Yesterday was a sea day with very little to comment on except that we went to watch the premier of a new show last night. This one is called Fiesta, and as always, the dancers made it shine.
Today we are at Icoaraci. According to the ships' write up, there is nothing at Icoaraci, except access to Belem, which is a major city and has a panoramic skyline to match New York or Panama. Peter and I thought that it looked interesting when we visited last year, so this year we decided we didn't want to do any escorting so that we could have a look around. It's a tender port, and many passengers were booked on tours in the area. Trouble was, there was no space on the pier for our tenders. It was totally full of fishing boats and they weren't going to move just cos a cruise ship had appeared in the middle of the river.
There were regular announcements over the tannoy system, explaining why the tender process hadn't started. Apparently the local police and port agent had been called to assist, but neither could, since the pier is a public pier, and anyone could tie up to it. Eventually, the tenders managed to find a space, and then everyone was taken ashore - passengers on tours first of course, since they were already running late.
Peter and I finally got to the little town in the afternoon, and I am pleased to report that the CMV write up is perfectly correct. There is nothing in Icoaraci, except a river shore that seems to have been made up to look nice and then fallen into a state of disrepair, and a few bars. Peter and I turned left off the pier and took a walk along the riverside. There was nothing of interest, except a load of egrets looking like they were made of stone as they fished on the beach
and the local people doing what local people do. Hanging around chatting under trees and in the bars.
We got so far along the river front before the police appeared and turned all the passengers back, saying that it was dangerous for us to walk on any further. As we walked back towards the pier, it seemed like the police kept multiplying, more and more of them appearing to the point where I wondered if they thought we were going to mug the locals.
It wasn't that of course, but they were obviously concerned to make sure we were safe. Back at the pier site, Peter and I found a bar to use the wi-fi, before taking a short walk in the opposite direction to our stroll earlier (right from the pier, rather than left). It was a very short walk, because I felt that it didn't look safe and wanted to go back to the ship.
So that was Icoaraci. Although I quite liked it, it's definitely not to everyone's taste, one of the lads that works in the Bistro described it as dirty and smelly. So there you go.
And that was Brazil. We now head back out to the Atlantic and turn North, heading for the Caribbean. On the way, we'll visit Royal Island of Iles Du Salut. It's an amazing place and definitely one of our all time favourites. I can't wait.
Today we are at Icoaraci. According to the ships' write up, there is nothing at Icoaraci, except access to Belem, which is a major city and has a panoramic skyline to match New York or Panama. Peter and I thought that it looked interesting when we visited last year, so this year we decided we didn't want to do any escorting so that we could have a look around. It's a tender port, and many passengers were booked on tours in the area. Trouble was, there was no space on the pier for our tenders. It was totally full of fishing boats and they weren't going to move just cos a cruise ship had appeared in the middle of the river.
There were regular announcements over the tannoy system, explaining why the tender process hadn't started. Apparently the local police and port agent had been called to assist, but neither could, since the pier is a public pier, and anyone could tie up to it. Eventually, the tenders managed to find a space, and then everyone was taken ashore - passengers on tours first of course, since they were already running late.
It wasn't that of course, but they were obviously concerned to make sure we were safe. Back at the pier site, Peter and I found a bar to use the wi-fi, before taking a short walk in the opposite direction to our stroll earlier (right from the pier, rather than left). It was a very short walk, because I felt that it didn't look safe and wanted to go back to the ship.
So that was Icoaraci. Although I quite liked it, it's definitely not to everyone's taste, one of the lads that works in the Bistro described it as dirty and smelly. So there you go.
And that was Brazil. We now head back out to the Atlantic and turn North, heading for the Caribbean. On the way, we'll visit Royal Island of Iles Du Salut. It's an amazing place and definitely one of our all time favourites. I can't wait.
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