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DEPARTURE TO HALF MOON CAY BAHAMAS AND SOUTHWARD We are at anchor 1/6/11 off the coast of the Bahamas Island Half Moon Cay as named by Holland America Lines, originally named Little San Salvador. It is fine day but windy and the tenders are having a hard time landing people. We have seen enough Bahamas islands and did not make plans to go ashore. It takes two days at sea to get to Barbados. The pictures here are the first we have taken aboard ship the first day and in route. BARBADOS Our first visit to Barbados and we like the island. It is clean, lots of flowers and very green with 70 inches of rain every year. We toured the island and visited the huge Harrison cave near the center of the island.
See all the photos at http://www.ls-ml.smugmug.com
We are off the coast of French Guiana (1/11/11) in a group of islands called Iles du Salut. All of them were used to house prisoners. We are anchored between Ile Royal and Ile Ste-Joseph. Devil's Island Ile du Diable is off limits apparently nobody is allowed to go there. It makes me wonder what the French are hiding. We went ashore on the Isle Royal. Very tropical and green. Hot and humid aka Florida We tendered ashore and they took my scooter so with Maria's help I made it up the horrible rocky path, maybe a mile or so, to the original commandants house now a small hotel. I had a beer as did Maria. I tried to imagine the place with no trees (it is a regular jungle now complete with monkeys) Originally the French chopped down all the trees so the prisoners could not use them for escape. This place was a death sentence 70% died mostly from malaria. It was intentional. The remaining cells used to house transients were very stark and foreboding.
MACAPÁ
Macapa is the first stop in Brazil at the mouth of the Amazon River. The river dominates the place and the meaning of "mouth" is inadequate. We slowed down several 100 miles from here so as to arrive at high water. The river creates a mud bank miles into the Atlantic. Macapa is a large city but not as I conceived it bustling with traffic and large buildings. Rather it is very fundamental it has an adequate infrastructure with what I could see was water, power etc. Some street lighting and traffic control. We toured a tropical garden, a market (for tourists with local crafts) the only fort on the river and the Equator marker. Nice but nothing spectacular. What I liked the best is they had local students acting as interpreters. They help us and learn. Win, win. Our ship docked several kilometers from town and the rough bus ride was very interesting looking at the landscape. Much of it cleared for farming mostly cattle I saw some corn. I do not know the names of the plants and trees but they are green, rain every day. Small clumps of trees were trying to recreate the rain forest with the layers of vegetation of a jungle. Our next stop will be Santarem 303 nautical miles up the Amazon.
SANTARÉM
This is the Amazon! Today we saw the meeting of the waters between the Amazon and the Rio Tapajos. I am absolutely amazed you can draw a straight line and on one side is the brown Amazon and the other the blue Tapajos. We watched the famous and mysterious pink dolphin swim by. And then several miles past the town of Santarem we entered a small inlet slightly wider than our boat and we twisted and turned into the jungle. While palm trees lined the bank and eucalyptus crowed in there were large areas of open pasture with cattle, water buffalo and the odd home. Homes are on stilts and very fundamental a thatched roof four walls and a couple windows. No furniture. The kitchen is usually under the house and so are the pigs. All have one or two dugouts. No motors. I think it took an hour of twists and turn before the captain stuck the bow into the bank and it was time for fishing. In a matter of minutes a surprised lady landed a nice size Piranha we caught several and Maria won the prize for the smallest fish. The crew fried the Piranha and we all had a piece Maria insisted and I had a bite too. I found it OK much like our standard white fish. This was a fantastic day with a fine boat a great and pretty tour guide born and raised in Santarem self taught english. Watching TV and books.
