Macapa, Brazil

Yesterday was our last day of the zodiac experience - at least on this sailing. We had an early morning 6AM zodiac tour where we saw more wildlife!! The morning tours have been the best. The forest is just waking up and it is more alive. It's also been much cooler which helps when sitting on the edge of a rubber craft. After the tour we came back to the ship, dropped off our life vests in our cabin and had some breakfast. The ship has your usual selection of American favorites as well as a good yogurt and fruit assortment. Interestingly there is no cottage cheese - only ricotta. You can also order off a menu where they have all kinds of omelettes, eggs to order, grilled meats, pancakes and a special. The other day it was a very delicious eggs Benedict Florentine!! 

After breakfast it was time for a mandatory rest period in the cabin. The original itinerary for the afternoon was for the zodiacs to start taking us ashore about 2PM so we could get busses for our city tour of Macapa. Iggy, the Expedition Director, made an announcement that the local authorities weren't going to allow any zodiacs in their water after sunset which was 6:11 PM. That meant the tour was still happening, we just had to start the zodiac rendering earlier. So that would be at 1:15 instead of 2PM.  

I decided to get some lunch while Angie caught up on her work. They had some very good swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam!! I brought Angie back a couple of sandwiches from Seabourn Square which is the coffee shop which also has rotating snacks throughout the day. We waited for the announcement to be called down to the "mud room" for zodiac loading. That was around 1:30. Then off we went on a five minute rendering operation. 

We got off the zodiacs and up to a long pier. About halfway down the pier was a group of local dancers welcoming us!!

 And the local police were also present. It wouldn't be the last time for either. We then walked about five minutes more to where the buses were loading. The buses were nearly identical to the ones we took to the Amazon hike a few days earlier. 

 Essentially your regular city bus. And no air-conditioning so our neck fans really helped.  

The first stop was at the Sacaca Museum. For my friends and family in Indiana, this was like a small version of Conner Prairie. For my friends in Massachusetts, it was a small version of Plimoth Plantation. Replicas and models of what life was like for the native people. And when we arrived, there was a local group of dancers to welcome us!! There was also a humpback whale skeleton!! 

The next stop was a monument Macapa had built to identify the location of the Equator. Here you could be in both the northern and southern hemisphere at the same time. 

After that we headed to an old fortress. It was located directly on the water, just like many fortresses. There were many buildings. Unfortunately there wasn't a map and the signage around the buildings was worn so you couldn't read most of them. And I was all ready with my Google Translate to see what the Portuguese said in English.

 But we did get to see some more wildlife, including a burrowing owl. 

 Make sure you are following Angie's FB page Trips with Angie if you want to see more info on this tour.   

The last stop was the "required" gift shop that most ship-sponsored shore excursions include. In this case it was my nemesis: Pottery!! Lots of pottery. It seemed like good quality, but so much of it!! After a while we decided to walk across the street to a restaurant and get a cold beverage. Many of our fellow shipmates had the same idea. There was a glorious breeze and we enjoyed a local Antarctica Original Beer. 

Soon it was time to head back to the ship. Once we got to the pier, we waited about fifteen minutes to be loaded onto a zodiac tender. And then we were back on the ship!! Headed straight to the cabin to unload and rest for a bit. The air conditioning felt very good!! We heard that the laundry room might be very popular spot tonight so instead Angie rinsed out our sweat-through clothes in the bathtub. 

Dinner was again outside at the Colonnade. They had a wonderful yellowtail hamachi!! The citrus dressing was perfect and there were also all kinds of peppers, gherkins and radishes for texture and "punch". Such a well composed dish. Also tried that cavvaletti pasta which has a Mediterranean style romesco sauce. Perfectly cooked al dente pasta! And for mains we had the miso glazed cod with bok choy. They smartly served it with some fried brown rice and a pungent uzu sauce. I loved that you could pour on as much sauce as you wanted. A very well cooked piece of fish! No dessert tonight. 

After dinner we participated in the Liar's Club game show. Panelists provide their definition of strange sounding words. You pick the panelist you believe is telling the truth. 

Our team got all four right and tied for the lead but lost on a tie breaker. What do you think tittynope means? We guessed it was British slang for a buffoon. It isn't. You can use your Google skills to find the real, surprising definition. And it's safe to look up at work. 

