Monthly Archives: January 2024

Puerto Vallarta MX JAN 30 2024

Our next port was Puerto Vallarta, Mexico pop 225,000. We last visited here in May, 2022. It is often portrayed as one of the most beautiful, cultured and luxurious vacation spots in all of Mexico. It was a sleepy, quiet town until Richard Burton Ava Gardner and Elizabeth Taylor showed up for the filming of the movie, “The Night of the Iguana” in the early 1960’s, and put the town on the map. 

A popular spot is the Malecon, or boardwalk, in downtown Puerto Vallarta overlooking Banderas Bay. Notice the cairns, rocks piled in groups, which people like to do when they come here. PXL_20220507_152129130PXL_20220507_152252322

The Boy on the Seahorse, sculpted in 1976, is one of the iconic symbols of the city. 20220507_10250220220507_102418~2

Another is Triton and the Mermaid. According to Greek mythology, Triton is the son of the Greek sea god, Poseidon. Triton is reaching out to his wife, Amphitrite, goddess of the sea. 20220507_10231620220507_10281920220507_102757

Lluvia (Rain) symbolizes openness in which the man is receiving what the world offers him with eyes looking up into the rain and enjoying the water falling on him. It represents the people of Puerto Vallarta who welcome locals and visitors with open arms. 20220507_102000

A pirate boat sailing in the Banderas Bay offered tours of Puerto Vallarta that evidently included sound effects. It startled us as it fired a cannon as it passed by. 20220507_102203

Some young men dressed as Aztec warriors tried to entertain the crowd. Our guide said they were just there to perform for tourists and then ask for money. We avoided them. 20220507_102719PXL_20220507_204844389.MP

Our next stop was at The Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, located in the center of the town square. 20220507_102932

The church was built between 1930 and 1940 and has services on the weekends in both Spanish and English. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, also known as the Virgin Mary, the patron saint of Mexico. 20220507_103738PXL_20220507_15392142320220507_10410120220507_104028PXL_20220507_154046559PXL_20220507_154146989original_4c0684fe-b7bd-4c76-8831-c6b021ebe737_PXL_20220507_154621002 

In Mexico they don’t have signs on the bus announcing the stops. They take soap and write the names of the stops. Notice Walmart is at the top of the list. PXL_20220507_155356191.MPoriginal_7f196126-77f4-4a85-bd4b-28c8871c0f51_PXL_20220507_154347370  PXL_20220507_16545692420220507_105927

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This is Mismaloya Beach, Mexico. PXL_20220507_172852961

Across the street was a number of kudamundi, also known as a Mexican raccoon. 20220507_122555

 

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We noticed when we docked this morning that directly across the street was a Walmart Supercenter and a Sam’s Club. Since we had plenty of time before the ship left, we walked over to Walmart to get a few things.  It was so crowded we walked out without buying anything. All the ship’s crew loves to go to Walmart and get toiletries and snacks. With 2 ships in port, the store was mobbed with crew and passengers. The aisles were crowded and the lines long.

As We Approach the Dock, Walmart and Sam’s Club Will Be Nearby

We stood on our balcony during the sail away. Once we were out of the harbor, a pilot boat pulled alongside the ship to pick up their pilot who helped guide us safely away from the dock. After getting in the pilot boat they blew whistles in farewell. Our captain blew the ship’s horn several times and the pilot waved to the passengers on the decks and balconies. At one point he took off his hat and bowed low, a nice gesture of goodwill and appreciation for visiting.

The captain said they could see whales from the bridge of the ship. Sure enough from our balcony we saw a whale breach and some whales spouting. They are too quick to get good pictures but it sure was fun to see them. During the winter months, whales migrate to the warm water of Mexico.

That’s All Folks!

Evening entertainment was a comedian. He incorporated his life story into his act. He was born in Cuba and his family escaped Cuba as political prisoners when he was five. He worked hard, went to the Air Force Academy in Colorado, retired as a pilot and serves in the reserves as a Lieutenant Colonel. He decided he wanted to be a stand up comedian working in comedy clubs and on cruise ships.

