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

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

Day 38 – Monday, March 12 – Day at Sea – Sunrise 5:32 – Sunset 5:59 – light fluffy clouds & lots of sun

Girl from Village on Amazon

  •  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
  • Bad News – Chris has a bug – coughing & sneezing
  • Dinner – room service – Pizza not the same!

Day 39 – Tuesday, March 13 – Bridgetown, Barbados – Sunrise 5:32 – Sunset 5:59 – beautiful day! full sun w/light clouds, no humidity, 80’s

  • Good News – wake up to cup of really, really hot cappuccino in room courtesy of my love
  • 8:00 – down to deck 6 for more cappuccino
  • 9:10 – Excursion – 4 X 4 – drive on island – drive through rain forest – stop @ 7 mile beach
  • Lunch 12:30 – on ship outside deck
  • 1:30 – 20 min walk into town
  • Bad News – UNESCO site is another 3 miles
  • Good News – find taxi to take us on tour, stop for pictures & back to ship for $20

Local Shop

  • 4:30 – Happy Hour
  • 6:30 – more happy hour
  • Dinner – La Veranda – new menu – best of the best (basically both the Italian & French menus combined)

Parliament Building

FF (FUN-fact) – Bridgetown is the capital and commercial centre with a population of about 80 000.

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.