Day twentynine, Sunday 27th February, still at sea

And it isn’t being very nice to us.  It’s been getting steadily rougher since we left Antigua. Today the captain described it as “very rough”.  The waves are quite awesome I suppose, and the wind is giving it some, so much that the decks have been closed off to save us getting blown overboard. Not pleasant really. I don’t like sitting inside, but you cannot really sit outside.  Never mind, the captain promises it’ll be better tomorrow.  Let’s hope so.

The reason I didn’t put the pics on on Friday was because the internet was playing us up, and yesterday I didn’t blog because the seasick pills make me sleepy, and I was in bed straight after the show.   Hopefully they’ll all go on today.

I’ve not done a lot over the last couple of days, except maybe sleep, I’ve listened to one of Moss’s bird talks, watched the new acts at showtime of an evening, and caught the tail end of the pianists classical show this afternoon.   I also went to see the Rosario Trio yesterday afternoon, - they were really good.

The “Rosario Trio” is a group is made up of a violinist, guitar player and a double base player.  When we were on the Braemar, there was a Rosario trio, but it was made up of completely different people to the one we have here on the Boudicca - they played background music. The trio here on the Boudicca plays of an evening outside the restaurants and is enjoyed by the people waiting to go in for second sitting, as well as those in the bar having a drink.  The trio enjoy what they do, and encourage people to join in when they sing or dance about a bit, they are very popular.  So popular in fact, that the passengers asked the management if the trio could have a show on the main stage.  The wish was granted, and they played to a full lounge yesterday afternoon.  As I said, they were really good.  So good that many of the audience gave them a standing ovation. (The night-time entertainers who are no doubt paid a lot more money don’t often get that).  They seemed to love the opportunity, and the audience really enjoyed the show.

Anyway, thas me for now.  Hopefully I’ll manage to the pics from Friday, and the one’s I’ve chosen today onto the blog.

All the pictures below were taken on our riverboat journey from Manaus on 14th February

Day twentyseven, Friday 25th February, Seadays, one down five to go

I have very little to tell you about today.  The sea swell has had the ship moving quite a bit all day, and loads of people have been feeling unwell.  I’ve taken a couple of seasickness tablets myself.  In my case it was more prevention than cure, and it worked, I’ve been fine. (Mebbe I would have been fine anyway, who knows?).  Peter of course is fine.  That man has a stomach made of cast iron, I swear.

So, because of the sea and its effects, I’ve done very little, except doze  (cos the pills make me sleepy).  I helped in Peter’s class again, but only 38 today –(the sea is making its presence known), then up on deck for a laze in the Atlantic sun. Not too bright this afternoon, and very windy, blew all the cobwebs away.

Formal night tonight, so I’ve got Sophie’s posh frock on again, and we watched the Boudicca show company do “Licence to thrill”.  I was really impressed with the singers, they did good.  We went to the Lido Lounge after that to listen to Pat Logan for a bit, then we took part in the “who am I?” quiz.  We got 16 out of 20, and Peter came up with all the answers.

For other info, Peter has been painting scenes from the Amazon, which have proved to be popular, and he’s also produced a painting for the ships charity auction on the 28^th Feb.  And because it’s a sea day and I can, I’ve added a load of pictures from the city of Santarem and the village of Boca Do Valeria on the Amazon, we were there on 12^th and 13^th Feb.

Riverside at Santarem.

Street in Santarem

Boca Do Valeria

View of Boca Do Valeria from Church door

Day twentysix, Thursday 24th February, St. Johns, Antigua

Awwwwwwww......  Our last Caribbean island, and only a short day while we’re at it.  Me n Peter are doing another tour today, “Spectacular Antigua”, as escorts again.  He went off on coach five, me on coach six.

As l said yesterday, I was quite looking forward to this one. Our guide was knowledgeable, with a sense of humour and kept us entertained during the 45 min drive to our first destination within the national park to the Dows Visitors Centre, where we were given an audio visual presentation that was really intended for the primary school children of the island.  But the views from the centre  were, as per the tour title,  quite spectacular.  

From there we went on to see the ruins of the British fortifications, the “Blockhouse Ruins” from where you could see Eric Clapton’s holiday home, and “Shirley Heights” which overlooked Nelsons Dockyard village and the protected harbour.  We could even see the island of Montserrat.  Again, the views were wonderful.  From there we were taken to the Nelson’s Dockyard, which is now a lovely marina and worth a wander around.  All very nice.