Jose Sarduy

The next morning our Cruise Director interviewed him on her daily “Coffee Break” get together and passengers were able to ask him questions. As far as we know Holland America is the only cruise line that has these get to know sessions with the crew and entertainers. The Cruise Director has a “Coffee Break” session in the morning and one in the evening that is a “Cocktail get together”.

Something else only Holland America has is a show late at night for all the crew and workers. If the entertainers oblige, and most of them do, a third late show is done for them. By the way, one day Bill asked one of the chefs in the upstairs buffet area what happened to all the food left from breakfast, lunch and dinner. The chef said it was taken downstairs for the crew to enjoy.

We have a wonderful crew of workers on this voyage. They are always smiling, hard working and eager to help. I would say all, or most of them, are from the Philippines and Indonesia. And of course they all speak English.

Next up: six sea days and then Kona Hawaii

 

REVISED Manzanillo MX JAN 29 2024

We had two sea days on the way to Mexico from Costa Rica. On the second morning at sea we went to the Cruise Director’s “Coffee Talk”. Bill especially wanted to attend this one because she was interviewing the ship’s Chief Engineer and Staff Engineer. It was very interesting to hear about their careers and some facts about their jobs on the ship. We were all given the opportunity to ask questions. One person asked the Chief Engineer his favorite place he has sailed to. He quickly answered Antarctica. He said he gets tears in his eyes remembering its beauty.

Our next port of call was Manzanillo (pop 160,000) on the west coast of Mexico. This small fishing village only gets around 16 cruise ships a year. They are working hard to attract more cruise ships and tourists. This port also plays an important role in transporting cargo for Mexico City and is considered Mexico’s busiest port for commercial ships.

There was a visible military police presence guarding our ship’s restricted pier area as we headed into town.  We smiled and said “Hola” and they returned the greeting. As we greeted people in their language throughout the town they smiled shyly and greeted us back. Along the Malecon de Manzanillo we strolled along the seaside boardwalk. Manzanillo is known as the sailfish capital of the world, hosting national and international fishing competitions. It has a large sailfish sculpture as its most iconic sculpture.

Manzanillo is a sister city of the U.S. cities of Flagstaff, Arizona, San Pablo, California and Saint Paul, Minnesota.

We Saw Several Places Making Tortillas

Our most important goal for today was to get Bill a haircut. He googled barbers and found one a reasonable walk from the ship. The young lady there spoke absolutely no English. We needed to find out if the shop accepted American dollars and how much a haircut cost. Between my limited Spanish and Google translate, we figured it all out. She worked meticulously on Bill’s hair and did a great job. We gave her a nice tip and we all left happy.

We went to see Church Nuestra Señora Del Carmen, a catholic church.

We then decided to walk around the hilly town. Again, we noticed some local police. We felt safe. They are working hard to build up tourism and want tourists to have a safe and enjoyable visit. We walked for quite awhile seeing the homes and businesses in the El Centro part of town. It is very humbling to see the way others live and the poverty they endure.

The fact that we leave there and step back on a cruise ship is not lost on us.

This Photo Taken From The Dock

We do believe there are some more resort type areas with much nicer homes closer to the beach areas.

This Photo Was Taken From the Height of the Ship

As we were walking back to the ship we saw a car with Oregon license plates! 

Next up: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 

 

Manzanillo MX JAN 29 2024

We had two sea days on the way to Mexico from Costa Rica. On the second morning at sea we went to the Cruise Director’s “Coffee Talk”. Bill especially wanted to attend this one because she was interviewing the ship’s Chief Engineer and Staff Engineer. It was very interesting to hear about their careers and some facts about their jobs on the ship. We were all given the opportunity to ask questions. One person asked the Chief Engineer his favorite place he has sailed to. He quickly answered Antarctica. He said he gets tears in his eyes remembering its beauty.

Our next port of call was Manzanillo (pop 160,000) on the west coast of Mexico. This small fishing village only gets around 16 cruise ships a year. They are working hard to attract more cruise ships and tourists. This port also plays an important role in transporting cargo for Mexico City and is considered Mexico’s busiest port for commercial ships.

