Friday, February 14, 2003  - Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Adolfo didn’t feel well this morning.   Had what I had earlier in the week – a very bad tummy. Has slept most of the day and told me that he wouldn’t be going down to eat the evening meal.  He’s really sick!    Ordered him a thermos of chicken broth, a thermos of chamomile tea and crackers.    It’s a formal night and we’ve been invited to Dr. Margritte Kronberg’s table.   She’s the ship’s doctor and a true delight.   Have decided to go alone.   Seems funny to be dressing formally and totting off to the dining room by myself.

We sat at table with a couple from England, a couple from Los Angeles, Marcos (the on board rep from Stern’s Jewelers in Rio) and Mrs. Rolf Kauka (Alexandra).    Alexandra is a wonderful character, a perfect blend of Zsa Zsa, a young Simone Signoret, and Hildegarde.  She’s very glamorous, speaks with a German accent (where she grew up), and called me and everyone else, “Dahling”.  Recently widowed she traveled alone for the first time.   While she claimed to be uncomfortable with this arrangement one would never have known it.    Spent a lot of time with her at the poker table in the casino.

At about 9:30, dinner was over, and gentle conversation was being shared.   I was wondering whether or not I could excuse myself to go check on Adolfo.  However, while I was debating what pause in the conversation would be the right time, Alexandra had had quite enough.  At 9:45 p.m., she gently rose from her chair and addressed the assemblage in this way:  “Dahlings, it’s been delightful but if you will excuse me, I have a date at 10:00 p.m. at the poker table and you know, this appointment cannot be broken”.    We all said goodnight to her.   I kept a straight face although inside I was laughing uproariously!   Five minutes later I excused myself to go check on Adolfo.    He was fine, so I went off to the Casino and joined Alexandra.  I sat down next to her and repeated her parting statement:    “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s been delightful but if you will excuse me, I have a date at 10:00 p.m. at the poker table, and you know, this appointment cannot be broken”?!?!   We all laughed aloud – Alexandra laughed the heartiest!   Such style.   No one else that I know in this world could have carried off that table departure.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Longest man-made thing:  Trans-Siberian Pipe Line (Yep!   It’s longer than the Great Wall of China!)

Tango:  Another cultural hybrid is the tango, a music style and dance that emerged from the poor immigrant quarters of Buenos Aires toward the end of the 19th century and quickly became famous around the world as a symbol of Argentine culture.  Influenced by the Spanish tango and, possibly, the Argentine milonga, it was originally a high-spirited local phenomenon.  But, after the dance was popularized by singers, it became an elegant ballroom form\ characterized by romantic and melancholy tunes.  By the end of the 20th century, the tango had lost some of its appeal amont the nation’s youth, who generally preferred dancing to rock and pop music in local discos; nevertheless, it has remained popular among the older generation and foreigners.  The tango has continued to evolve under the influence of such artists as Astor Piazzolla and Roberto Fripo.

Saturday, February 15, 2003 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The ship arrived in Rio at 7:00 a.m. and we wanted to be up early to see the port.   Wanted desperately to see Corcovado (Christ the Redeemer on the mountain), Sugarloaf, Ipanema Beach, Copacabana Beach from the sea – so we were both up at 5:30 a.m.   Ran upstairs to the forward lounge where early risers can get a continental breakfast.    Couldn’t see a blessed thing.    There was heavy fog.   We’d picked up the pilot boat for the harbor so knew we were there, but could see nothing!    It could have been San Francisco Bay on a foggy day!    We could catch glimpses of Sugar Loaf through the mist, perhaps the top third of the mountain, but that’s all.    Finally berthed and could see no further than a block.