Then back to the ship to meet up with Peter for lunch, after which we took a quick wander around the town to get a feel for the place.  It’s quite nice near the Port, but the further you walk into the outskirts, the grottier and more tumbledown it gets.  We visited the local market, and on returning to the port, found bar with free wi-fi, which is where we spent our last hour until boarding the ship. 

A big brown pelican was diving for fish nearby, difficult to take pictures of, but I tried anyway. 

The ship left Antigua at 4pm, and as usual, we went out on deck to watch the island slowly drift away.  After that, exhausted, it was down to the cabin for a nap.  Later, our dinner was outside on the rear deck, and the show was split between a female singer/impressionist/entertainer, and Barnaby the comedian.  Loads of laughs.

We are going to be at sea now for six days, tonight the boat is rocking more than it has done for a long time.  Not enough to make me feel ill....... yet.  But I remember the Captain saying something about rough seas and a storm, so I now have seasick pills at the ready.  We will be back to the sea day routine tomorrow, methinks I may end up reading another book or two.

St John's visit 2012                     Flying from Antigua 2012

Day twentyfive, Wednesday 23rd February, Castries, St. Lucia

We woke up this morning to see another extra large size cruise ship outside the window, and when we got up on deck, we saw to Royal Caribbean ships, and a Silver Seas cruiser docked around us. We liked the Silver Seas boat, it was about the same size as ours.  The sun is out, the sea is blue, and we have another island to explore.

OK, so somehow or other I’ve landed escort duty with Peter to the “Delights of Mamiku Gardens”.   Now let’s be honest, gardens aren’t really my thing, and I would never have chosen this tour.  On the plus side though, the tour guides tell you loads of stuff about the island as you travel, and they stop at convenient panoramic views, and gardens usually have loads of butterflies n birds ns stuff, so it’s not all bad. 

And it wasn’t at all.  My coach wasn’t a coach, it was a minibus.  There were only nine passengers, and our tour guide was really knowledgeable and did tell us loads of stuff about the island as we were driving through.  When we got the gardens, we were handed over to the local expert that walked us through and explained various things about the plants, herbs and the gardens themselves.  It was very pleasant, the orchids were lovely, and we managed to see hummingbirds. 

The hummingbirds didn’t stay long enough to have their pictures taken, but the big fat caterpillar and a lizard did. A few local snacks including banana bread and rum punch, then we were on our way back. We arrived back at the ship at 1.45pm, just in time for lunch.  By the time we’d finished, we just had time for a short walk into Castries itself.  

From what I’d seen as we drove through this morning, the city does have some nice places to see, but we didn’t get far, just to the craft market about 15 mins away.  For a long time I’ve been admiring all the wonderful colours and clothes, and today I finally bought a lovely top/dress thing.  As you can tell, I haven’t worked out how to wear it, but it is gorgeous.  The back to the ship for a nap, cos we were shattered.The ship was due to sail at 5 tonight.  but we were late leaving.  I’m not sure why. Maybe we it had something to do with the other massive cruise ships leaving before us.  We had dinner on the deck, and could see one of the other cruise ships as we sailed past it.  (For some reason it was going slower than us, very colourful with all its lights in the dark though).  We finished up in the Neptune lounge to watch the first of the acts that have just joined the ship.  We really liked Colin Fingers Henry who made us laugh and played piano too.  Really good. Tomorrow we dock at St. Johns, Antigua, and we’ve been asked to do escort duties on another tour “Spectacular Antigua”.  I’m looking forward to this one actually, cos it isn’t too long, and it takes us to a few sites in the National Park.  Should be good.

Day twentyfour, Tuesday 22nd February, Bridgetown, Barbados.

Before I go on about the things we did today, I will just finish off the blog from yesterday:-

We stayed in the internet cafe until 7 yesterday, doing as much as possible to update everything before heading back to the ship.  We went for dinner, which was once again outside on the rear deck, and once again I ended up eating me hair (when will I learn!).  It was nice tho.  Then we went to watch the show, which was a local show, i.e. the show was provided by St Vincent, and Fred Olsen has no idea what it’s getting.

Once again, the local talent was brilliant.  They started with a Calypso singer and his steel drum playing father, (some of the songs may not have suited everyone, a little risqué, but I thought they were hilarious).  After that we had a dance school display the talents of the children.  They put on a really good show, full of colour and energy which displayed the culture of the island. My favourite had to be the little girls that danced with such attitude.