There was a visible military police presence guarding our ship’s restricted pier area as we headed into town.  We smiled and said “Hola” and they returned the greeting. As we greeted people in their language throughout the town they smiled shyly and greeted us back. Along the Malecon de Manzanillo we strolled along the seaside boardwalk. Manzanillo is known as the sailfish capital of the world, hosting national and international fishing competitions. It has a large sailfish sculpture as its most iconic sculpture.

Manzanillo is a sister city of the U.S. cities of Flagstaff, Arizona, San Pablo, California and Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Our most important goal for today was to get Bill a haircut. He googled barbers and found one a reasonable walk from the ship. The young lady there spoke absolutely no English. We needed to find out if the shop accepted American dollars and how much a haircut cost. Between my limited Spanish and Google translate, we figured it all out. She worked meticulously on Bill’s hair and did a great job. We gave her a nice tip and we all left happy.

We went to see Church Nuestra Señora Del Carmen, a catholic church.

We then decided to walk around the hilly town. Again, we noticed some local police. We felt safe. They are working hard to build up tourism and want tourists to have a safe and enjoyable visit. We walked for quite awhile seeing the homes and businesses in the El Centro part of town. It is very humbling to see the way others live and the poverty they endure.

The fact that we leave there and step back on a cruise ship is not lost on us.

This Photo Taken From The Dock

We do believe there are some more resort type areas with much nicer homes closer to the beach areas.

This Photo Was Taken From the Height of the Ship

As we were walking back to the ship we saw a car with Oregon license plates! 

Next up: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 

 

Puerto Quepos, Costa Rica JAN 26 2024

First Sunset Over Pacific Ocean

I thought it couldn’t possibly be any hotter than it was in Brazil. I was wrong. After a day at sea we arrived at Puerto Quepos, a small town on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. With a population of 20,000, the main attractions here are world class sport fishing and the Manuel Antonio National Park. The main economy revolves around tourism and fishing. After reading the list of excursions offered at this port such as an aerial tram and seeing wildlife like sloths, we found we had done much of this at other ports in the Central America. We decided to just walk around the town.

When I stepped out on our balcony that morning, a blast of heat hit me like opening an oven door. This was a tender port and usually we go out and sit on the boat until it is full and then it leaves. Today they held everyone wait on the air-conditioned ship until they had a full load and then took everyone outside to the boat together. It was just too hot for people to wait on the boat. 

A short ride took us to the scenic Marina Pez Vela. We walked around the marina and quickly decided it was too hot to walk into town since it didn’t have much of interest to see there. When we saw people coming back from excursions drenched in sweat and on the verge of heatstroke, we were glad we had made the decision to stay in the port.

Holland America staff were there at the dock with cold washcloths, water and lemonade. When we arrived back at the ship, the tender boat was really rocking, making it difficult to stand and disembark. The Holland America crew were right there with outstretched hands to help us get safely back onboard.

In the evening they had a great comedian that played an electronic violin.

We had two sea days ahead of us before reaching our first port in Mexico. The first sea, day in the afternoon, they had an ice cream social by the pool. Nice idea but people descended on that ice cream like locusts. I thought it was rather comical since we have ice cream with toppings available to us every day, all day. And yet they waited in a long line in the hot sun. Bill managed to get in line early.

That evening the world stage entertainment was another singing comedian. Her last song was the theme song from the Titanic and she put on a life jacket while singing. We all laughed, but little did we know what was to come.

Around 2:00 AM I woke up to the ship really rocking and rolling. I could hear the waves crashing against the ship and the wind howling, and it was getting worse. I managed to get up and take two seasick pills. Bill was sleeping, oblivious to what was happening. I woke him up so he could assure me everything was going to be okay. LOL. This continued for hours. Bill went back to sleep and at some point I fell asleep. We woke up to a calm ocean and bright sunshine. We are on deck five and we had salt water spray on our balcony windows and the deck was wet. One of the workers at Guest Services said she put on her clothes and a life jacket and got back in bed. Even I wasn’t that bad, but I did wonder how we would ever get in the lifeboats with all that wind if the ship went down.

