until security shooed her away. Just a little uncomfortable, especially to the men in our group. But everyone wants a little National Geographic moment in their life…Right?  Toured the Forto do Castelo, built by the Portuguese in the 17^th century, and the botanical gardens. Belem kept a few acres of the natural jungle in the middle of the city. It was beautiful except the native animals were kept in cages. Well, I guess you can’t have leopards and monkeys running around the city. And yes, everything grows huge in the tropics, from the animals to the plants.  Rena the tour guide was excellent. She was very proud to show off her city and it showed.. Very knowledgeable and witty. The tour was only supposed to be about 4 ½ hrs but it turned into 7. By that time many of the group were very exhausted from the heat.  Glad to get back to the ship. The ship left late that night waiting for a few groups that were stuck in traffic. Good thing they had a ship tour. This was one port that we were glad we did not do on our own.

Still port catch-up time

January 10^th Tuesday.

Bridgetown, Barbados

Docked in Barbados around 8 am about a mile from Bridgetown. Sunny, 82 degrees, and the water and harbor looks like a postcard. Every hue on the ‘cool color’ spectrum you can imagine.   The humidity does not seem as bad, but maybe I am getting used to it. At least we are making use of all the summer clothes we packed.  This is a beautiful Island. And it seems prosperous. Hotels, beaches, and everyone is very nice and speaks English. Bruce went out on a 2 tank dive trip with some other passengers that decided to go out on their own. I stayed onboard, sat in the sun, walked and overall just relaxed and enjoyed the view.   I decided not to walk into town, especially after yesterday. Not quite brave enough to have a go of it on my own yet.  Later, when Bruce returned, (he had a grand dive trip) we did go into the port area to do some shopping. Nice shopping area and we did listened to some steel drum music….I had to rein Bruce in from buying a steel drum. Maybe next time.   We just have to remember that whatever we buy we have to haul home, or find someplace to mail it.  Finally found a place with free Wi-Fi so we could catch up on all of our e-mails.  First place so far. Bridgeport is beautiful, tropical, and the people are lovely.  I would definitely go back there. On to South America ….

ON ANOTHER NOTE……We have turned the clocks ahead 2 hrs so far. The practice of this ship is to do this at 2 pm instead of 2 am. That way everyone is “on the same boat” so to speak. Kind of nice when happy hour rolls around.  We know what day of the week it is by the elevators. They change the floor rug inside the elevators to reflect the day. Guess we will have to use them once a day.  And the date….well it’s anyone’s guess. And they do….it’s the great trivia question of the day.

Port 'catch-up' time

January 9th Monday

Roseau Dominica

After 2 days at sea we were ready to walk on land. It was only about a mile into town so we decided to walk in. The ship did provide shuttles and now we know why. Roseau is a very small depressed Island. There are no sidewalks and the people are not very friendly, and very poor. They are still trying to recover from Hurricane David that devastated the Island a few years ago. Why the ship stopped here I don’t know. Maybe it was because of their rainforests or maybe to help stimulate the economy.  That was about the only excursion that was offered. But I am sure they had their reasons.  It took us about a ½ hr to walk onto town. We were just about the only ones to choose to.  It was 85 degrees and 60 percent humidity…..hot. Not used to the heat yet.  Finally got into the ‘shopping area’, not much there but overpriced junk. Bruce wanted to mail some postcards to Kai. Found the post office and decided to take the shuttle back to the ship.  Rumor had it that a passenger was run over by a shuttle bus and had to go the the island hospital.  The ship was late to leave port waiting for her to get back to the ship. Found out later that we had our first casualty of the cruise. Her foot was crushed, and she had to be flown to Miami. The foot was amputated, but she is doing well. Terrible thing to happen.  Even our table steward said that he would not stay at a hospital on this island if he did not have to. On to Barbados and sailing through clear blue and green tropical waters.

Sea Days

January 17^th Tuesday

11 days at sea, 3994 nm from Florida. We have had fairly calm seas and beautiful sunny weather.  Average temp. 82 and humidity is about 60 percent. Getting our sea legs on, and being rocked to sleep every night with the motion of the ocean.  The Amsterdam is a small ship with a passenger capacity of 1300, and a crew of 600. We are only traveling about 340 nautical miles in 24 hrs. It seems kind of slow but at least it has been relaxing.  Bruce likens it to a “mo-ped at sea”. Only 800 passengers have signed on for the entire World Cruise so we have been quite spoiled by the crew and staff.  The passenger ages have ranged from 8 yrs (with her own private tutor) to around 90. With the average about 65. Have not seen many people in wheelchairs or walkers.  And most are very active. About ¾ of these people have been on this cruise at least 4 or 5 times, with one lady going on 6000 days….we are newbie’s.