The ship was due to sail at 11, but we had to wait until the show people had left the ship.  We waited up on deck for them to disembark, and as they walked down the pier towards the exit, all the passengers on deck started clapping them again.  One little lad shouted up “thank you for letting  us dance for you”.  Awwwwwwwww!

Anyway we watched the twinkling lights of Kingstown go dim as the ship left the harbour before coming back to the cabin and bed.

And then this morning broke beautiful and blue and with us in the port of Bridgetown Barbados.  Our little Boudicca was parked between two other huge cruise ships, one from Royal Caribbean, and one from Princess Lines.  Of course, we decided they were far too big and ugly, and our ship was much better.

We didn’t have a tour booked today.  We had wanted to go to Harrison’s Cave, but the ship tour was full, so we decided to have a crack at getting there independently.  We walked out of the terminal only to find that the taxi services right outside wanted $80 (£53.75) to take us (admittedly a return fare).  We decided that was too much, and after a little mulling around the tourist information office and not finding anything we liked, we left the terminal and the port to wander around town.

As soon as we left the port gates, we were surrounded by taxi drivers wanting our fare.  These guys weren’t allowed to tout for business inside the port, which I suppose made them less “official”, but it also meant they could take us to the cave for $50, (£33.75, much better) so off we went.  It took about 30 mins to get there and the cab driver agreed to wait until we had done the tour of the cave (which takes about an hour), and then take us back.  Once there, he walked us to the ticket booth at the Harrison Cave Centre and then  went off to his car.  (Please note, Peter has not given him any money yet). 

When we went to get our tickets tho, it turned out that the next tour ride available was at 1.20 pm, two hours away.  Uh oh!  Peter hurried out to the taxi driver who agreed to come back at 2.30 pm, and we wiled away our time at the centre.  There are a few gardens and crafty type shops to look around, and we managed to get an ice cream and a tuna sandwich for lunch.

The cave tour itself was very good.  A little film explained the history of the island (how it is made mostly from coral), and we were taken around the caves themselves in a little buggy towed by an electric car.  How?  Well, a large tunnel, like a road almost, has been cut through, connecting all the caves.  So we sat in the little cars, with our guide at the front explaining the names of the caves etc.  Me n Peter both felt it would have been nicer to walk, and spend as much time as we wanted at the various sights, but it was pointed out to us that if the tourists were allowed to do that, they would touch everything and change the way the caves developed. (What about the tunnel then?) No matter, it was a n enjoyable experience, and worth the hassle it took to get us there.

Tour over, we left the complex at 2.20pm and our taxi driver was just parking up.   He took us back to Bridgetown and dropped us off in the city centre for a look see.  The taxi drivers really are very helpful. 

 I think, during our port talks, Bridgetown and Barbados where described as the shopping centre of the Caribbean.  Our wander through the city streets proved that, loads of duty free shops and department stores.  There are some wonderful colonial buildings about, and a statue of Nelson, erected 36 years before the one in London.  Funnily enough, he used to stand in Trafalgar Square, but they changed the name to Hero’s Square.

Right, so we’ve had a look at the town, now for the beach.  So, back to the ship (walking, and its very hot), a quick change, and out to get another taxi.  Again, we were given a return fare price, and again, the taxi driver agreed to wait for us, since we only planned to be on the beach for an hour.  (it’s 4.30 pm now).  We went to Carlisle beach, south east of Bridgetown and thoroughly enjoyed the white sand and warm blue water.  Beautiful

Then back to the ship, shower and changed for dinner on deck again, and our final treat is another local show.  The Barbadians gave us a comedian host, dancers, drummers, a mad acrobat and a guy on stilts who was too tall for the most of the lounge.  The stilt guy danced and jumped and hopped, constantly looking like he was going to topple over.  Another brilliant evening’s entertainment.  

Right now the ships engines have just started again (rattle rattle rattle).  Tomorrow we will wake up in Castries, St. Lucia.  I have been spammed to act as escort on a tour of some?  Me and Peter both.  Obviously no-one else wanted or could do it, and we did say to the tours guy that if he needed anyone...........

This is gonna be interesting.

Bridgetown, Barbados 2014

Day twentythree, Monday 21st February, Kingstown, St Vincent Island - Grenadines

We woke this morning to see the beautiful island of St Vincent through the port holes in our cabin. The water is clear and blue, and the island looks mountainous and covered in green.  Not sure exactly what we wanted to see and do here, we decided to wander around the town first and get  a map of the island.  Once we'd done that, we could see where we wanted to go next.