It was all the talk at breakfast and everyone agreed it was pretty bad. At the Captain’s noon talk he said we experienced a “tehuantepecer” or violent squalling wind that is found in winter in the southern part of Mexico near Guatemala and Nicaragua. The Captain said the winds were over 60 knots, or 69 mph, and the swells were over 17 feet. He said they added water to big tanks on the starboard side of the ship to try to keep the ship from listing so much.  The most the ship rolled was four degrees, but it sure felt like more! If I see that singer around the ship I am going to suggest she not sing The Titanic song again. LOL. Supposedly ship captains don’t like the mention of The Titanic on the ship. They consider it bad luck.

Next up: Manzanillo, Mexico

Transiting the Panama Canal JAN 24, 2024

After a day at sea with gale force winds and 17 foot swells, we arrived in the early morning of 6:00 A.M. for our Panama Canal reservation. Holland America paid a $35,000 reservation fee to secure a daytime passage as well as a fee of $331,735 to transit the Canal, for a grand total of $366,735.  We felt fortunate to make this passage since Panama has cut back on the number of daily passages due to a severe drought. Our sailing on the Amazon River had been impacted by shallow water due to a drought as well.  This was the second time we have transited the Panama Canal. The first time was in April, 2022.

From the Atlantic to the Pacific, The Panama Canal stretches 50 miles. Initially began in 1882 by French builders of the Suez Canal, they gave up in Panama. The U.S. acquired the construction of the canal in 1904 and began work.  American crews persevered with tens of thousands of workers drilling dynamite holes, driving steam shovels and laboring with pickaxes to build the canal, all the while fighting the heat, yellow fever and malaria. There were 25,600 fatalities. It took ten years to complete, and shorten, a ship’s voyage from the Atlantic to the Pacific by 7,800 miles.   In 1999, control of the canal was handed over to Panama from the U.S.  It is truly one of the world’s greatest engineering achievements.

In 2016 an expansion more than doubled the canal’s capacity, allowing ships with a capacity of more than 14,000 containers to pass through. Today more than 12,000 to 15,000 ships transit the canal each year. More than 52 million gallons of water is used during each ship’s transit through the three locks. Recently they have added new locks that recycle some of the water so as not to deplete the lakes and rivers.  As in 2022, we transited using the old locks. We were told much larger vessels use the new locks. 

More than 100 species of mammals and reptiles as well as 500 different birds live in nature reserves on islands and lakes along the canal. As like last time, we saw a large crocodile in the water. Different location, different crocodile! 

Since the average transit time is 8 to 10 hours, we had to get up before sunrise to see the transit begin. They opened up the bow of the ship, so that is where many people first gathered. The cruise director was up on the bridge of the ship with the captain and other officers and provided commentary throughout the day. Even early in the morning it was very hot outside. We spent much of the day watching from our balcony where we could easily go inside to cool off. We could hear the commentary on our cabin TV. It takes all day to complete the transit, from 6:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

We first passed under the Atlantic Bridge, spanning the Atlantic entrance to the canal. The best way to show you the transit is with Bill’s pictures rather than with words. 20220428_062103~3PXL_20220428_11321589820220428_063325 PXL_20220428_115004723~2PXL_20220428_115944563PXL_20220428_120521045.MP

On the bow of the ship at 7:00 A.M. some crew members brought around warm “Panama Rolls” which is a tradition when transiting the canal. They are yeast rolls with an apricot filling. PXL_20220428_133737851They were very good and available in the dining room and buffet areas throughout the day. They were only available as a special treat that one day. 20220428_07164520220428_07170620220428_083719PXL_20220428_13390699520220428_08512520220428_085130PXL_20220428_140401811~2

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Some of the Culebra Cut

We passed through the Gatun Lake to the second bridge. 20220428_123802~220220428_125014

When your ship approaches the lock a positive arrow sign directs you to the correct side. 20220428_131507

At the Miraflores locks we saw tug boats preparing to help ships transits. PXL_20220428_185824717PXL_20220428_202047018

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We passed the Miraflores Locks and Visitors Center. A very large group of people had gathered on the top deck of the Visitors Center. As we passed by, a man with a microphone would say something in Spanish and then everyone on the deck would yell, cheer and wave to us. It was fun to wave back at them. 20220428_155306