Today is our first of three sea days before we get to Natal on Friday. There will be an equator crossing ceremony this afternoon as well as a Halloween party in The Club.

Furo Maici, Brazil

Yesterday we had an early morning zodiac tour starting at 6 AM.  It was sunny but still cool.  We had an adventurous start when only five minutes into the tour, the engine stopped.  Our captain told us there was something wrong with the fuel line.  Luckily we had another crew member onboard who was able to help solve the issue by  "priming the pump".  Soon we were off again. But then the boat got snagged onto a large branch and we were wedged into a shallow portion of the river.  Our captain had to call a rescue boat to tow us out.  Once again, we were on our way again,  Saw so many birds mostly parrots, macaws and caciques. When we got back we went to the daily 9:45 lecture about the rainforest.  And then the daily briefing about the afternoon zodiac tour.  It was about 11:45 and we had been up since 5 AM. It was time for a mandatory rest period.  We woke up about 2PM and had a quick lunch. We ordered off the grill menu and had burgers and fries.  Good tasting burgers although they both came out medium well instead of our requested medium.  

Soon it was time to get ready for our afternoon zodiac tour which was at 3:30.   We saw more birds and some cool looking bromeliads and epiphytes.  Those are plants that can grow on other plants, predominantly trees and thrive without needing to be in soil. We got back to the ship about 6PM and headed to the cabin. We needed a little break from the heat, having sweated through our clothes. It would be another night for laundry.  We headed down to Deck 5 to catch the sunset. 

I put that in around 7:30 and then we headed to dinner. Putu was again our amazing waiter and recommended we sit at the table with the most breeze.   We had a delicious chicken cassoulet (essentially an elevated chicken pot pie) along with Caesar salads and angel hair pasta with pesto and grilled shrimp.  We also tried a type of white wine we had never had before from the Greco grape.  It went really well with the pesto.  No dessert.  

We went to the Patio Bar and had an after dinner cocktail with our favorite bartender Butch.  And then it was time to head to the cabin. Earlier in the day, there was a medical emergency and the captain said we were going straight to Macapa and would be there by 3 AM to transfer the guest.  It might impact Monday's itinerary.  We'd find out more in the morning. 

At 5:30 AM, an announcement came into our cabin that the original itinerary was still operating and we'd have our 6AM zodiac tour.  We again saw lots of wildlife.  This time mostly toucans.  At least three different types. Also some caciques, parrots, grey headed kite and even a "rare"  hook billed kite. 

We found out later that the ship wasn't able to arrange a transfer at 3 AM for the guest having the medical emergency and instead would do that later today in Macapa.  So after our zodiac tour we had some breakfast then went back to our cabin for a mandatory rest period.  We will have an city tour excursion about 2PM once we anchor outside of Macapa.  They'll use the zodiacs as tenders.

Rio Pucurui, Brazil

Today we were on Rio Pucurui. This is referred to as the southern portion of the Amazon. We had a relaxing morning as we headed towards our anchoring position. We had breakfast at the Colonnade and then there was a photography seminar at 9:45 followed by the daily briefing at 11 AM. We found out about the zodiac excursions over the next two days. Lunch was outside at the Colonnade. They had some very good fish and chips. We sat next to a couple from Texas we had seen on embarkation day. We ended up chatting about travel and discovered they had been on the Island Princess with us in June 2023. Travel is a small world!!

 We anchored about 2PM and there was a scenic zodiac excursion available. We thought about it but decided it would be best to have a mandatory rest period since there was another zodiac excursion early on Sunday that sounded more interesting. So after a restful afternoon, we got ready for dinner. We had our usual stop at The Club for sushi. The BBQ eel continues to be outstanding!! Then dinner outside at the Colonnade. I needed my neck fan since it was very humid!! We both had the seafood ravioli and pan roasted flounder. 

 Both were tasty!! And the highlight of the night was the featured wine. Our waiter Putu brought over the wines of the evening. Before he could even tell us what they were, I saw the bottle of red. It is a Pinot Noir from one of our favorite wineries!! In fact, we had been there when we travelled around Tasmania in 2019. Devil's Corner for the win!!

Tomorrow we will be at the northern tributary of the Amazon. We have a 6AM zodiac excursion. More on that tomorrow.

Alter de Chao

Today we were in Alter do Chao. We had an early morning excursion at 8:30 where we took a zodiac ashore and then a two hour bus ride, with our final destination the Amazon rainforest. It was a two hour ride on a bus with no air conditioning but at least there were windows. 