MANAUS & AMAZON RAIN FORESTS BRAZIL
Manaus is a city or about 2 million it looks like any large city with high rise office and apartments. It is the most unique city I have seen, More on our tour into the jungle later it was fun and interesting but in my eyes anticlimactic to our fishing trip in Santarem. Maria went on into the jungle as I skipped the walk. Her pictures are outstanding she was particularly impressed by the huge lily pads. On day 2 we toured the city and stopped at all of the standard tourist venues, I was most impressed with the famous Opera House built in the days of the rubber boom. The facility was impressive in any location let alone 900 miles up the Amazon. We were most fortunate as the local orchestra was in rehearsal. A full and complete orchestra here in the Amazon and they were good. We traveled a lot of the city fine streets and not so fine. Most were clean the homes suffered from the elements, mildew and constant tropical rains. Many were variations of the standard jungle home on stilts but without the stilts. Jammed wall to wall. The normal Brazilian here is shorter and smaller than us (North American) doors and windows are sized appropriately so many homes look like large doll houses. The girls of all ages wear tight fitting pants and sexy blouses. Men all wear long pants and long sleeve shirts. No style at all. Driving is a skill of fractional inches. Streets are small and little European cars fill the streets curb to curb. We found an Internet Cafe today and uploaded lots of pictures. Lawrence T. had warned me about virus from the Cafe's and good he did. My flash drive was contaminated upon our return to the ship. I have not been able to include the links to our photos here. But if you go to smugmug you may be able to find them, Start with this link: Sorry about the issues with the internet, pictures and this page. Things are vastly more difficult than I expected.
CLICK THIS LINK FOR A AMAZON SLIDE SHOW. IT IS A COMMERCIAL BUT ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF THE AMAZON
PARINTINS AND ALTER DO CHAO
I cheated with the last two photographs. The picture of the jungle girl was taken in Parintins down river from Manaus. We are on our way down stream and will make Belem in two days sail. While our visit to Manaus was unbelievable the excitement of the Boi-Bumba Festival in Parintins was most colorful. The Piranha was purchased from a street vendor near the ship in Santarem. The carnival show in Parintins was non-stop glamour and loud jungle drums. The beat went on non stop for nearly an hour. It was only marred by difficult climb up to the main street . A Brazilian boy scout helped me and we paid a local to take my scooter up. Nevertheless some time during our visit Maria hurt her back pushing my scooter. We made but a 5-minute stop to the beautiful sandy beach in Alter do Chao. The sky opened and we took the return tender back to the ship, but not before I took an unplanned shower!
BELEM, BRAZIL
There is not much good to say about Belem. Masses of people, crammed together, homes and shops everywhere with no zoning controls. Homes and shops tend to be very small maybe 15-20 feet wide. Trash, dirt small cars, bicycles, people and garbage. Glad to be leaving this section of the Amazon. Our pictures do not portray the real Belem.
FORTALEZA
I will leave the beach front picture here as it is a good photo of what we would have seen if it had not rained. I mean rain in capital letters! This is a huge city of 2+ million people, much nicer than Belem and really in a different class. Fine store fronts and classic beach front condos. Unfortunately it was raining so hard you could not see the beautiful beach nor the tops of the high rise apartments. The streets filled with people and water in many places the water went curb to curb over the sidewalks and up to the store fronts. I assumed Fortaleza did not have a storm drainage system but it does, during a break in the rain I saw one flooded street clear. It did not last when the rain returned. The rain has stopped but not before we got back on ship. It is at 4 pm it as I write and it is dark outside in the harbor. I would like to visit this city on a sunny day. The two photos (below) are of the indoor central market. And the roof leaks.
MACEIÓ BRAZIL
Maceio is a very delightful town on the coast of Brazil a stop on our way to the big city Rio. There is a beautiful beach and hundreds of vendors with small carts selling everything from coconuts to MP3s. Yes the little cart had a complete and well sounding audio system. The girl selling the music really had to sell Maria to make a sale. We took the free shuttle from the boat to the waterfront/market place and found the area clean and enjoyable. Our friends that took an area tour were not so pleased apparently beyond the beach front it is not so nice.
SALVADOR
Salvador is built on two levels and there is a lot of up and down when touring this city. Salvador has some beautiful streets and some ugly streets. Ugly streets for walking and impossible for my scooter. Maria took lots of pictures here so have a look we hope to get them up while we are in Rio. There is much more to Salvador than I have shown here.
