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.