Here we passed the concrete foundations for the swing bridges that were used to cross the canal with by car. 20220428_160816~2

We finally reached the water level of the Pacific Ocean. 20220428_14040620220428_161045

We had a great day and an amazing experience. We were amazed at how narrow the locks were and how little room there was between the ship and the sides. 20220428_083557~2The captain and crew really had to be on their toes all day!! On each side of the ship were four “mules”.  As a safety feature, ships were guided though the lock chambers by electric locomotives known as mules. Mules are used for side-to-side and braking control in the locks. Forward motion into and  through the locks is provided by the ship’s engines. PXL_20220428_122720547.MPPXL_20220428_123918060.MP

Time to go in, we see the third bridge. 20220428_16265120220428_162552~2

Next up: A sea day and then the port of Puerto Quepos, Costa Rica. I wonder how kind the Pacific Ocean will be? 

 

St George’s, Grenada JAN 20, 2024

After three relaxing days at sea, we reached St George’s, Grenada. And it wasn’t a tender port,  Yay!! I don’t know who was happier, the passengers or the exhausted tender boat drivers.

St George’s, pop 34,000, is the capital city of Grenada.  With a picturesque horseshoe shaped harbor, the town is surrounded by the hillside of an old volcano crater. Grenada (pop 125,000) and its smaller surrounding islands are known as the spice islands with nutmeg being the main crop along with cocoa, mace, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon and ginger.

Grenada achieved independence from Britain in 1974. After a leftist coup in 1983, U.S. troops invaded the island and a pro USA government was reinstated.  In 2004, the island was devastated by Hurricane Ivan with 90% of the homes damaged or destroyed. Nutmeg trees, the key to their economy, were destroyed. With help from the United States, Canada, China, Venezuela, European Union, Trinidad and Tobego, the country has made significant progress in rebuilding their country and economy.

It was a sunny, hot and humid day as we made our way off the ship. Instead of an excursion, we had decided to walk around and explore on our own. We quickly discovered that St George’s is severely lacking in sidewalks, making for potential hazardous conditions for pedestrians. There were lots of people milling around since there were two cruise ships in port. It has been many days since we had the company of another cruise ship. They were parked right next to us so they couldn’t be missed.

Our map took us through the 350 foot Sendall Tunnel which was an experience in itself with no pedestrain walkways. We also found they drive on the left side of the road like the United Kingdom.

We continued climbing up steep streets to reach St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. There was quite a view from the top.

We continued back down to the harbor where the water was so clear we could see tiny minnows in the water.  Next was their open air market where we didn’t see anything of interest. We checked into buying tickets to ride their little town trolley but there was over a two hour wait so we passed. By now we were really hot and decided to head back to the ship. We spent the afternoon working on blogs, using the first cell phone signal we have had in many days.

We noticed some of the crew bringing a small truckload of palm fronds onto the ship in St George’s. The next morning at breakfast we noticed the entire buffet area had been magically transformed overnight into a Caribbean setting with palm fronds and shells. All done to prepare for our upcoming time in the Caribbean. The crew is always finding ways to surprise us!

That evening the captain told us to watch out for Pico Naiguata, the summit of a mountain near Caracas, Venezuela. Around 6:00 p.m. we could make it out in the distance from our balcony using binoculars. It was impossible to get a good picture because of the sea mist.

Next up: Willemstad, Curacao

Willemstad, Curaçao JAN 22, 2024

After a day at sea, we arrived at Willemstad, Curaçao. This island is one of what is known as the ABC islands consisting of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. Last fall we visited Aruba and Bonaire so we are glad to complete the ABC’s. The captain commented that Curaçao is his favorite Caribbean port.

Willemstad, pop 137,000, is the capital of Curaçao. Willemstad is home to the oldest surviving synagogue in the Americas. In the 1600’s, Jews fleeing persecution in Spain and Portugal settled here. 

Curaçao, pop 150,000, is in the southern Caribbean and north of the Venezuela coast. It is a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands with the kingdom responsible for defense, foreign policy and ensuring that parliamentary elections are held. . The ABC islands are often referred to as the Dutch Caribbean. Curaçao is the largest of the ABC islands in population and area. The people here speak Dutch, English, Spanish and Papiamento, a Creole language.