Since Buenos Aires, we’ve had representatives on the ship from Stern, Amsterdam and Saban, three jewelry companies who deal in the gemstones native to the country of Brazil.   The jewelry reps will arrange complimentary tours for small groups to be taken around Rio, and then make a stop at the store of whichever jewelry company is doing the tour.    Udo, from Stern’s was to be our guide for the day. The Dell Orto’s and the Ford’s also went with us.    We were taken to Corcovado.  I’d waited to see the Christ statute watching over Rio ever since I was a child in grammar school and had my first history lesson on Brazil.  It was then that I saw a picture in my history book. That first memory stayed with me so long and there I was on the tram going up the mountain of Corcovado (hunchback) to realize this long dream.   It was better than I thought.   We were so high over the city.  Although it was still a bit hazy, the views were stupendous.   The whole facility had just been recently completely redone.  One can now take elevators after debarking the tram, and then two escalators that take you up to the feet of the Christ.   It’s huge!  It’s beautiful!   How in the world did they build it here and why?   Questions never answered today.   Will look further when I return home.    At the back of the statue, there’s a small chapel that is gated.   People throw money and written prayers in through the steel gate, say a prayer and move on.   From this vantage point one can see all of Rio, and the many inlets of the bay that create the famous beaches of this city.   We could only wish for blue skies and sunshine.

After Corcovado, we were whisked to Stern Jewelers.  There were several floors of buying opportunity, beautiful jewelry and a great gift shop.    Decided to buy amethysts (unset).   Bought a pair to be set into drops that can be attached to my diamond studs, then bought sets of the same stone (different shapes) for Christina, Sandi and Rose.   Hope they will enjoy them.   Then bought a couple of costume necklaces in the gift shop.   Adolfo fading fast, not feeling well enough to continue, so the store ordered a car to return us to the ship.   Other two couples went on to lunch and further touring.   Adolfo slept the afternoon away.

TRIVIA:  What movie star signed the first $1,000,000.00 contract?  And, name the studio founded by that star which is still in existence?

Corcovado:  Sharp rocky peak (1,296 feet, or 389 meters) rising over the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  It’s part of the Carioca Range.   On its narrow summit towers the imposing statue of Christ the Redeemer, 98.5 feet (30 meters) tall. 

Sunday, February 16, 2003  - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Today we’re being escorted by Saban Jewelers.   Same group is to go to Mass at the local Benedictine Monastery, not too far from the ship.   Mass is at 10:00, but we were told to get there at least forty-five minutes early so that we’d get seats.

Arrived at the church at 9:30 a.m. and found seats.   Church was already very hot and very dark.  It had no windows.   Guess they didn’t want to add to the heat of the day by turning on the lights too early.  Finally at 10:00 a.m. Mass began after all the seminarians and Benedictine Monks had lined the sides of the altars, seated at old carved wooden choirs.   Incense burned, its smoke curling throughout the church, intensifying the heat already felt by all.   More and more heat was generated by the lights that had finally been turned on and by at least half of the congregation madly fanning themselves with the bulletin of the day.  The fanners were working so furiously that their body temperatures had to be rising!

At about one hour and fifteen minutes into the Mass, the homily just having been completed, Bea Dell Orto excused herself, Adolfo and I followed.   We were all afraid that we were going to faint.   The heat was so oppressive.   Outside it was more pleasant, but still hot.    Finally, some forty minutes later, Mass ended, Jimmy Dell Orto and Patrick Ford came out of the church. (At the last minute this morning, Cynthia, Pat’s wife, opted for a quiet morning aboard ship.)    We all got ourselves back into the van and were soon driving through quiet streets, our driver giving all of us a Disneyland E Ride!   We were certain that he’d been taught to drive in New York City, as we wove all over the road, practically taking the curves on two wheels and going through red lights.  Could he have been colorblind as well?

None of us had remembered to bring water.  The driver stopped at a little grocery store and brought out iced bottles of water for each of us.   We gratefully slaked our thirst and then began to notice that there was a terrible smell permeating the inside of the van.   I thought perhaps the driver had stepped in some dog doodoo.   We soon noticed that our hands were absolutely stinking.   Seems as though the store proprietor had kept the bottled water in ice with the fish - such a bad smell.   YUCK.    Bea had some towelettes in her purse that helped somewhat.   The driver produced a can of air freshener for our hands.   We declined. Then he remembered that he had some diaper wipes under the seat.   That helped but the bottles were still in the car.  The smell was still spreading.  Adolfo dropped his bottle and it split leaking the contents all over him.  So now he wasn’t only stinky but sopping wet.