The street (above) was impassible with my scooter. ILHÉUS BRAZIL
Ilheus is a quaint little city and it is the first time Prinsendam stopped here. We took the standard city tour intended to finish at a cocoa farm outside town. We suggested they do the farm first and it was a great decision. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and she made it an interesting experience.
RIO DE JANEIRO
Rio is definitely the city of Brazil modern in all aspects and our best venue yet. We did an overnight here. Our much promoted dawn arrival was a bust heavy fog shrouded the view A momentary break provided a view of Christ the Redeemer the Land mark image of Rio. Maria did Sugar Loaf in the morning I rested for the big dinner and show that evening. It was good that I did we got back aboard ship just past midnight. The beaches, parks, glamorous hotels are just as advertised. Some one told me they pick up the trash and clean the beaches every two hours. Even at midnight vendors in small kiosks were active
PARATY
Paraty pronounced parachee is a quaint resort community a hundred plus miles south of Rio. Lots of boat rentals many "scooners" I bet they sail like a brick. Any number of islands to explore, anchor and swim. I call Paraty the "Virgin Islands" of Brazil.
We departed Paraty about 6 pm local yesterday and are underway for Montevideo, Uruguay. As I write this (February 3rd 2010) we have traveled 7110 nautical miles since we left Fort Lauderdale. I am glad to have Brazil behind us. I would not miss the adventure of Brazil but so much of it is so poor... I wonder how Argentina and Chile compare.
This is a nice city we toured all the mandatory statues, churches and more. Our trip to the country side for a tour of a winery was fun. Wine tasting was fun too but nothing I had to buy (no sweet wine) Maria liked one of the samples and purchased a bottle. Our city tour guide spent most of our time with the history of Uruguay. More than I could remember or wanted to know. I think she did not approve of the socialistic government now in power.
BUENOS AIRES
This is a fine city! If Rio is
the glamour then Buenos Aires has the Class. Fine buildings
great archit
Evita is very much alive in the city. The huge dance show we went to on our second day was most professional. She lives everywhere from the balcony of the government house where she gave her famous speech to the granite wall of her mausoleum.
THE FALKLAND ISLANDS
The main street of Stanley, Falkland Islands. Do not be fooled about 200 feet beyond the red roof house (above) the street turns into a gravel road.
Shortly the gravel road turns into a rock road. Several miles later we switch from a mini-van to a 4x4 then a six and a half mile road (above) to the Penguins starts at our drivers farm (10,000 acres) do not be confused your looking at the road (above). THE DESTINATION
ANTARCTICA
The ice berg above is every bit as large as our cruise ship. It is one of the first we passed. Many many more followed. The small boat against the glacier (below) is an British research vessel. I sent a message to the bridge asking about it and received a written report (WOW) she is the 430' HMS Scott a one of a kind Ocean Survey ship.
CLICK HERE FOR A BEAUTIFUL SLIDE SHOW OF ANTARCTICA COMPLEMENTS OF WWW.KEPGURU.HU USHUAIA
We are very fortunate the sun shines here 3-4 days per year! This is a test: Where was Maria in the photo above. Approx Latitude and Longitude will qualify you as a winner. Below is a view of Ushuaia. You do not need to be a talented photographer here as all the views are beautiful.
PUNTA ARENAS
Maria finally let me go out on my
own. She took the 7 hour tour to the Penguins and I took the 4
hour tour of the "city". Our visit to this end of the world is
nearly over. We had no time in either Ushuaia or Punta Arenas
to find an Internet Cafe, consequently we have not been able to
upload any of our photos. However Maria did have time to find
some Chilean wine!!
MARIA'S BIRTHDAY & CHILEAN FJORDS
The Tamarind Dinner at the Pinnacle Grill, the primer restaurant aboard the Prinsendam, was absolutely the perfect venue for Maria's Birthday! The event was exciting and the food was excellent. About the time we finished desert; Caramelized mango and banana wrapped in dough spring-roll wrapper, coated with caramel and sprinkled with sesame seeds. complemented with coconut ice cream almond brittle and chopped mint, the sun broke through the overcast sky and illuminated the Fjords. It was almost 9 pm.