 I have been trying to walk at least 3 miles on sea days, and Bruce has been working out in the gym. 3 ½ times around the deck= 1 mile; and some of these people can go fast…..”Excuse me dearie, could you please stay to the right. Thank you so much” At least that is what I hope they are saying, since my I-pod is on and my ears are plugged in with the Best of the 80’s.  Even after eating all of the fantastic foods on board we are actually losing weight…not much but some. We can never complain about being bored on sea days. They have activities going 24/7 if you chose to participate. Trivia, cooking demo’s, card and dancing classes, exercise programs, movies, computer classes…….and on and on. Bruce, the cruise director keeps everyone busy.  I am surprised at how fast the days fly by.  We thought we would be lounging around eating and reading all day….I think I have only read about 10 chapters of 1 book so far. So much for loading up my Kindle.  But we have 66 days at sea, so I think it will get used.  We have also been enjoying the shows after dinner. Melissa Manchester one night and now Doc Severinsen is on board.  They do need to kick it up a notch or so, but maybe that might cause some medical issues with some passengers.  Or wake them up……

We boarded with no problems on Jan. 6^th. It took a couple of hours due to Brazilian Visa’s.  The ship had to make sure everyone had them before boarding.  We already had ours, but apparently about 30 did not. Don’t know what happened to them but we were told a few months ago that we could not board without them. Brazil has been very cranky about that. We surrendered our passports to the ship and haven’t seen them since. Just hope they left with the ship.  Our room is very comfortable. It is bigger than I thought it would be and it even has a bathtub. There are 6 closets, 7 drawers, king size bed, couch and a dresser all in a 200 square ft. room.  And there is still plenty of space to walk around each other.   We were able to unpack 6 suitcases worth of clothes and essentials (about 260 lbs) and find a place for everything.  We were even able to stow all of the empty suitcases under the bed.  We don’t have a balcony, but have a 4by4 foot window that gives us a very good view of the ocean.  I can prop pillows on the bed and have a very comfortable place to sit and watch the sea go by. So all in all, I think we will be very comfortable here. Except for the internet situation. It is very slow…..and it costs us about 40 cents a minute. So it is easier if we log on at night when everyone else is asleep……..Ports are next.

Florida

Flew the 'red eye' from Portland to Miami on New Years. After an uneventful, although sleepless flight we landed in sunny Miami, groggy but ready to drive to the Gulf coast for 3 nights. Now I know why it is called the red eye. So very tired, and feeling my age.  After finally finding our way out of the airport area, we witnessed 2 road rage incidents that involved getting out of cars, yelling and banging on windshields.....all before 9 am in the morning. And no, it wasn't us. Needless to say we were glad to get out of there.
 Driving through the Everglades was beautiful, but I kept seeing "logs" in the canals...hundreds of them. Well, we stopped to have a look see and found out they were Alligators. I have never seen so many in their own habitat. Luckily most of them were just content to lie in the sun. I was amazed that some people were actually fishing and kayaking right along next to these creatures. No thanks....
Arrived on Captiva Island and settled into our quaint little beach cottage. I love the colors of Florida. Everything is painted like ice cream sherbet. EVERYTHING.......and all flavors.
Looking forward to eating, relaxing, shelling, and sightseeing. Little did we know that our plane was flying just ahead of a cold front that hit Florida the next day. Brrrr...I am glad that we packed some warm clothes. But guess what....quaint little beach cottages do not have heat sources, just air conditioning, and it was cold, down to freezing in some parts of Florida. So the oven it was. Cranked that baby to 400 degrees, opened the door and we were toasty. Found lots of shells and mailed some home. Relaxed and enjoyed the island. Fresh fish for lunch...yes indeed. At least it was sunny. I just felt sorry for the natives...when I could see their face. They were so bundled up in winter wear I thought I was back home.
I am writing this from a Ft. Lauderdale hotel on the day before we set sail. The weather is getting warmer, and I am nervous, but excited. 5 ships are scheduled to sail out of Port Everglades tomorrow....I just hope all of the taxi's are in service....until next time.