And our neck fans really helped!! We had about an hour walk through the woods.

 It was so hot and humid but it was an interesting area to see. We saw a lot of insects including giant fire ants. They were about an inch long!! Ouch!! Our guides Adriano and Matteo used some plants, sticks and bark to create a bird trap. 

 I am not sure why they did this but it entertained them for fifteen minutes. We then took the two hour bus ride back to where the zodiacs were and headed back to the ship. We got back at 3:15 and changed into our swimming costumes. Then grabbed some lunch at Colonnade. The maitre D kept the buffet open about ninety minutes later than usual since there were many late excursions. After lunch it was some much needed pool time to cook off. It was a bit more crowded today. We then headed back to the cabin to get ready for dinner. It was also time for another load of laundry since we sweated through our clothes today.   

Dinner was a bread service with a deliciously briny tapenade and smoked chicken. Starters were a creamy burrata and chorizo penne.

 Mains were short ribs and spiced roasted salmon. We also tried a tasty vegetable curry with incredible naan. 

 Dessert was some baked camembert which was so melty and delicious. Also tried the Cookies and Cream which was a playful dessert where you dipped cookies into gelato and fluffy chocolate mousse. Both very good. The person responsible for the cheese on this ship really knows what they are doing. 

Tomorrow we will be in Pucurui where we will have an opportunity for another scenic zodiac cruise. We will find out more about that at the 11 AM briefing.

Parintins, Brazil

Yesterday we were anchored outside of Parintins. We stayed on the ship in the morning for our breakfast and lunch. At 1PM we boarded the tender to take us ashore to the Boi Bomba show being held in the Parintins Convention Center. The show is a celebration of an old Brazilian legend about a red and a blue bull. It has a huge cast, many floats and some amazing (and heavy) costumes.

 The cast invited everyone to a dance party afterwards. 

 Thankfully the auditorium was air conditioned. After the show we had a couple of Brazilian beers. So inexpensive at only 10 BRL (~$2 USD) for two of them.  

At about 3:45 we took a tender back to the ship. The first thing we wanted to do? Get into the infinity pool!! So we put on our swimming costumes and went out to the Patio pool to watch the sunset. Earlier, our favorite bartender Butch had shown us some infused gins he had made so we had a G&T' with orange infused gin while in the pool. Surprisingly we were the only ones in the pool. It was a great way to cool off in the heat.  

It was then time to get ready for dinner. We made our usual stop at The Club for some sushi. A very good hamachi roll and some eel sashimi. Proper dinner was at the Colonnade where it was a Spanish theme. Poached shrimp cocktail with avocado "salsa", seafood soup, seafood paella and mango ice cream. The seafood soup was a little disappointing. It had a lot of seafood but the broth was essentially your basic minestrone. No discernible seafood taste. The paella was much better and my favorite. They had created a really tasty dish stock and used that to cook the rice. It was a bit more like a risotto. With mussels, shrimp and fish!!

It was then time to head back to the cabin. The clocks were moving ahead an hour and we had a 7:30 excursion in Alter do Chao. More on that later.

Rio Urubu

Today we anchored and had a zodiac wildlife tour!! 

 We saw cayman crocodiles, howler monkeys, several kinds of hawks, toucans, parrots and osprey! And of course the pink river dolphin!! Oh my!! Thankfully it was partially overcast so it wasn't too hot. 

We got back onboard the Seabourn Pursuit about 6:30 and it was time for some laundry!! We put that in and got a pre dinner app of sushi at The Club. After our sushi snack, we switched the laundry to the dryer and headed to dinner. Tonight was a French themed dinner at The Collonade. Foix gras, escargot, French onion soup and Chateau Briand. All pretty tasty. The creme brulee was a big disappointment. Very overcooked and nearly scrambled eggs.  

After dinner we saw Doc Dixon. He has appeared on Penn and Teller Fool Us and successfully fooled them!! He had a very entertaining audience participation show. Some great slight of hand and card forcing. Tricks where you know how they are doing it, but the magician is so good at hiding it. 

Tomorrow we'll be in Parintins and be attending the afternoon Boi Bomba show. This is a sampling of the third most popular show in all of Brazil. More on that tomorrow.