Curaçao’s economy is based on tourism, international trade, shipping services and oil refining. Curaçao has a continental shelf with a sharp drop off known as “The Blue Edge” which attracts scuba divers from around the world. Its coral reefs, which can be reached without a boat, are popular for snorkeling. Unfortunately some of the coral reefs have been affected by tourism.

We really liked Curaçao. It was pedestrian friendly and the people were welcoming. We got off the ship early for our walk around the town. We walked across the Queen Emma pontoon bridge, nicknamed “The Swinging Lady”. Built in 1888, it is the oldest and longest floating bridge in the world. It rests on 15 pontoons and swings open 30 times a day to let tankers, container and cruise ships in and out of the harbor.

The Rif Fort was built in 1828 to protect the bay and area. It now has many shops and restaurants on four levels inside.

The Governor’s Palace is both a residence and a place of work.

The Fort Church is a Protestant church dating from 1796 and is still being used as a church today.

There are many colorful murals throughout the area.

We also managed to find a geocache! By the bridge is three heart shaped places to put your “love locks”.

The day before we reached Curaçao, the captain mentioned during his noon announcements that we would have windy weather in Curacao. The waves were crashing on the shore giving us a nice breeze throughout the day. It made for pleasant walking around the town, such a welcome relief from the heat that had plagued us for days.

The captain also said once we left Curaçao we would be moving into significant tradewinds on the way to the Panama Canal that would be giving us gale force winds and 15 foot seas. Oh boy! Hope I have enough Dramamine to weather that storm! Stay tuned! 

Next up : the Panama Canal 

Final Brazil Show & Sea Days JAN 18

January 17th was our last day on the Amazon River. Mid morning at Macapa, a Brazilian pilot boat pulled up close to the ship and two Brazilian pilots with all their gear transitioned from our ship to the boat. As they pulled away they took photos of the ship and waved goodbye. Our captain sounded two long blasts of the ship’s whistle to bid them farewell. We were able to watch it all from our cabin balcony.

The next day, two certificates were delivered to our stateroom commemorating our successful completion of the Amazon River. 

In the evening we had a final evening show by the Oi Brazil performers. As usual, their performance was topnotch, leaving the audience on their feet applauding and cheering.

At the finale, our cruise director Kimberly surprised us by appearing on stage dressed in one of the native costumes. She is definitely one of the best cruise directors we have ever had. She is always enthusiastic, helpful and full of energy and surprises. 

In the evening we also crossed back over the equator.

We now have three sea days as we make our way in the Atlantic Ocean to our next port of call, Grenada. The sea days can be as active or lazy as you make them. There are many activities to choose from each day. There are pools and hot tubs of course. Activities include guest lecturers, upcoming port talks, arts and crafts, flower arranging, poker, bridge, bingo, a fully equipped gym, pickleball, Tai Chi, aerobics, watercolor painting, cooking demonstrations, pilates, dance classes, health seminars, trivia games, shuffleboard, creative writing, book clubs, games and cards, chess, afternoon tea, a movie with popcorn each afternoon on the large screen in the main stage theater, etc. 

A group gets together and knits and crochets blankets for children. It is called the “Linus Project” and last year hundreds of blankets were completed. In the evenings there is some kind of show and different music venue. Everything from an orchestra playing classical music, a rock band in the Rolling Stones Lounge to a piano bar playing hits through the decades.

Food is also always available whether in the formal dining room, the informal buffet or in the pool area where they serve hamburgers, hot dogs and fries. The buffet has a special area which changes each day. Mexican, Asian, Thai, Brazilian, etc. One day it was “New York Deli” with American flags on display. Bill was thrilled to get a reuben sandwich, one of his favorites.  In our cabin we have movies on demand with many movies of different genres. The movie titles are changed occasionally with different movies added or deleted from the list. We also get several TV channels such as Fox News, BBC, MSNBC, Food Network etc along with a special events channel. This weekend it is showing all the football playoff games. 

It is almost impossible to be bored or hungry on a sea day! 