PUERTO MONTT
Puerto Mont is a delightful Chilean village, we toured to the base of the Osorno Volcano through beautiful green country side. It was warm and blue but we learned this area has 255 days of rain and on the day of our visit it was the warmest in years and the first without rain in months. There were so many people on the shores of Todos Los Santos lake there is no room to walk. Many are swimming in the 9 degree C glacier feed lake ...and having fun! It is Sunday no school and the "end of summer" along the lake side there are lots and lots of Cabanas and most are rented. In town the musicians were playing one group was a string quartet. The young musicians were very talented. Nearby another musician played the pan flute it was very captivating and we purchased three of his CDs. I then rested nearby with a local beer before a mad dash to catch our tour bus .
ISLA ROBINSON CRUSOE
On December 27 2010 a tsunami destroyed all of the homes on the water front and many on the mountain side. The water came up just below the caves. The caves in the photos (to be posted) were used hundreds of years ago by the people who live here then. About 600 live on the island now an most make their money from lobster fishing. I toured the water front on my scooter and was impressed with the rebuilding. Quality construction without question. No Brazil here. I did not make the long climb and hike to the cave Crusoe lived in and few did but I was pleased to visit Isla de Robinson Crusoe.
VALPARAISO, CHILE
As in Rio the advertised beautiful arrival was masked in early morning fog. We had a scheduled private tour in Valparaiso to the Isla Negra (it is not actually an island) to see the home of Pablo Neruda a poet of some fame. Then a visit to a Yacht Club for lunch and finally a tour of a winery and associated tasting. It was a fine excursion through the hilly country side. I know noting about the Poet but his home was very interesting. A glass walled bedroom on a 2nd floor over looking the crashing surf was tops! The advertising brochure for this excursion may have been a little over stated. Our lunch was next door to the yacht club in a fine restaurant named Almuelle. Then it was a mad dash to the winery before it closed, we were allowed in after much discussion and a lot of "pore favors".
The second day in Valparaiso.... This is a short day as we will be departing by 4pm, all aboard by 3:30 pm. The port is a very active commercial port our ship is lost in a sea of containers.
I had in mind to go to Santiago, the Capital of Chile, however it is a two hour drive each way, so that meant a lot time spent on the road looking at the landscape and not much time learning about the Capital. Our tour yesterday was private, only 4 couples, the driver and a tour guide. Don't know if Larry mentioned before, most of the regular tour buses take 40 to 50 people, so this was much more specific to things we wanted to see and do. Before we left our tour yesterday I asked the tour guide if she knew of someone that had a taxi we could take to drive over to the resort community of Viña del Mar, well known for the beaches, high end stores and restaurants. We were pretty lucky, got a driver who was pretty knowledgeable and took us for a three hours tour, showed us a much as we could handle. He was very helpful with Larry and his scooter, took our pictures and tried very hard to please us. The cities are just like any place in U.S. the drive out of Valparaiso was short and seamless once we arrived to Viña de Mar, the difference could be seen on the landscape, the type and quality of the buildings, tall condominiums, lots of restaurants around the shoreline and the boulevard could be just as if you are driving on Ocean Blvd in Long Beach, CA. Mandatory stops were the "Reloj de Flores" - aka Flower Clock - the beautiful HUGE Casino Viña Del Mar. Pte. Cancha is a view point where you can see Valparaiso, Viña Del Mar and as far as Reñaca. El Museo de Arqueologia, Isla De Pascua - aka Easter Island Museum, we did not go in, but Larry certainly had to have his picture taken with the pretty girls outside.
Further west was the community of Reñaca, an even more beautiful and more expensive area, again very much as if you are driving along Malibu, CA. The night life around these areas is "where everything is happening" - There is no question this country is modern and trying very hard to improve its image. PISCO
The port of General San Martin, Peru was a dismal commercial port in a remote part of the Peruvian desert. The drive to Pisco was equally barren not a living thing in sight. After a lengthy bumpy ride an oasis appeared in the desert along side the Pacific Ocean. It turned into a fun beach front resort.
