Rio de Janiero

 We had an amazing city tour of Rio De Janeiro today. We disembarked the ship at "last call" which was 9:45 AM.  We met our tour guide Michael and loaded up his car.  We went to Ipanema Beach, had lunch where the "Girl from Ipanema" song was written, then to Copacabana Beach, then Sugarloaf Mountain for amazing views!!  

 We also stopped off at an impressive Catholic church from the 1970's. It looks like a space capsule and was in fact modeled after the Apollo 13 capsule. 

 Finally a visit to a nearby lookout to see Christ The Redeemer.  Quite a sight even from this distance. We decided not to take the cable car up to the base of the statue since that would have taken three or four hours from start to finish.  

We wanted to see as much as we could of Rio in even hours. It was a great plan since when we were at Sugarloaf we ran into a couple who were in our ship and they had gone to the base. They said it was like being at the Sistene Chapel with crowds.   I've been in that kind of crowd and it's not my favorite.  So this worked out perfectly.  

We got to GIG at 4:45.  Went through security with our carry-ons.  No checked luggage this trip. We quickly found the Star Alliance Lounge.  We knew they had showers and asked for a reservation.  Luckily the lounge was nearly empty and we were shown to our individual shower rooms right away.   That felt good after a rather warm day and 8300 steps.  

Now having some liquid refreshment as we wait for our gate to be announced.  Boarding will be about 9:05 PM.  They have a dinner buffet so maybe and something although we will also have dinner on the plane.  But might want to sleep.  Decisions, decisions

Last Sea Day on the Seabourn Pursuit

Yesterday was our last sea day on Seabourn Pursuit. The ship had a special epicurean cocktail party out on deck including caviar, tuna poke, raclette, several fried favorites and a delicious Bullit Bourbon Sour. 

A good way to end the cruise. We had a nice dinner at The Colonnade with shrimp cocktail, carrot and mushroom soup along with perfectly cooked Dover sole. A nice final dinner. 

Today we sailed and docked in Rio de Janeiro. We'll have breakfast on the ship and then meet a guide we hired to take a tour of the city including seeing the Christ The Redeemer statue. Also will get some lunch. We haven't been in ports long enough to enjoy any of the local Brazilian cuisine, so we will try to take care of that today.  

Our flight from GIG to IAH is at 9:55 PM. Then onto IND after a two hour layover. Rio is two hours ahead of east code time so we may be back at our apartment by Noon on Wednesday. Much better than the 24 hours it took to fly from IND to MAO. It's been an amazing fourteen night trip through Amazonas and the Amazon River and forests. Saw many birds and wildlife. We'll be getting a video and photos that the ship's photographers took.

Natal, Brazil

Yesterday we were in Natal. We docked about 8AM and were off the ship by 8:20 to meet up for our excursion.  We did something a little out of our comfort zone. We headed on a dune buggy tour through the dunes of Natal.  It was a twenty minute ride to where the vehicles were.  We quickly found the light blue buggy that would be ours along with our driver. It was both thrilling to be zooming around the magnificent dunes and then the next minute driving on such beautiful beaches!!  Make sure you're following Angie's FB pages since she'll have some footage of the actual ride using her GoPro. 

We had several stops along the way. One of them was a beach club lagoon where they had some fruit, cold drinks and we were able to swim. The final stop was a beach club where we enjoyed some local beer.  

When we got back to the ship we headed straight to lunch.  It was an Indian themed lunch and they had a decent Tikka Masala.  After our quick lunch, we headed straight to the pool.  It was a popular spot and we chatted with lots of our fellow guests.  Lots of friendly people on this sailing.   With only 170 total passengers it's easy to know everyone. 

At 4:45 they had one of their Seabourn signature events on the aft pool deck.  They brought out caviar, toasts and creme fraiche and the head chef, hotel director and food and beverage manager were serving it to guests.  We decided we were enjoying the pool too much and stayed there past sunset.  As we sailed under and past the bridge, we could see the dunes we had been on just hours before.  When you come to Natal, I highly recommend taking a dune buggy tour.  

Today is our first of three sea days before we arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday which is where we'll have our debarkation. Many passengers are staying on as the ship heads into Antarctica. That's another 21 days of sailing. We met a guest who has been on the ship since he boarded in Bridgetown Barbados and is headed to Antarctica.  He originally was going to get off in Manaus but decided to extend his trip.  Antarctica will have to wait - for now.

Halloween at Sea

Yesterday was the first of three sea days before we arrived at the port of Natal on Friday. While Angie caught up on some work, I spent the morning out at The Patio listening to some podcasts. I watched while Butch setup his Mojito station. He and David (Bar Manager) did a great job. 

Angie joined me for lunch where we each had one of the specials. I had the grilled mahi mahi and she had a ziti dish with spinach and bacon. We stayed out at The Patio all afternoon. We had great seats for the equator crossing ceremony at 3:30. The cruise director was the judge. Several of the expedition crew were mermaids, King Neptune and Queen Neptune. 

And then there were the pollywogs. That's the term used for anyone who is crossing the equator for the first time on a ship. Group by group, guests would be brought up to the judge to face King Neptune and be judged for their crimes. One group was accused of saying they would be at the evening show, but then heading to their cabin by 7:30. Others were accused of being Chair Hogs, throwing their flip flops on a chair at 6AM and not using the chair until after lunch. Of course the rest of us pronounced them all GUILTY!! And their punishment was to kiss the fish!! And then after all the verdicts, they all had to jump into the pool to be "cleansed". I'm not sure if sequins sink or float, but we'll find out on Wednesday.  

After that ceremony we decided to check out tea time in the Constellation Lounge. They had a very good assortment of sweet and savory items along with a choice of about eight different teas.

 All included in the cruise fare. After tea we headed back to the cabin for a mandatory rest period. We both took long naps as we woke up about 7:15. We got ready for dinner and headed to The Club for a sushi appetizer. Then to the Colonnade where they had a Thai dinner. Some great starters of grapefruit, orange and luno crab salad, Thai fish cake and then a well seasoned green curry chicken. All so good!! 

After dinner we headed to the Constellation Lounge for their Halloween Spooktacular. They had three different musical acts performing party favorites. Many guests had bright costumes and most of the crew were made up as zombies. It was a very fun party with lots of good music and dancing. 

 After some time, it was back to the cabin. 

Wednesday is another sea day. Butch will be setting up an Aperol Spritz station. The expedition crew will be available for questions and to help spot any wildlife. Yesterday there was a reported whale sighting. We also have a galley tour at 4PM.