We put the bottles all into the also smelly plastic bag.   The driver stopped again at another store and with his profound apologies he bought more water.   We dumped our stinky stuff in a dumpster near the van and watched as a man went by, picked out our bag of half used water bottles and proceeded to drink them dry.   Wonder what he thought when he later realized that awful fishy smell was following him everywhere.

Adolfo and Bea went up the gondola to Sugar Loaf to see the beautiful views of Rio.   Jimmy and I were both uncomfortable to be dangling out over nothing, 700 plus feet from the ground on a thin cable.  We declined the ascent and stayed with the driver while he toured us around some beaches and local neighborhoods.    Jimmy had the driver stop at a flower stand so he could buy Bea a plant and award it to her when she descended Sugarloaf – “for valor”.

After collecting everyone we were off to Saban jewelers.    This is such a wonderful way to see Rio.  You get a car and guide free.   All you have to do it visit the jewelry store.   If you don’t buy, that’s the chance they take.   But for the most part everyone from the ship bought something.   Bought a pair of earrings of rutillated quartz and a stone bird, a green parrot that sits on a beautiful piece of amethyst geode.

Just before bedtime, the captain of the ship announced that instead of leaving Rio at 10:00 that evening, we would be held up until 8:00 the next morning for our departure.   A plane in Miami had been delayed with engine trouble.   Along with a fair number of new ship’s passengers, on the plane were some ship’s staff returning to the Seabourn Pride after their vacations, so we waited!  While I understood the delay, I was disappointed that we wouldn’t be leaving Rio at night.   The views would have been breathtaking.  The night was perfectly clear of fog.

ANSWER:   Charlie Chaplin signed the first $1,000,000.00 contract and founded United Artists Studio.

Gems– Emerald:  A bright green variety of beryl that is highly valued as a gemstone.  The name comes indirectly from the Green Smaragdos, but this name seems to have been given to a number of stones having little in common except a green color.  During the Spanish conquest of South America, vast quantities of emeralds were taken from the Peruvians, but the exact locality that yielded the stones was never discovered by the conquistadors.  Many emeralds have come from Bogota, Columbia.

Monday, February 17, 2003  - Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Finally leaving the dirty harbor of Rio at 8:00 in the morning.   For such an idyllic setting the city of Rio has yet to find its responsibilities where the seawater is concerned.   Can’t understand how Rio’s inhabitants can swim the beautiful beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema knowing that there is raw sewage going into the bay waters.  Indication is everywhere.   Rather off putting!   They must get a treatment facility or more than one, operating to contain the stem of effluence into the waters.

Today we were at sea, trying to make up some ten hours we awaited passengers and crew due yesterday afternoon.   All are safely aboard and we’re going full speed ahead.    It was a lazy day aboard ship as we all tried to recuperate from the high temps of Rio.   Most passengers are sporting new jewelry, in either tourmaline, amethyst, imperial topaz, emerald or aquamarine.   If we ever come again to Brazil will bring an allowance to purchase gems mined in this country.   Have never seen such an array and at pretty good prices.   I didn’t do my homework before this trip so the opportunity took me unawares.   Perhaps this is a good thing!

TRIVIA:  What musical toured the United States before opening in London – the year was 1972?

Gemstones:  Tourmaline – my favorite, sometimes referred to as the Brazilian emerald.  Bicolor crystals occur that are pink at one end and green at the other; concentric color zoning may also occur.   The transparent stones that are free from flaw are cut as gems.

Aquamarine – my other favorite, a pale blue-green variety of beryl that is valued as a gemstone.  The commonest variety of gem beryl, it occurs in pegmatite in which it forms much larger and clearer crystals than emerald (one completely transparent crystal from Brazil weighed 110 kilos  - 243 pounds).  Aquamarine occurs in Brazil, the chief source.  Heat treatment improves the color of many gem beryls;  green beryl turns blue between 570 and 840 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Another day at sea, cruising northward toward Salvador de Bahia.   Lazy times for us all, catching up on reading and journal writing.

