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.

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.