Off to Ecuador... it is a 2 day (48 hour) sail. ALERT It is about 23 hours since we left Lima on our way to Manta Ecuador when we see a small vessel waving a black flag. The Prinsendam changes course and goes dead in the water. After much to do about nothing it seems their water tank broke and they are without water and food. Prinsendam lowers water and food, most of us believe it is poor planning as they are fishing 80+ nautical miles off shore and out of food???
DAY 2 BELOW As we continue our voyage to Ecuador there are only two objects making marks (waves) in the Pacific today. The Prinsendam and fish i.e. Jumping Tuna, Porpoises, sharks and many unknowns. I saw lots of large fish but I have no idea what they were. The water was so calm and clear you could look over the side and see fish. We are about 3 degrees south of the Equator speed about 14.7 knots. Our longitude is about 82 degrees west.
MANTA ECUADOR & FAMILY We were in our stateroom when we got a call from the gangway. Maria's Uncle Gustavo was waiting for us. We were off to a modern and beautiful nearby hotel where the Family was waiting for us. Pablo commented they emptied Guayaquil. Three cars full of family came to Manta to visit. How wonderful.
Lunch on the Beach at Manta ~
We received a cautious welcome at the Montañita Verde Orphanage where we left toys and donations. This is a wonderful story click here for more ... ~ Saturday 5 March - We are on our way to Panama the excitement of yesterday has not left me. Pablo (in the family picture with a Panama hat working his iPhone) was 17 when I last saw him. Now he is the mature business man full of fun but definitely in control of the situation. We have now traveled 15,563 nautical miles on our adventure. PANAMA
Fuerte Amador, Panama left me cold. I saw it as old, dirty and ugly (above). Maria does not agree and has a favorable impression of this city (below) on the Pacific coast. We have transited the canal before but never toured the land side of this great engineering achievement. In defense of my view it is the first time in any South American city a tour guide warned us not to go in an area of the city alone.
We were excited to view the canal and the city from ground level as well as from our ship the next day.
ARUBA & HOME
Aruba our last we both enjoy the island. Although we have been here before we had never toured the island. We took a "sea and see" tour that included a voyage in a semi-submersible to view an WW2 wrecked ship and then a circle around the island on land. It was a nice tour but I got overtired for some unknown reason and took a nap immediately upon our return. When I woke Maria was nowhere to be found so I went ashore. I found an Aruba shirt with a collar and a pocket very unusual, T-Shirts with collars and pockets were not available in most ports. I also bought an old Aruba license plate. When I got back to our stateroom guess what I found laying on the bed......
It is two days sailing from Aruba to Ft. Lauderdale as I write this we have traveled 16,868 nautical miles and there is 808.7 nautical miles to Fort Lauderdale. 13680
We are are a little over 400 nm from Ft. Lauderdale Maria started packing yesterday. We made the typical mistake of newbees and brought too much stuff. Plus all the shrunken heads we got for you makes repacking difficult. We may never get through customs. The ship will arrive about 0430 and is expected to be ready for passengers to go ashore at 8 am people with flights to catch will get priority. We have learned not to rush it is best to enjoy a last breakfast aboard and depart after the herd has gone. We traveled a total of 17,233 nautical miles. --- 73 & 88 as applicable --- |
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ecture
very Eu
ropean tree lined streets. Each of the three cities has
my seal of approval but Buenos Aries makes five stars! I could
live here with a weekend get-a-way villa in Tigre. Accessible
only by boat the "villas" on the islands around Tigre are small
cabins with little if any infrastructure bring your own water, fuel
and fun. If you have forgotten something you can buy it from
the "supermarket" boat that plies the waterways. Likewise the
garbage is hung in bags on your dock easily accessible for the
garbage boat. To visit a friend use your own little boat or
call the water taxi.
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Lawrence S. Lewis 10 December 2010 |
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