TRIVIA ANSWER:  Jesus Christ – Superstar opened in London after touring the United States.

Wednesday, February 19, 2003  - Salvador de Bahia

We arrived this morning about one and a half hours later than scheduled.   During the night we lost one of our four engines and were forced to go slower than the Captain had planned.

The day was so hot and muggy, didn’t know how long we’d last on the tour.   We’d chosen the “Colonial Tour” of Salvador that was a combination of bus and walking.   First stop was a lighthouse which we were allowed time to photograph from its rear.  Unfortunate, because it had a huge building obscuring it’s bottom half.  Interesting watching so many trying to adjust cameras while natives shout, “Lady”!   Lady”!   “ Buy, Lady!”  This is the first place that I’d wished I’d stayed aboard ship.   Didn’t like these people in my face not understanding a firm “NO”, which was always following a polite “No, thank you”.   Got hotter and more frustrated by the moment.

The town of Salvador de Bahia was first built on the bluff above the harbor.   There’s a church for almost every block of the town.   Realizing that they had a beautiful bay perfect for shipping commerce the Bahians built another town, the lower town at the water’s edge.   The bus took us up to the town where we walked very uneven stone streets.  Probably missed seeing tons of stuff because I was constantly looking where my next step was going to be planted.   Easy to fall and hurt oneself on the streets of Salvador de Bahia.    Plans are going on for their Carnivale that will begin next Wednesday and go the next eight days, unlike Rio’s that begins March 1 and only goes on for three days.

All of us were so hot and tired as we trudged toward the church of St. Francis of Assisi, a former Jesuit church and a very ornate building.   In the 1600s one ton of gold was brought to Salvador for the interior gilding of all of the carving in the.   It’s certainly a contrast to the poverty out in the streets.   Lots of beggars and an occasional leper are in the streets.  Some of the older people hadn’t read the description of the tour and complained loudly and bitterly that they were tired and wanted to go back to the ship.   What?   And spoil it for the rest of us who were doing so well?!?   After we’d exhausted the streets of Salvador, or rather we’d exhausted ourselves on the streets of Salvador, we took an elevator down to the lower town where our bus waited.   Then we were whisked to a local craft market where one must bargain for anything of interest.    I’m so not good at this!   Hate it, in fact!    But did buy a bird carved out of some sort of semiprecious stone.   The bargaining was just too much work for a $15.00 bird.

After a light lunch back aboard ship, instantly collapsed on the bed for a nap.  Such a tough life!

One good thing about our stop today - twenty years ago, Salvador de Bahia had the dirtiest waters in the whole of the country of Brazil.   Now their waters are crystal clean, of a gorgeous green blue color and fit for swimming.   That seems to me a tremendous undertaking given the apparent poverty of the city.

TRIVIA:  Who was the first Playboy centerfold?   Volume # and Edition #?

Salvador de Bahia is famed for the beauty of its many Baroque colonial churches, especially the church of the convent of the Third Order of St. Francis (1701).   There are also notable examples of colonial secular architecture, including the Barra lighthouse at the Atlantic tip of the peninsula and many 17th century forts.   Salvador is the seat of Universidade Federal da Bahia (1946) and Universidade Catolica do Salvador (1961).  There are several museums, including one displaying sacred art in the monastery of Santa Tereza.

Thursday, February 20, 2003 – Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

The ship’s broken engine is fixed.   We are going full steam ahead to the town of Natal where we will ride dune buggies, board ferries, and perhaps have a swim at a local very clean beach.

But, today, it will be laundry, trivia play, another nap, perhaps a short sun out on deck, and a formal evening.

TRIVIA ANSWER:  First centerfold for Playboy magazine was Marilyn Monroe, Volume #1, Edition #1.

