FUN-travel: South America: Regent 7 Seas Cruise – 22 Days – Amazon River to Devils Island, French Guiana

March 16, 2012 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Regent 7 Seas Cruise – 22 Days – Amazon River to Devils Island, French Guiana 

Day 36 – Saturday, March 10 – Amazon River to Atlantic Ocean – Sunrise 6:24 – Sunset 6:30 – socked in w/clouds & rain

Really, Really Good Day!

Devil's Island

  •  8:00 – wake up to cup of really, really hot cappuccino in room courtesy of my love
  • 8:30 – down to deck 6 for more cappuccino
  • 9:55 – breakfast of fresh fruit on Veranda
  • Good News – 10:15 – sun breaks through!
  • Lunch 12:30 – Officers BBQ – they grill & serve their favorite dishes – lots of very different ethnic dishes
  • 1:00 – ice carving demonstration on pool deck
  • 1:15 – swim in the Amazon w/new cruise mate friends Katie & Phillip – LOL!

Swimming in the Amazon - LOL

  • 2:30 – Wine Tasting – Napa Valley – 2 Sauvignon Blancs & 2 Cabernets – Sequoia Grove is fabulous (we were there in December 2011)
  • 3:30 – back to room for siesta
  • 7:30 – happy hour @ favorite lounge deck 6
  • Dinner – 8:00 – Signatures – another great meal! (clearly this & Prime 7 much better quality)
  • 9:30 – Main Theater – Liar’s Club – consists of a 4 passenger team guessing if the 4 crew member team is lying or telling the truth – pretty good entertainment

    Prison Ruins

FF (FUN-fact) – More than one-third of all species in the world live in the Amazon Rainforest. And the area stretches more than 2,100,000 square miles.

More FF – The Amazon Basin, the largest in the world, covers about 30% of South America and almost as large as the continental US.

Day 37 – Sunday, March 11 – Devil’s Island, French Guiana – Sunrise 6:36 – Sunset 6:44 – full on sun – humid, high 80’s

  • 7:30 – wake up to cup of really, really hot cappuccino in room courtesy of my love
  • Bad News – arrive at 8 am instead of 1 pm due to medical emergency

  • Good News – able to shift into “planned spontaneity mode”
  • 8:00 – down to deck 6 for more cappuccino
  • 9:00 – sit & wait for tender to Island

Egret

  • 9:30 – arrive – nice walk around island takes 2 hrs – see prison ruins, church, children’s cemetery  –  see monkey, peacocks, pig & funny little rodent called agoutis (looks like reddish guinea pig on stilts)
  • Lunch – Caribbean BBQ – thank god for the pizzeria!
  • Bad News – Chris starts sneezing & coughing
  • Good News – take siesta
  • 7:00 – happy hour @ favorite lounge deck 6
  • Dinner – La Veranda – French Bistro again – getting a bit boring

FF – Devil’s Island is one of three small islands clustered together lying 6-miles off the coast of French Guiana. The group is collectively known as the Salvation Islands.  Royale Island was the home of one of the most infamous prisons in history.  The movie Papillon was based on the story of the only prisoner that escaped.  The almost in-accessible Devil’s Island held political prisoners.

FUN-travel: South America: Regent 7 Seas Cruise – 22 Days – Amazon River – Parintins & Santarem, Brazil

March 16, 2012 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Regent 7 Seas Cruise – 22 Days – Amazon River – Parintins & Santarem, Brazil 

Day 34 – Thursday March 8 – Amazon River – Parintins, Brazil – Sunrise 6:54 – Sunset 7:01 – clouds & sun, hot, humid, high 80’s

Really Good Day!

Boi Bumba Folk Show

  •  7:30 – wake up to cup of really, really hot cappuccino in room courtesy of my love
  • 8:00 – down to deck 6 for more cappuccino
  • 9:55 – breakfast of fresh fruit on Veranda
  • Bad News – didn’t book only tour of day & no more tickets
  • 11:00 Lunch – Amazon fish BBQ on deck – biggest fresh water fishes have ever seen
  • Good News – 3 tickets are available
  • Excursion – 12:50 – Boi Bumba Folk Show – fabulous show w/elements of theater & circus w/drumming, singing, dancing – elaborate costumes & floats
  • Short walk through very small town
  • Bad News – over priced street vendors not willing to deal
  • 4:15 – happy hour on pool deck
  • 6:30 – pre dinner cocktails @ favorite bar deck 6
  • Dinner – La Veranda for more French Bistro

FF (FUN-fact) – The annual Boi Bumba Folkloric Festival held in June last three days and is the biggest celebration in Amazonas and the second largest festival in Brazil after Rio’s Carnaval.

Parintins

More FF –  The scales from the fish make great finger nail files.