On January 18th a James Bond movie was shown in the theater. That evening was formal dress night in the dining rooms and the theme was Casino Royale.  The dining rooms were decorated like casinos and they had all kinds of games, free drinks and prizes.

On January 19th they had a King Neptune Ceremony by the pool. King Neptune and his queen arrived to pardon all those who had sailed the equator for the first time.

Kimberly, the Cruise Director, presided over the court while the captain and his officers were the judges.

The ship crew who had crossed the equator for the first time were Pollywogs. They had to kiss the fish and then get slimed. The judges determined whether they jumped in the pool or had to bake in the sun.

In the end King Neptune accepted their seaworthiness and pardoned them. They officially became Shellbacks. A corny ceremony but all in good fun with lots of laughs. All the passengers received a certificate certifying our passage over the equator. 

One evening we had a performance by The Flyrights from London, England. Their high energy performances included Motown and soul. They were fantastic and had everyone on their feet twisting and dancing. We were all disappointed to hear they were only performing for one night. Most ship performers were booked for two nights of shows. Evidently the Cruise Director was bombarded with requests for them to have a second show. We were surprised to see a second performance had been arranged, bumping the second show by a mentalist who did not impress the crowd. As Kimberly, the Cruise Director, said when she introduced the Flyrights at their second show, “what Grand World guests want, they get“.  It was another great performance that had everyone dancing, clapping and singing. We hope we see them sometime in the future on another cruise!

Next up: Saint George’s, Grenada

Santarem, Brazil JAN 16, 2024

Overnight we traveled on the Amazon River toward Santarem and eventually the Atlantic Ocean. This picture (provided by our ship) shows how the Amazon River is not straight.

On January 16th we stopped at Santarem, our last port of call in Brazil. This was our fifth port in a row and once again this was a tender boat port. The tender boat drivers have really had a busy week! I think everyone is looking forward to the sea days coming up next. Especially since the clocks went ahead one hour and we lost an hour of sleep.

This view (provided by our ship) shows the confluence of the Amazon and the Topajos Rivers at Santarem, Brazil.

We booked our first excursion of the cruise, “Highlights of Santarem”. We were glad to be doing more bus touring today and less walking. The extreme heat has been hard on us. 

Santarem (pop 300,000) was founded in 1661 and was originally called “New Santarem”.  It is one of the oldest cities in the Brazilian Amazon. At one time the economy revolved around timber, rubber, coffee and gold mining. Today the main economy is soybean cultivation and lumber.

Our tour group met at 8:45 and together we took a tender boat on the thirty minute ride to shore while the ship remained docked offshore in deeper water. 

We had an excellent tour guide whose enthusiasm to share his city with us really wore everyone out. The extreme heat sure didn’t help. The three and a half hour excursion ended up being four and a half hours. We really got our money worth. 

In Brazil the “tour buses” are really more like school buses or city buses with no AC. Since everything we saw was outside, there was no escaping the heat. 

Our guide understood and spoke English with a heavy accent but he was still easy to understand. 

Our first stop was at a rubber tree and flour farm. First a local man showed us how rubber is extracted from the rubber tree.

We then walked briefly through a rainforest area where he pointed out mango trees and trees with Brazil nuts, among many others.

We then walked to another area where several locals demonstrated how they made a type of flour that is used to make many dishes, including tapioca.

Next was an area with many local fruits and Brazil nuts which were identified and samples were offered. We passed on any samples. They demonstrated how hard it is to crack a Brazil shell  and showed how one shell can have over twenty individual nuts inside.

We then were driven to a couple markets where we were shown many items that were natural products that are good for many health problems. Surprisingly we were not given time to shop which is often the case. We were then taken to another open air market with fresh meat products, especially many kinds of fish.

Amazing to see all fresh fish displayed in all the heat. Shrimp was piled up without any ice.

Back on the bus to see the cathedral. Our guide gave us a nice detailed tour of the cathedral. It was surprising because usually tour guides take you to cathedrals and wait while you wander around. Our great guide proudly gave us a great tour of the cathedral. We were told that just 60% of the people were Catholic.

This statue has human hair that is replaced yearly.

