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.