Day 35 – Friday, March 9 – Amazon River – Santarem, Brazil – Sunrise 6:46 – Sunset 6:52 – hot, humid, clouds

  • Bad News – early wake up 7 am
  • Good News – really, really hot cappuccino in room courtesy of my love
  • Excursion – 8:35 – River Tour & Eco Maica Lake
  • Depart 9 am – from dock in small boats – takes 45 min to get to lake – see houses along shore & birds – stop for Piranha fishing
  • Bad News – I don’t catch one, but other passenger does
  • Arrive dock – 12:40 pm
  • Bad News – ship departs 1 pm & wanted to shop
  • Good News – local vendors @ end of pier – willing to deal – power shop & get great present for friend
  • Good News – 12:50 back on board
  • Lunch – Kebabs & Souvlakis on pool deck

Santarem

  • 2:30 – Nap
  • 6:30 – Happy Hour
  • Dinner – 7:00 – new cruise mate friends Katie & Phillip get reservation to Signatures – the other fine dining restaurant – French & VG!

FF  – For much of its path, the Amazon River can be as much as one to six miles wide! During flood seasons, the Amazon River can be much, much wider; some report it is more than 20 miles wide in certain places.

 More FF – Piranhas may be the smallest of the river monsters to roam the world’s fresh waters, but don’t be fooled by their size. The mouth of a piranha, no matter how tiny, is packed with sharp, triangular teeth that are tailor-made for puncturing and tearing the flesh of prey. This fish, working in large packs, can strip away meat down to the bone in a matter of minutes. Locals in the Amazon region often use piranha teeth to make tools and weapons.

 

FUN-travel: South America: Regent 7 Seas Cruise – 22 Days – Amazon River – Manaus, Brazil

March 13, 2012 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Regent 7 Seas Cruise – 22 Days – Amazon River – Manaus, Brazil 

Day 32 – Tuesday, March 6 – Amazon River – Manaus, Brazil – Sunrise 6:08 – Sunset 6:15 – lots of thick clouds, low 80’s

Jungle Cruise

  • Bad News – early wake up 7 am

Pet Anaconda Snake

  • Good News – really, really hot cappuccino in room courtesy of my love
  • Excursion – 8:35 – Jungle Trek – 45 min boat ride to jungle
  • Bad News – boat breaks down half way
  • Good News – another boat brings fuel & we go
  • Bad News – we lost an hour
  • Bad News – rain starts when we get to start of trek
  • More Bad News – don’t see any animals & path is muddy & slippery
  • Good News – minimal bugs & no mosquito bites
  • 1:00 head back to ship – ominous clouds roll in – thunder, lightning & torrential downpour
  • Good News – boat docks next to ship so don’t get soaked (other tours were not as lucky)
  • Bad News – arrive 1:45 & lunch ends @ 2 pm
  • Good News – they keep it open until 3:15
  • 3:30 – nap
  • 6:30 – Happy Hour
  • 7:30 – Dinner – Good News – La Veranda has French Bistro night!

FF (FUN-fact) – The Amazon River has the largest watershed (area of land that flows into the river) and more tributaries (streams that flow into it) than any other river in the world. It has more than 200 tributaries.

Day 33 – Wednesday, March 7 – Amazon River – Manaus, Brazil – Sunrise 6:07 – Sunset 6:14 – ominous clouds, rain, humid, 80’s

Meeting of the Waters

  • Bad News – early wake up 7 am

Manaus Cathedral

  • Good News – really, really hot cappuccino in room courtesy of my love
  • Excursion – 8:20 – Meeting of the Waters cruise – 45 min boat ride to jungle
  • Bad News – torrential downpour
  • Good News – boat has plastic roll down
  • Bad News – can’t see anything for 45 min
  • Good News – it stops
  • Good News – big boat takes us to small boat & it doesn’t break down!
  • More Good News – this is like Disneyland except the boats aren’t on rails
  • See houses along river – locals & their pets canoe over – see caiman & Anaconda snake
  • On way back to ship go to see the meeting of the waters
  • Lunch – thank god for pizzeria!
  • 2:15 – walk into town to see Cathedral & Teatro Amazonas – opera house symbolizes opulence of the rubber boom – Italian marble, Murano glass chandeliers, & Scottish cast iron all imported
  • 4:30 – back to ship & Happy Hour
  • 7:30 – dinner in Compass Rose

FF – Meeting of the Waters is the confluence of the Rio Negro (black) and the Rio Solimões (sandy) near Manaus, Brazil. The separate shades of water run side by side for more than 4 miles without mixing. The difference in temperature, density and flow rate of each river causes the separation.

Teatro Amazonas

More FF – Manaus is called the “Paris of the Jungle.”

FUN-travel: South America: Regent 7 Seas Cruise – 22 Days – At Sea to Amazon River, Brazil

March 10, 2012 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Regent 7 Seas Cruise – 22 Days – At Sea to Amazon River, Brazil 

Day 28 – Friday, March 2 – Day at Sea – Sunrise 6:07 – Sunset 6:12 – lots of big, thick, white billowy clouds mixed w/light gray – high 80’s, really warm

More Carnaval Decorations

Another Really Good Day!