Brazil is the world’s leading producer of coffee.   Coffee is a common name for any of a genus of evergreen tress of the madder family and also for their seeds (beans) and for the beverage made from them.   Of the 40 species of the genus, only three are commercial important:  Arabica or Arabian, robusta or Congo, and Liberian

Usually several varieties of green coffee are blended and roasted together to produce the tastes, aromas and flavors popular with coffee drinkers.   As a rule the beans are heated in rotating, horizontal drums that provide a tumbling action to prevent uneven heating or scorching.   The roasted beans are cooled rapidly.  In the producing and consuming countries, the major roasters have moved to higher roasting temperatures and more rapid throughout, which is more energy efficient. Some coffee aficionados criticize this process because it produces a slightly less smooth tasting beverage because the surface of the bean is severely heated while the interior of the bean receives less severe heat.   A very slow roasting process has also been developed which exploits cheap waste materials for fuel.  

Friday, February 21, 2003 - Natal, Brazil

This day, we are in another obscure (for me) city in Brazil.   However this stop proved to be lots of fun.   Instead of the usual bus to pick up passengers and whisk us off to beaches, churches, cities old and new, etc., we were met by a fleet of dune buggies – all sizes, colors and each buggy in various state of repair.  The day had been divided into the soft/short ride, or the hard/long ride.   We chose the former, climbed into a cream colored buggy and off we went, Adolfo firmly ensconced in the front seat under a shade canopy and I in the back seat on a bench seat out under the sun – the very hot and burning sun!   Had put on sun screen and wore a hat which threatened to get away from me and in fact once did just that.   The driver stopped, ran back and picked it up out of a ditch!   After several blocks from the ship, through a horrid, smelly part of town, all the buggies boarded a ferry to get to the other side of an inlet bay.

We drove off to the sand dunes, huge sweeping dunes, lovely, ivory colored sand, smooth, except for an occasional tire mark of a previous buggy.   We swooped and bogged, swayed and jumped over the sand, stopping occasionally to admire the beaches, sweet water lagoons and city skyline in the distance.   Our driver/guide spoke no English, but that didn’t stop him from enthusiastically pointing out all the interesting sights - in Portuguese.   Realized that if I shouted the words back, as closely as I imagined him to speak them, he was pleased and absolutely certain that I understood all that was said!   Got lots of smiles from him!

We continued to hurtle over and around sand dunes, out onto the road, off the road onto another beach and there in front of us were the smallest ferries I’ve ever seen, at least until later that morning.   These ferries were wooden rafts long enough to hold two buggies.  At each end of the raft there were hinged planks that could be raised and lowered to drive on or drive off either end.   The crossing was perhaps a half-mile long and the ferry/rafts and operated by men with long poles pushing along the bottom of the bay.   One man with a pole ferrying across two buggies – amazing!   From what I could tell from the depth at which the pole went into the water, it appeared no deeper than four to five feet at any point we crossed.

We were soon off the second ferry and into a small, very primitive settlement.   There was one curiosity, though.  On one building was a painted sign as follows:  “Materiale & Costruscione  – Bin Laden”, and then a phone number.   Maybe we’d found Osama!

Soon we were on another beach hurtling along toward a white canopy.   Underneath it were tables and chairs set up for our refreshment.   Soft drinks, beer, caiperinhas - Brazil’s national drink - (pronounced “ky-per-een-yas”), skewered BBQ’d shrimp and lobster were offered.   It was so nice to get out of the buggy and relieve my backside from the rough ride.   Adolfo had trouble getting out of the buggy and in trying to lift his leg over the side he tweaked his knee.  We were entertained while we rested with the local dance by young men who mirrored a martial art set to music – very athletic, almost balletic and very beautiful to watch. It has its derivations from slave days.

Some of the guests from the ship chose to go swimming on this very inviting beach.   However, we’ve had enough of the sun so we went back to the ship for another long rest.  A day without a nap was hardly complete!