Well intially, the road out of the port looked pretty rough.  There were loads of little stalls about but it was grey, dirty and miserable.  But, as we got further along, we came across the markets, the town centre and then later the two cathedrals and the church.
The people of St Vincent now rely soley on tourism for their income I understand.  This was made clear to us in a couple of the ways.  The first was when we were looking for the map.  We had wandered down the various streets and in and out of souvenir shops without success.  We walked into one and asked, and the the girl said, "hang on".  She picked up the phone, obviously asking someone who knew.  "Just wait" she said, and then a man appeared with a crash helmet.  He said he didn't have any maps in this shop, but if we waited two minutes, he would go to his other one and get some for us. Worried that he might be wasting his time getting something we didn't want to pay for, we told him not to bother and left the shop.

We left and continued walking up the street to the first cathedral, stopping to talk to another couple of tourists from the ship.  Two minutes later, the shopkeeper appeared behind us on his scooter.  He had gone to get the maps for us anyway and as he pulled them out the bag, we realised they were just what we wanted.  When we asked how much, they were free, and he gave us two. How is that for service! 

We went on to the cathedrals which are amazing.  The first one, the Anglican Cathedral is plain on the outside, and reminded me of the court scene in the film "to kill a mocking bird" on the inside.  A very gracious place. 

Catholic Cathedral inside

The other, the catholic cathedral, was just incredible.  It's hard to describe. From the outside it is a mishmash of styles and towers.  As we approached it, it became obvious that the left hand part of the building was being used as a school, and that we couldn't enter, but we could hear the children, which was lovely.  As we walked into the right hand, church, part of the building, it was like walking into castle gardens.  Beautiful, but we weren't in the church yet.  We had to walk through this sort of entrance patio and then into the church itself.  Inside, it was surprising large graciously simple inside. Surprising having just viewed the outside.  

By now, we had decided we wanted to find a beach this afternoon, so, armed with our map, Peter was suggesting we walk to the nearest beach.  I was dubious, looking at the steep sides f the mountains and hills around us, and thinking about how hot it was.  He said it wasn't far and wouldn't take long.  I decided to ask the policewoman at the entrance to the cathedral, who burst out laughing at our suggestion.  Looks like a taxi or a minibus then.  We wandered back to the ship for lunch and swimsuits.

We did get a taxi.  The driver was called Gideon and the road was long, windy, and up and down.  No way could we have walked that!  During our ride, Gideon told us little snippets of information, the most interesting of which was the fact that they all ordered their cars, second hand, on the internet, from Japan.  Apparently it takes two months for the car to be shipped over, you pay in advance, but it still 2 1/2 times cheaper than paying the duty on a new car. He also told us how important tourists were, and that was why everyone made efforts to look after them.  

We had a fantastic time at the beach, which was just as we expected it to be.  The water was blue and warm, the sand was white and the sun was hot.  Lurrrrvly. 
We'd arranged with Gideon to pick us up at 4.30, which he did, so that we would have time to change, and then come out to this internet cafe at the Port where I have just sat and enjoyed coffed n a cake while writing this blog. Tomorrow is Bridgetown, Barbados. Wonderfull!

Day twentytwo, Sunday 20th February, Tobago.

We woke up to a fine morning, and after breakfast went spent most of the morning up on the top deck to watch the island of Tobago grow in front of us.  The strong breeze up there keeps you cool whilst the sun sneakily turns your skin bright red without you noticing.

We had a tour planned this afternoon, “the Argyll Waterfall”, and had to be ready in the Neptune Lounge by 1.15pm.  The boat actually docked about 12.30, so we ate lunch on the rear deck whilst moored next to a Celebrity Cruise ship which was easily twice the size of our little ship, mebbe three times.  Many of their passengers were looking down from their balconies at us as we ate.  Weird!

So after lunch we followed the number 8 paddle to board our tour bus.  It took us along and up the narrow and winding coast road through various villages to our destination.  They drive on the left in Tobago, but they are mad.  The passengers were constantly gasping in unison as cars overtook us and narrowly missed the oncoming traffic.

The view on our right side was fantastic.  The Atlantic Ocean is far too rough for bathing in, and beats up the beaches, so there weren’t any people, but the coves, and the sea, and the rocks and the hills were stunning.

