Month: February 2018

February 26, 2018 Paul Groves

Today was a rather different port of call than any other we have encountered on this cruise. Boca da Valeria is a small and simple village along the Amazon river. There are no cruise ship excursions here, no big hotels, bars or even cars. We tendered in to the village dock and were immediately greeted…

February 26, 2018 Paul Groves

Our first port on the Amazon was the city of Santarém. A smaller city but fairly modern none the less. Santarém is bordered by the Amazon and the Tapajós rivers. Both run along many kilometers in the front of the city, side by side, without mixing. The Amazon’s milky colored water carries sediment from the…

February 26, 2018 Paul Groves

For three days, we have been traveling. The first day was officially a “sea day” which means were were simply traveling. The second day was entitled “Crossing the Equator” which actually occurred during the night. In earlier cruises, there was a special ceremony at the pool with a “god of the sea” that somehow involved…

February 22, 2018 Paul Groves

Fortaleza is a typical large South American city with two main areas: beach and historic. Our city bus tours usually have three parts: a drive by of the beaches, a visit to one or more historic sites/churches, and, a shopping location. Today’s tour was just a little different in that we started with the shopping….

February 21, 2018 Paul Groves

There have been some great lectures about the Amazon that are especially interesting since we will be cruising 600 km up the river in the coming week or so. I have been keeping busy with my watercolor projects. The first comes from the buildings that face the dock in Rio de Janeiro. The graffiti and/or…

February 21, 2018 Paul Groves

At the end of one of the squares surrounded with shops, restaurants, the Post Office and a police station, there is a large and beautiful cathedral and monastery, dedicated to Saint Francis (São Francisco). The hallways and courtyards that make up the living quarters are lined with beautiful blue and white tile paintings brought from…

February 21, 2018 Paul Groves

This city is farther up the east coast of South America than Búzios, but we are still in Brazil. In fact, we will be in Brazil for almost three weeks of this cruise. Salvador used to be the capital of Brazil long ago because of the extensive sugar trade that developed in the area. Sugar…

February 16, 2018 Paul Groves

It was a short trip overnight to Búzios from Rio. We didn’t have an excursion planned for today so we slept in late, had a pleasant breakfast in the dinning room, and then headed into town. Búzios is definitely a party type of town. With 23 separate beaches and a bar and hotel every block,…

February 16, 2018 Paul Groves

This was the first port day on this trip where we did not have an excursion planned. From what we were told, there was a new museum (The Museum of Tomorrow) within walking distance along the pier. Ron also had a plan to find a new cover for his iPad and look for a Starbucks…

February 16, 2018 Paul Groves

After a rest of two days at sea we docked in Rio De Janeiro at about 7:00 am. It was dark, misty, and raining which didn’t bode well for our 8 hour tour. Our first stop was at Corcovado mountain and the statue of “Christ The Redeemer” overlooking Rio. In order to get there you…