  • 7:30 – wake up to cup of really, really hot cappuccino in room courtesy of my love
  • 8:00 – down to deck 6 for more cappuccino
  • 9:55 – breakfast of fresh fruit on Veranda
  • 10:30 – enrichment lecture on the Amazon river
  • Good News – Amazon anthropologist for 37 yrs has never taken Malaria pills – me either! (twice on trips have taken them & never even saw a mosquito)
  • 11:00 – walk around wine tasting  –  4 areas in dining room featuring wines from Chile, Argentina, Italy & US w/appetizers – VG!
  • 11:45 – King Neptune’s Equator Crossing Ceremony on pool deck
  • Bad News – missed most of it because of the wine tasting – looked like FUN
  • 12 noon – lunch – Asian BBQ & sushi – thank god for the pizzeria!

House on the Amazon

  • 2:30 back to room for A/C & siesta
  • Happy Hour – 6:30 – my favorite place – deck 6 (drinks stay cold)
  • Dinner – Compass Rose
  • 9:30 – entertainment – David DiMuzio – comedian & world champion juggler – pretty good!
  • Good News – rain @ night

    Along the Amazon

FF (FUN-fact) – Shellbacks are people who have crossed the equator and Pollywogs are those who have not.

Day 29 – Saturday, March 3 – Day on Amazon – Sunrise 6:34 – Sunset 6:38 – big thick clouds w/some blue skies, hot & humid

Another Really Good Day!

  • 7:30 – wake up to cup of really, really hot cappuccino in room courtesy of my love
  • 8:00 – down to deck 6 for more cappuccino
  • 9:55 – breakfast of fresh fruit on Veranda
  • 12 noon – lunch – Burger Heaven BBQ w/every kind of extra you can think of
  • 2:30 back to room for A/C & siesta
  • Happy Hour – 6:30 – favorite place – deck 6 lounge
  • Dinner – Prime 7 Steakhouse – upscale, reservation only – lobster tail & perfectly cooked strip steak VG!
  • Entertainment – Le Cirque Mariner – fabulous show staring Stephan & Cindy from Paris! (just like a mini Cirque de Soleil w/acrobatics & wires)

FF – The Amazon River carries more water than any other river in the world and is responsible for about one-fifth (twenty percent) of the fresh water that flows into the world’s oceans.

FUN-travel: South America: Regent 7 Seas Cruise – 22 Days – Fortaleza to Amazon River, Brazil

March 9, 2012 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Regent 7 Seas Cruise – 22 Days – Fortaleza to Amazon River, Brazil 

Day 26 – Wednesday, February 29 – Day at Sea to Fortaleza, Brazil – Sunrise 5:42 – Sunset 5:50 – humid, blue skies w/light clouds

Carnaval Decorations

Another Really Good Day!

  • 7:30 wake up to cup of really, really hot cappuccino in bed courtesy of my love
  • 8:00 down to deck 6 for more cappuccino – best on the ship
  • 9:55 breakfast of fresh fruit @ La Veranda
  • Lunch Break – Chili BBQ on pool deck
  • 3:00 – Nap
  • Happy Hour – 6:30 – like Horizon bar deck 6
  • 7:00 pm – arrive Fortaleza
  • 7:30 – Dinner – Compass Rose (main dining room)

FF (FUN-fact) -Fortaleza is called “the city of light” because the sun shines 2800 hours per year.

Day 27 – Thursday, March 1 – Fortaleza to the Amazon River, Brazil – Sunrise 5:42 – Sunset 5:50 – clear blue skies mixed w/white cottony clouds

  • Bad News – 7 am wake up
  • Good News – really hot cappuccino in bed courtesy of my love
  • Excursion – 8:50 am board bus for city highlight tour
  • 1st stop – tourism center – bldg w/over priced shops

  • 2nd stop – cathedral – white stucco & features multitude of stained glass windows
  • 3rd stop – Theatro Jose de Alencar – built in 1910 – cast iron work imported from Scotland
  • 4th  stoop – iron sculpture along shore (falling apart)
  • Really Bad News – this was a total waste of a tour – town is old, dirty, in need of great repairs & filled w/graffiti  – should have taken the Cumbuco Beach Dune Buggy tour!
  • Good News – 12:30 back on ship
  • Lunch on Deck – Tex Mex
  • Bad News – not that good & dying for really hot salsa & real guacamole!
  • Good News – 1:30 sail away – music on deck
  • 3:00 – nap
  • 6:30 – happy hour
  • 7:30 dinner – La Veranda
  • Bad News – they have had the same “Portofino Night” menu since we got on ship

FF – The white sand dunes are so high people actually ski down them.