Travel to Manaus, Brazil

We had a long but easy travel day. Having lounge access really helped. The toughest part was the 4 hour LATAM Economy flight. We couldn't move our legs. But I did have a great view out the window. 

After a straight 24 hours of travel to get from IND to MAO, we needed an easy dinner. There was a brew shop that was a five minute walk from our hotel. Perfection!! Or as they would say here in Brazil, perfeição. We tried six of their beers. Some very good hazy IPAs. They also had pizza and a pulled pork torta. Really more like a pulled pork pot pie. Both tasty with cold beer and exactly what we needed.   

Back to the hotel by 7. Early night to catch up on some sleep. I stopped by the hotel store to buy a bottled water and what I thought were potato chips. I didn't look close enough. They were similar to Planter's Cheese Balls. Except without any flavor. The Charrasco just had a mild off-putting smoke flavor. And the Quijo ones were supposed to be cheese flavored but instead had an acrid flavor. There must be some different flavor preferences here in Brazi.

On Tuesday we'll check out of the hotel, probably have some brunch and then get ready for our next fourteen night adventure. More information on that tomorrow.

Dallas with the Kerins family

We headed to Dallas to visit the Kerins family. Ee visited the George W Bush Presidential Library. I thought it was one of the best museum set ups we've seen at a Presidential library. I found it interesting that it was clear Bush wanted his legacy to be a humanitarian with big sections on his work on education, AIDS, and promoting peace. 

It has a great interactive experience where you are briefed on an issue he faced and you have to decide what you would have done. 

We had a great lunch at Torchy's Tacos. 

We went on a nice hike to enjoy the beautiful weather followed by delicious ice cream. 

We solved a murder at the Dallas Museum of Art after a great Mediterranean dinner.

Sunday, we solved a boxed escape room. It definitely kept us on our toes! 

Sunday, we enjoyed football and games. 

Portland, Maine

We've been to Portland, Maine a few times. We came on our honeymoon and then again in 2022. We decided to visit a couple favorites: Gritty's for salt and vinegar wings and King's Head Pub for local beer. 

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Yesterday we were in Charlottestown PEI! We docked at 7:30 and went out for a walk around the town at 9AM. Unlike the previous ports which started off sunny, we walked out into thick fog.

 But still were able to enjoy the cute downtown area!! Angie had to stop at the Anne of Green Gables store. 

  They were having a Scarecrow Festival and all the streetlamps were adorned with different themed scarecrows.

 We stopped for some ice cream at Cow's which is a chain across Canada - at least the Eastern provinces. 

Cow's also had Raspberry Cordial.

There was also an interesting food hall where we stopped while Angie caught up on some work. Make sure you're following her page Trips with Angie for more on PEI including the Anne of Green Gables store.  

We had a tour scheduled for 11:30 so we headed back to the cruise terminal to get checked in. The tour was a combination of scenic views, lobster lunch and Anne of Green Gables. But the highlight was really Anne of Green Gables. We went to the AGG historic site which has a replica house from the books along with the Haunted Trail. Having the AGG experience on PEI has been on Angie's bucket list for a while and it exceeded her expectations.   

The lobster lunch was well done. It was probably a 1.25 pound lobster served with clarified butter, Cole slaw and potato salad. Well cooked and very tasty!

Our excursion ran about 30 minutes over the scheduled time so when we finally got back to the cruise terminal, we were some of the last guests to board. One reason it is good to take a ship-sponsored excursion. The ship will know you're on one of their excursions and wait for your return.  

We dropped off some stuff in the cabin and headed to the Pool Bar where we saw our bartender friends Jerome, Lijo and Kenroy. Also chatted with a nice couple who were on our tour and another from Canada who were in PEI for the first time. One reason I love cruising is you can step away from the daily madness, even if just for a few days. You'll always know that most of the other guests you'll meet also have a passion for travel where you can share experiences.  

Soon it was time to get ready for dinner. We tried the Herb Roasted Chicken, Pork Scallopini and Fusilli with Chicken and Feta. All very good, especially the chicken which was moist and flavorful. No dessert tonight.  

After dinner we went to Live Band Karaoke. This is where the band plays and you get to be the lead singer. I sang "I Saw Her Standing There". Very fun!! We then headed back to the cabin.  

Today is our final sea day. It's a bit foggy but looks like it will clear later. We have a World Wine tasting at 1PM with our whole group.