Caiperinha:   The Brazilian national drink made with about six lime wedges in a medium squatty glass, muddled heavily with powdered sugar.   Then the liquor Cascas (pronounced “ka-shas”) is added.   Cascas is made from sugar cane.   Don’t know the proportions, but when finished drinking this concoction, there are tons of smashed limes at the bottom of the glass.   My personal preference is still the national drink of Argentina – the Pisco Sour.  The Pisco Sour is made similarly to the Margarita, but instead of using tequila, liquor called Pisco is substituted.   It’s really good!

Pisco Sour (recipe from Spanish Club in Iquique, Chile – 1998 trip)

1 part Pisco                             1/3 part Lemon/Lime Juice

1 TBS powdered sugar           1 egg white

                        ice

Blend all (N.B. - might have also had small portion of orange liquer)

TRIVIA:  Which Hollywood star has a patent for a way in which to do secure military transmissions?  The system is called Spread Spectrum.

Gemstones:  Topaz, when pure, may be colorless and when brilliant cut has been mistaken for diamond.   It may also be colored various shades of yellow, blue or brown; the color in many cases is unstable, and the brown topazes of Siberia are particularly liable to be bleached by sunlight.  In 1750 a Parisian jeweler discovered that the yellow Braziliana topaz becomes pink on exposure to a moderate heat and this treatment has

since been extensively applied, so that nearly all the pink topaz occurring in jewelry has been heat treated.   Such “burnt topaz” is often known as Brazilian ruby, as is the very rare, natural red topaz.  

Saturday, February 22, 2003  - Fortaleza, Brazil

Fortaleza is another city that I’d never heard of before this trip.  On a bus we were taken to the “new” cathedral completed in 1971.   The church is very gothic in architecture, rather cold,  but the stained glass windows inside this church are absolutely beautiful.   Some of our photos will reflect their bright colors.   We are batting a thousand in our never-ending search for a church to light candles.   Haven’t found a single one in all of Chile, Uruguay, Argentina or Brazil!!!  In Europe I’ve been known to single-handedly cause an economic increase in the candle making industry.   This phenomenon won’t happen in South America.

The city of Forteleza was not interesting to me.   Am I getting jaded?    I think that the first part of our trip with its natural beauty was so rich.  Seeing these old towns at the other end of the trip is so tiring.  The guides talked a lot but said little of value.   Whenever I‘d catch a pearl in the strange sounding talk, that lack of English language skills in the speaker was such that the whole story wasn’t conveyed.  Questions were seldom answered.  We just got more gibberish and clever chatter and often lots of sexual innuendo regarding the music and Carnivale.  

The beaches were lovely but most of us were afraid to chance a swim.   There’s so little responsibility about sewage in these places and so many very poor areas near and around the beautiful beaches where sewage treatment is non-existent.

Had a terrible headache today that I couldn’t seem to shake.  This could be part of the reason for my negative response to Forteleza, but I don’t think so.    Even after sleeping a while it was still there.   Think I’ll stay in tonight and dose myself with more Tylenol, have room service and get to bed early.

TRIVIA ANSWER:   Spread Spectrum inventor – Hedy Lamaar.

Gemstones:  Amethyst, a transparent, coarse grained variety of the silica mineral quartz that is valued as a semiprecious gem for its violet color.  The name derived from the Green amethystos, “not intoxicated,” expresses the ancient folk belief that the stone protects its owner against drunkenness.  (Should have worn amethysts every day aboard ship!) 

Sunday, February 23, 2003 – Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Headache still lingers but not too strong.   We are at sea for the next four days.  There’s lots of time for reading, resting and perhaps starting to pack up.   I’m ready to get on home.

Have just come up with a recommendation for anyone who might want to repeat this trip.   While I loved the first part of the trip from Valparaiso, through the Patagonian fjords to Rio de Janeiro, I feel we should have ended our trip there and flown home.    On another trip, we should have picked up the boat at Manaus in the Amazon, (where we will debark), and taken the ship from there out of the Amazon through the Caribbean and ended in Fort Lauderdale.   Think it would have been much more interesting and flying home from Florida would have been a piece of cake.  At the end of our trip it will take us three days of flying from Manaus to San Francisco.   That’s enough to make you need another vacation!