Once we got to the conservation park, and after a short wait, we started walking.  It was easy to start with, and on the way, our guide explained a few trees to us, named the birds that we saw and generally entertained us.  We were effectively in the Tobagoan rainforest, which, unlike the Amazon rainforest is very noisy.  The birds were making a right racket!

Along the way, we saw quite a few birds, one or two of which sat and posed for us, not minding our noisy voices or the flashes of the cameras at all. Peter chased a lizard with his video camera for best part of a hundred yards, and we spotted a caiman sun bathing just down the bank from us. I also got to see a humming bird and a pair of noisy parrots, unfortunately from underneath, so I didn’t get to see the colours.

The walk got more difficult for some as we got closer to the falls, but everyone made it .  The reward was not only to see the falls themselves, but also to be able to swim in the plunge pool.  Me and Peter didn’t have costumes with us, so we settled for a paddle.  Nice and refreshing.

Eventually we had to go back to the tour bus, which brought us back to the ship.  We decided we didn’t want to go back on board yet and had a little wander around the market stalls just outside the port. 

Bearing in mind it was Sunday, and gone 5pm, we weren’t expecting any shops or stalls to be open, but surprisingly, there were loads.  I hunted around a few and eventually came out with what I was looking for, a printed wrap  for tropical night on board ship.  Actually, I bought the skirt and a wrap, cos they were cheap, and I liked ‘em. 

The ship is due to sail at 11pm and tonight’s evening meal was served on the rear deck whilst we still in port.  They’d put tablecloths on the tables and laid them out, turning the area into a restaurant. The lit the oil lamps and played tropical music.  With the lights of the city around us and the stars above, the atmosphere was lovely and we really enjoyed our meal. 

The boat has just fired up its engines ready to set off.  The noise in this little cabin is quite spectacular at the moment, with everything in it rattling – the door sounds like it is going to come off its hinges,  the glasses sound like they are going to smash each other into little pieces and the television is having a go at outdoing everything else.  It’s actually funny.

Anyway, thas me for today.  Tomorrow we are at Kingstown,St Vincent.   No tour tomorrow, we’re gonna see how much trouble we can get in by ourselves

Day twentyone, Saturday 19th February, Cruising to Scarborough........... Tobago

Another sea day, with all the usual – a port talk on Castries, St Lucia this morning, and Peter’s class this afternoon.  There was another talk about Antigua this afternoon, but it clashed with Peters workshop, so I didn’t bother, I read me kindle instead.

 Peter has been painting and produced some lovely little pictures of what we have seen at Boca Do Valeria, Manaus, and from the ship itself.  They have proved to be popular and three out of five have been bagged already.  I have persuaded him that he needs to produce one for an auction which is part of a charity fundraising event on the ship.  The charity is an Orphanage in the Philippines which also takes care of the disabled. 

It was hot this morning, we saw one flying fish, Peter worked and I watched the dolphin races - they are brilliant fun.  It turned miserable this afternoon. Peter’s class went up to about 46, but he has definitely lost a couple.  No worries, the class is still too big and we have to ration the watercolour paper.

We sat and watched the film for the day on the ships tv system (The Horse Whisperer), and have essentially been very idle.

Day twenty, Friday 18th February, Hey were going to Barbados!

Actually we’re going to Scarborough, Tobago, then Kingstown, St Vincent, then Bridgetown, Barbados.  But what’s in an island or two?

It’s another sea day and we are scurrying North around the coast of the South American continent. When I woke up this morning I didn’t feel too clever.  Although the sea is not rough, there was a definite swell thing going on, and the ship is rolling about a bit.  I didn’t bother with breakfast, slept all morning and woke at lunchtime deciding that maybe I should take a travel sickness pill. Peter worked whilst I snored. I managed some soup for lunch, and felt a little better this afternoon.

For the first time on the trip, we have had serious rain – what I mean is, we’ve had grey skies and sea and it’s been raining all day, so everyone has remained inside. It was still very warm out there though.  We think a few others have been affected by the swell, as Peter’s class numbers this afternoon were down – only 40 today. Or it might be that they’ve defected to the choir group that was set up to run at the same time?

I sat chatting to one of the dancers whilst Peter’s class was on, then we hurried to the Neptune lounge to hear Kim, the opera singer, with Magnus on the piano.  Fantastic stuff!

