Peter is out of work at the moment, because the customs/immigration guys are squatting in the conference room. He wants to take advantage and stay in bed. Trouble is, I'm up at about 6 am to go bug hunting. This wakes Peter up, and he ends up having an early start too.
When I get out onto the decks they are wet. Ship management has obviously ordered the crew to hose them down in the early hours before daylight to wash away the creepy crawlies. It's understandable, there are hundreds of them bumbling around the decks, mostly scarab beetles and mole crickets. They are big, all legs and wings when they are flying, and no-one wants one in their face or hair. Almost as bad is the crunch when you stand on one.
There are always a few escapees however, and always something that I've not seen before. This is especially pretty and reminds me of a night sky.
We didn't arrive at the port until about 12.30. The piers are floating, designed to rise and fall with the height of river and our ship looked massive, surrounded as it is by riverboats of all shapes and sizes. Vultures sunbathed on the roofs of the surrounding warehouses, noisy terns and silent cormorants flew back and forth on the bird equivalent of spaghetti junction.
So after lunch we've got ourselves ready to go ashore. Because we've been before, and because Chris (the creative writing tutor), is on her own, she joined us for a little wander. Peter led, and within about 15/20 minutes of leaving the terminal, we'd reached the Opera House. We took a few photo's and were discussing whether we should go inside when we met Barbara, one of the craft instructors. So now we were four.
In the end, Chris and I decided to go in. It is built entirely of bricks, tiles and materials brought piece by piece from Europe and completed in 1896. It always makes me think of Mrs Haversham out of Great Expectations. The wealth and opulence of its creation is very obvious, but it is now faded, old and worn.
That is not entirely true of course, the hall upstairs is absolutely beautiful.
After that, we found a pizza parlour, "Splash", close by, and made use of the free wi-fi before making our way back through the city.
So it was a pleasant afternoon. The day was finished with the most spectacular thunderstorm. We all sat on deck watching and filming, until it reached us that is! Tomorrow we're on tour, "The Amazonian Experience". Keep your fingers crossed that it's a good one.
When I get out onto the decks they are wet. Ship management has obviously ordered the crew to hose them down in the early hours before daylight to wash away the creepy crawlies. It's understandable, there are hundreds of them bumbling around the decks, mostly scarab beetles and mole crickets. They are big, all legs and wings when they are flying, and no-one wants one in their face or hair. Almost as bad is the crunch when you stand on one.
There are always a few escapees however, and always something that I've not seen before. This is especially pretty and reminds me of a night sky.
We didn't arrive at the port until about 12.30. The piers are floating, designed to rise and fall with the height of river and our ship looked massive, surrounded as it is by riverboats of all shapes and sizes. Vultures sunbathed on the roofs of the surrounding warehouses, noisy terns and silent cormorants flew back and forth on the bird equivalent of spaghetti junction.
In the end, Chris and I decided to go in. It is built entirely of bricks, tiles and materials brought piece by piece from Europe and completed in 1896. It always makes me think of Mrs Haversham out of Great Expectations. The wealth and opulence of its creation is very obvious, but it is now faded, old and worn.
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| The stage. The front section can move backwards to reveal an orchestra pit. |
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| The ceiling inside the Opera House |
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| One of the many crystal light fittings in the hall upstairs. |
After that, we found a pizza parlour, "Splash", close by, and made use of the free wi-fi before making our way back through the city.
So it was a pleasant afternoon. The day was finished with the most spectacular thunderstorm. We all sat on deck watching and filming, until it reached us that is! Tomorrow we're on tour, "The Amazonian Experience". Keep your fingers crossed that it's a good one.
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