TRIVIA:  What is the meaning of the musical term “strepitoso”?

Amazonia is thought to be the oldest tropical forest region in the world, as old as one hundred millions years.   Perhaps forty kinds of rain forests have been differentiated - some are flooded half the year, others would die if inundated.  None are static.  Trees are uprooted and washed downstream when rivers change their courses.   Forests burn from natural causes as well as man-made fires.  With the abundant rainfall, forests renew themselves in time.

Amazonian forests hold an astonishing variety of species; there are few solid stands of trees. Fauna are even more varied.  Most creatures live in upper story of the forest, the canopy that gathers energy from the sun through photosynthesis.

Early Portuguese explorers called the almost oceanic complex of waters “O Rio Mar”, the River Sea.   The first European to descend the river, Francisco de Orellana in 1541, named the river Maranon (Big Maze) because of its confusion of channels.  However, Orellana’s chronicler reported attacks by women warriors, which led eventually to its being named The River of the Amazons.

Monday, February 24, 2003 – Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Took a seasick pill last night thinking that perhaps my headaches are caused by a motion problem with the inner ear.   Slept really well and woke this a.m. at 6:30 with another headache.   Two Tylenol later, pain subsided, but it still lingers.   Could it be caffeine withdrawal?   Am not drinking as much coffee as at home so maybe . . .

We are still heading toward the Amazon.    The shore on the port side of the ship is more visible than it was yesterday.    Am seeing the surf break on long reefs away from the shore.   We should be entering the narrows of the Amazon late this afternoon or early evening.   

We were told last evening that once in the Amazon the ship will be approached by “cacoclos” (local inhabitants living beside the river region) in canoes wanting passengers on the ship to throw gifts overboard to them.   It is recommended that we not throw fruit as they have it growing wild in their back yards!    Really!  Would you think of throwing a banana gift to someone living in the jungle with his own banana tree in his backyard?   Those of us that have discussed this have decided to throw them clothing that no longer fits (that could be the entire wardrobe), or that clothing which we’d like to burn when we get home because we’re just sick of it.

Have made up a package of a couple old t-shirts and a cotton shirt that I bought on the ship.  Inside those clothes have filled a Ziploc baggie with ship’s soaps, shampoo, bath supplies and tied it all together.  It’s ready to toss overboard.

TRIVIA ANSWER:  Strepitoso – noisy and boisterous.

The Riverside Caboclos:  Today there are many peasants or “caboclos” living beside the Amazon and its tributaries (almost 100% of the families you will see from the Seabourn Pride are Caboclos).  In some cases, these settlers live and depend entirely on the river and varzea or flooded area, but many cultivate some of their crops on terra firme or non-flooded areas. The riverine caboclos have adopted many of the same techniques as the Indians.

Their life is strongly influenced by the annual cycle of the river.  In dry season, many will cultivate beans or corn on the exposed river margins.  In some places, especially near Manaus, cattle have been introduced and in flood time they must be removed to terre firme or kept on rafts and fed with grass.  In spite of the adverse conditions, there are about half a million head of cattle in the flood plain on the Manaus-Careiro area.

The simple houses of the caboclos, usually built with a palm thatch roof, are either on stilts or are floating.  One can even find floating stores, churches and gasoline stations in larger villages.  A common feature of such houses is a raised garden, usually planted in an old canoe shell.   The river people depend heavily upon fishing for their livelihood and use lines and hooks as well as nets (called “tarafas”) to catch the fish.  In dry season they catch lots of turtles.

The life of the caboclos is simple.   In general they are content when they have caught enough fish for the day’s meal and do not catch more to sell.   Their food consists mainly of cassava flour mixed with fish and they also grow some fruit and keep a few chickens.  The caboclos have many superstitions and legends originating from Indian culture, including a rich history of folk medicine.  Where there are groups of people, sometimes primary schools may be found, but the vast majority of riverside children live too far away from such schools to receive any formal education.