After that, back to the cabin to watch on the ship’s tv channel the port talk given this morning that we missed about Barbados.  (Hence the title), I am really looking forward to that visit.  I can’t decide if I want to shop, loll about on the beach, visit Harrison’s cave or go looking for stuff in the sea.  It all looks wonderful.

(By the way, our cabin is next door to a couple of the singers from the Boudicca’s dance team.  They are practising again right now- so we get to listen to it.)

I think I’m up for an evening meal tonight, so we are about to get changed for dinner.  As it’s been another, sort of uneventful day for blogging, I’ve added a few more photographs, cos I can.

Day nineteen, Thursday 17th February, racing for Tobago

Well, today has been an uneventful sea day.  The captain announced that he thinks that we should still be able to get to Tobago on time, I keep overhearing conversations and speculations about the sandbank we hit yesterday (?), and I burnt me legs a little more up on the top deck.  We were watching the rainforest go by, feeling rather sorry to be leaving it.  If we get the chance, we wanna come back and see more of the jungle.

Until we got past Macapa pilot station and threw the Brazilian guys overboard (I mean “let them off the ship”) Peter has been unable to work and run the art workshops.  This is all to do with the palaver surrounding the seaman’s book.  It did eventually arrive in Manaus we are told.  But the Brazilian authorities insisted that Peter cannot be classed as “crew” unlessl he has a book, and no, he couldn’t be changed from passenger to crew at Manaus.  Those people that were listed as passengers on the manifest when the ship entered the country had to stay passengers until the ship left again.  Peter isn’t the only one affected, the senior host, (proper full time Fred Olsen staff), couldn’t work until we got past Macapa. The hosts work long hard hours, so I bet he was dead chuffed to get a week off.  I doubt the cruise director was as happy.

Anyway, we saw him (the host) tonight, back in uniform and no doubt raring to go (mebbe).  Peter will have a workshop tomorrow and all will be back to normal.

Apart from that, there is not a lot to blog about, so I am adding a few pictures just because.  

Day eighteen, Wednesday 16th February, Parantin

No tours today, just a visit this morning to the little town of Parintin.  It doesn’t have a dock big enough for the ship, so the Boudicca anchored in the middle of the river, and we went ashore by tender.

It was pretty uneventful really. Two lifeboats and two of the local riverboats were used for tenders. The thing with the riverboats is that they are the main means of transport along the river, like buses, trains and articulated lorries. Some trips easily take 6 days in these boats, and when they are used by the locals for transport, the customers bring their own hammock, using them for seating and sleeping in.

But us tourists don’t have hammocks, so the riverboats suddenly produce a load of plastic seats that we would use as garden furniture.  They are not very substantial or secured to the floor which means they slide and around and you don’t feel that safe in them.  One large guy proved they weren’t safe n as much as the chair leg snapped underneath him and he landed on the floor.  Not very dignified, poor bloke.

We had a quick wander around the town which is actually quite nice, and a refreshing change from Manaus.  We visited their cathedral which is pleasantly large and airy, and wandered down one or two of their main streets.  Bikes are the main form of transport:- push bikes, motorbikes and taxi’s in the form of a backwards trike, (Can’t remember what they are called, see picture). The telephone booths put a smile on our faces, (cows!) and we enjoyed a cool drink at a little bar on the edge of the river before returning back to the ship.  A grey dolphin even popped up to say hello whilst we were there.  It was very hot but still very pleasant.

*A quick note about Manaus by the way, we’ve heard about a few muggings there. Two passengers have had gold chains ripped from their necks, and there was an attempt to snatch a camera from another passenger’s hand.  She had the cord wrapped round her wrist so the attempt failed – but other visitors beware!

Now for the real news......  THE SHIP HAS BROKEN DOWN!  We left Parintins at 1pm as scheduled, travelled down river for a couple of miles, and then stopped, because there is a problem with the steering.  The captain has been making regular announcements about the attempts to repair it, but so far, at 7pm, no go.  Maybe they can’t fix it?  The speculation from passengers is going to be so much fun.  I can’t wait to hear it all.

If they managed to fix the problem short time, the Captain is going to have to put his foot down to catch up on lost hours. We have three sea days, (including checking out at Macapa Pilot station tomorrow), before Tobago to do it in.  But this repair seems to be taking so long to fix, who knows what will happen?