By this time we were wilting, but there was more! We stopped at an overlook where the Amazon River converges with the Tapajos River. 

By this time we were hot, tired and hungry. Just when we thought we couldn’t take more, the guide told us we had one final stop. A municipal museum where he led us through several rooms with the history of Santarem. By this time our eyes had glazed over and I wondered which of us was going to be the first to pass out from a heat stroke.

As much as we enjoyed and appreciated our guide, it was truly a relief to arrive back to the pier to catch our tender boat. 

On the bus ride back to the pier our tour guide had five prizes to hand out to people that could answer questions from what he told us today. I correctly answered a question and won a cute little souvenir made from a Brazil nut with a little figure of a toucan inside and the name “Santarem” painted on the front. I had to turn it into security when we boarded the ship so it could be put in the deep freeze for a couple days to kill any insects. They later delivered it to our cabin. 

That afternoon we began the final leg of our trip on the Amazon River. Tomorrow we will once again cross the equator as we make our way back to the Atlantic Ocean. From our balcony during the sail away we passed the convergence of the two rivers, giving us a great view.

Some thoughts on our time cruising the Amazon River. We were surprised we didn’t see any other cruise ships or pleasure boats on the river. All the boat traffic were barges and freighter, etc. At each of the five ports, we were the only cruise ship. We came to realize that this part of the world is isolated and takes some time to cruise the river. Therefore only cruise ships with longer itineraries make this voyage. It seems only around twelve cruise ships make this trip each year. Perhaps that is why we often saw little rowboats come up alongside the ship and take pictures. The funny thing is they were taking pictures of us and at the same time we were taking pictures of them. 

We were surprised to see the muddy color which eventually as we traveled further down the river became more of a blue green color. We were also surprised to all the logs, trees, branches, plants and debris being carried in the swift current. Between that and the narrow, shallow places to navigate, it is no surprise that we had Brazilian navigators/pilots onboard the entire eight days. Our tour guide in Santarem told us this area is having a severe drought.

Next up: A final Brazil show and what happens on a sea day

 

Parintins, Brazil JAN 15, 2024

On January 15th our port of call was Parintins, Brazil, (pop 115,000).

We knew it was going to be a tender port, but we were surprised when Kimberly, our Cruise Director, came on the intercom and said that this tender port was without a doubt going to be the most challenging tender port so far. Uh oh. She said it was not suitable for people with wheelchairs and scooters or with mobility issues. She mentioned deep swells and a floating dock.  After I took a dose of seasick medicine, we headed out. It was a long ride to the floating dock where the tender boat driver had to watch out for floating logs, trees and debris in the water.

We arrived at the floating dock which turned out to be another boat docked by the pier. We transferred from our tender boat to the floating boat with a low ceiling and stepped onto the pier. This was all done safely by the great Holland America crew who had many hands reaching out to assist. Actually it wasn’t nearly as bad as we expected.

It was another hot day as we walked around the town. We noticed that motorbikes and pedicabs were everywhere and we had to be very careful crossing streets.

The pedicabs were interesting to watch as many had no steering wheel so the driver would just lean in whatever direction he wanted to turn.

We visited the Catholic church built in 1981 with a 130 foot bell tower. We have noticed the churches in the Amazon are very simple and plain, though very pretty.

We spent quite a bit of time trying to find Bill a Brazil souvenir shirt. There were many little shops but instead of having Brazil souvenirs, they had shirts that said NYC or American sports teams. Seemed to be more geared to local shoppers rather than tourists. There was a definite language barrier since we did not find anyone who spoke or understood English. We found this during all of our ports of call along the Amazon River. I am sure it is different in larger metropolitan areas of Brazil. We tried using Google Translate with some degree of success.

We finally gave up and as we made our way back to the tender boats we found some little souvenir stands near the pier. Bill found a shirt and hat. Success at last!

This time instead of one of the ship’s tender boats, we had to take a local ferry boat back to the ship. The ferry boat had brought in a floating barge they placed next to our ship. We transferred from the ferry boat to the floating barge to our gangway. Another experience but easy transition.

We have one final port of call left in Brazil. And guess what. It is another tender port. 

Next: Santarem, Brazil