UPDATE

Well, they managed to finally fix it and we set sail (Funny term that, setting sail. There are no sails on this ship.) at 8.45 which makes us 7¾ hrs behind schedule.  We’ll have to get the crew to pedal faster and not have any breaks.

PS We are still having difficulty with the phones.  No signal, and when we do get one, there’s a foreign guy keeps repeating the same message.  I think he’s telling me I can’t phone home.

PPS I have no mosquito bites, not one. Poor Peter on the other hand is covered in them!  

Parintins visit 2012

Day seventeen, Tuesday 15th February, Manaus

Jungle trekking tour today.  Yippee.  Just so you know, today it got to 32 degrees C.  It’s been really hot and humid throughout.

We got up and breakfasted quite early, so as to be ready at 8.30 as per jungle trekking ticket instructions.  I was looking forward to this one. I know that we are not expecting to see much, because as was explained during one of the guest lectures, the birds and animals live up high in the trees, don’t make any noise, and can hear a noisy, gossipy load of old tourists from miles away.  But I was excited anyway.

The tour started with a boat ride up the Black River or Il Negro to one of the hundreds of islands in the middle of it.  We’ve been learning a lot about these rivers whilst we’ve been here.  Today’s guide explained that because the Black River is more acidic than the Amazon, there is less flora and fauna, including mosquito’s. 

Once on the island, our guides were joined by local experts of the jungle, (i.e. guys who know how to live in it without the help of wi-fi, loo roll, matches and insect repellent), and we were taken on a trail through the jungle.  It wasn’t a long walk, we paused every hundred yards or so for an explanation by the expert and translation by the guide.  We learnt about different vines, grass that can leave really sharp cuts, big 1 metre long worms, medicinal plants, and flowers.  We saw another gigantic moth (as per picture).  Hunting techniques were explained (like disturbing a load of ants so that they spray formic acid at you, that way you smell of formic acid, not of human), traps were demonstrated, and survival techniques were shown.  Did you know that you can use two AA batteries and a brillo pad to start a fire?  Sadly, the tarantula that they tried to persuade to come out of its hole to say hello decided it had had enough of tourists and being poked with a stick, and remained firmly hidden.  (Another group saw it and showed us the pictures.  It was HUGE!)  

Once the walk was finished, we rested in a restaurant area where we were treated to cold cans and the Amazonian alcoholic drink made with sugar cane and lime, called something like assaye.  It’s about 35% proof and is like drinking neat vodka.  Knock out!  Peter managed to get some film of a caiman in the pond nearby.  Bonus!  After that we were taken on the river boat back to the Boudicca and arrived in time for lunch.

It was all very interesting, but I suppose, for us, the real attraction was the fact that we were actually walking in the Amazon rainforest.  We sort of wished the women ahead of us would shut up, and we could just walk in the quiet, listening to the insects and the odd bird call. We could have watched for birds and maybe monkeys, and walked for a lot further than we actually did.  We wouldn’t have missed it tho, cos we can now say we’ve done it.  We wouldn’t do it again for the money tho (£50 each).

After lunch, we went to have a look at the city.  Manaus used to be very rich because the only place you could get rubber was from the Amazon rainforest, and obviously Manaus was the main trading city for the stuff.  The wealth of the place was astounding, they paid for buildings to be shipped over from all over Europe, to be rebuilt, brick by brick, in Manaus.  The Opera House is the finest and most lavish example of this, apparently well worth a visit because of the sheer opulence, quality and cost of the furnishings that were shipped over.  The dock we were tied to was also imported, from England I think.  It’s unusual because it is a floating dock that rises and falls with the annual flooding of the Amazon.

Then some Englishman had the bright idea of sending the rubber plant seeds abroad and Brazil lost its monopoly on rubber and became poor again.  And what you see as a result is ugly modern buildings next to ramshackle run down looking huts and warehouses next to beautiful old buildings

During our city jaunt we first went to see the Opera House, we didn’t make it in time to fit in a tour because we had to get back to the ship, so we had to settle for a few pictures of the outside.  We then took a wander in the area just outside the port. 

 The city is absolutely teeming with people.  Like Santarem, the roads and paths are in poor state of repair, with plenty of rubbish to decorate.  The city centre is full of shops, and the paths are absolutely crammed with market stalls.  We had a look at the cathedral and sat in the grounds for a few minutes people watching.  An amazing place, but I don’t think I would want to live here.

We got back to the ship and generally stayed on deck through the sail away party, the point where the ship go to “the wedding of the waters”, and the sunset.  Tomorrow we have Parintins, which doesn’t have a dock big enough for the ship, so we’ll be using the tender again.  

Manaus visit day 1 2011
Manaus visit day 1 2012
Manaus visit day 2 2012

Day sixteen, Monday 14th February, Manaus

It’s Valentine’s Day, my nephews birthday, my bro in laws birthday and my sisters wedding anniversary, (I think) AND we are as far up the Amazon as we are going to get.  Manaus is the largest city and the capital of the Amazon.  It started in 1669 and is home to one of the most famous opera houses in the world.  But we haven’t seen the city bit yet.

As usual, I woke up early, and ended making Peter get up too.  We’d booked ourselves onto the “River Exploration” tour and Peter was made an escort.  This means he didn’t have to pay for his place, but he did have to count heads, carry the first aid kit, dispense hand cleanser at mealtimes and loads of other stuff instead.

Basically the tour goes like this:-

Climb onboard larger riverboat for a 45 min ride to Lake January’s floating pier and market.  Tour guide gives load of info abut the area. (Accents are a bit strong, and sometimes it was hard to understand, but we learnt loads)

At Lake January’s floating pier, get off the boat and spend 20 mins in market trying not to spend loads of money on the local crafts (some of that stuff is awesome!).

Go out of the market and walk along a raised wooden walkway to a giant lily pad pond.  On the way be lucky enough to see a troop of spider monkeys make their way under the walkway and through the forest.  Avoid getting bitten by ants or mosquito’s.  Take hundreds of photo’s including the one of the gorgeous orange flower.  I have no idea what it is.

Return to floating pier and climb into motorised, 10 seater canoes.  Driver and guide will take you on a tour of the small creaks (or igrapes).  From the boat you will see and learn about the homes and lives of the river people (ribeirinhos), floating grass, lily pads, floods and droughts.  You will see great egrets, little birds that look like moorhens and other birds you are going to ask Moss about later.  Mostly you get a feel for what it is like travelling all the time in this way.

When canoe returns to floating pier, climb out and go inside to enjoy the buffet meal provided in the restaurant.  Try 3 different types of fish including the black piranha, also known as the amazon cod.  Absolutely delicious.

Once you have finished your meal, get back on board the river boat which will take you  to the meeting of the rivers, where El Negro, (or the black river), meets the sandy coloured Solimoes (other name for the Amazon river).  The tour guide will explain why the two rivers do not mix (ph value, temperature and river speed apparently).Enjoy the continued, relaxing river boat trip to the Tera Nova Island.  Disembark and walk along another wooden walkway to visit a local Cabocia community.  The tour guide will explain the way of life, show you how rubber is harvested, and then turned from it’s liquid form into big black rubber balls.  (Roast it on a stick, turning constantly, as per woman in picture).  You will also learn about the tapioca root, and how it is harvested and roasted for eating.  Around the village are all sorts of plants and trees.  Chocolate trees, (well, cocoa bean trees anyway), rubber trees, grain fruit trees (not edible) and many more.

The locals have a large market garden outside the village.  With fish from the river, they have all the food they need.   Notice birds of paradise plants growing freely and take pictures.

Return to riverboat for final hour long trip back to the ship.  Tour guide will point out various features such as the Navy base, and the floating petrol stations, which are wonderfully different. Apparently there are about 60 of them, and we passed them in a big long row, all competing on fuel prices no doubt

Finally get back to ship hot, sweaty, tired and thoroughly satisfied with the experience.
A brilliant day out!

Then tonight, another treat.  Because we are stopping in Manaus another night, this evenings entertainment was “Simetria Norte”, a local show.  Peter’s previous experience of local shows has not been good, therefore we were not sure what to expect, but to be honest, although the beginning of the show did not look promising, it turned out to be quite spectacular, mostly because of the costumes which were incredibly colourful and bright. The routine seemed to be taking us through the various history of dance and entertainment of the country. Unfortunately, they all sang in Portuguese and we couldn’t quite follow the storyline, which was a shame, because it looked interesting.  It ended up as a carnival of glamour and colour on the stage, with the audience being pulled up to join in.  I really enjoyed it.

And that’s all for today folks.  Tomorrow we have another day in Manaus, and me n Peter have tickets to go on a jungle trek, cameras at the ready. 

The adventure continues..................

Manaus visit day 2 2011        Manaus visit day 1 2012     Manaus visit day 2 2012