Tuesday, February 25, 2003 – Cruising the South Breves Narrows - In the Amazon

Today we are in the narrows at the mouth of the Amazon region.   Although still not on the Amazon River, but the Rio Tapajos, the scenery was certainly wonderful.   Thick jungle grew on either shore, thatched houses every so often, rickety, and perched atop rotting pilings.  Colorful wash hung out on the line at every hut. In the water, the canoes paddled (“caboclos”) from shore loaded with children looking for something to be thrown overboard by the ship’s passengers.

The water of the Amazon basin is like thick, rich chocolate.   Occasionally at the shore you spy a black intrusion into the river that is fresh water cutting into the muddy water.  Strikingly green, fresh local flora filled the river as it washed out to sea – the green clumps sometimes so large in diameter that they appeared to be floating islands.   It’s all in striking contrast to the milk chocolate color of the river.    Can’t figure out where people do their washing, which must be on Tuesday, as every house has a full line of clothes drying on this humid, semi-sunny day.   Doesn’t appear that they have running water coming into their “houses” so they must find fresh water away from the shore.    Occasional spritzes from rain showers cooled us.  With the damp from above and a spot of shade out on deck the weather was just barely manageable.    We stayed out on deck most of the morning and finally retired to the comfort of the aircon inside the viewing lounge.

Noting the muddy water and thinking of the weight of my overboard package and also noting the great numbers of children in dugouts throughout the day hoping for something from the ship, decided to break it up into four smaller parts.   Finally threw four packets overboard and dugout canoes scrambled to get them before they disappeared below the murk.   Some of the passengers aboard ship wondered whether or not in the next National Geographic or Discovery Channel documentary we will see someone from the Amazon wearing our clothing!?!

TRIVIA:  What are the signs of the Chinese zodiac?

Amazonia is the 2,722,000 square mile drainage basin of the Amazon River in South America. While most of the basin is Brazilian, the river’s countless tributaries also drain vast areas of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia and Venezuela.

About three-fourths of the Brazilian Amazon is rain forest.   The remainder is largely scrub and natural grasslands. Nearly ten percent of the forest has been cut and burned to develop farms, settlements and several large cities. (The 10% figure was challenged aboard ship – most feel that the number is higher).

The Amazon’s most distant tributaries form in the snow clad Andes at the western edge of the continent and flow east.  From the most distant source, Laguna McIntyre at 17,200 feet elevation in southern Peru, its waters run about 4,000 miles to the Atlantic Ocean via the Apurimac and thence the Ucayali Rivers.

In the course of its eastward flow, the Amazon’s volume is augmented by a dozen great rivers.  Two of them are larger than the Mississippi:  The Rio Negro draining northwestern Brazil and the Rio Madeira draining Bolivia.  Nearer to the ocean, the basin is narrowed by two masses of ancient rock, the Guiana Shield to the north and the Central Brazilian Plateau to the south.  Navigable rivers pour from these highlands into the Amazon mainstream.

The Amazon is by far the greatest river on earth.  At maximum flood, around June 1, its flow equals that of the next eight largest rivers on earth combined.  It discharges into the Atlantic about 60 million galls per second, 200 times the municipal water requirements of the United States.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003  - Santarem, Brazil, in the Amazon

The captain has arranged for a surprise port visit.   We are stopping at Santarem, a small city in the Amazon.  We’ll have time to walk around town in the morning, however, at this writing, it’s pouring outside.  In the afternoon, we’re going to take a local riverboat into one of the tributaries and out to a lake where we’ll hope to view the local flora and fauna and fish for piranha!   Not certain whether I really want to do this, but then how many others can claim that experience!  So we’ll go out covered from head to toe, sprayed with bug repellant and hope for the best. The bugs here are huge – the wasps look positively prehistoric!    We’ve not taken malaria pills.   The doctor on board felt that it was not necessary especially because of the side effects for so many who do take them.   We have had yellow fever shots so we’re okay in that event.

Santarem seemed a pretty big city for the Amazon.   There appeared to be quite a bit of commerce there.   Large dock facilities – however, it’s still pouring.   Am not venturing out in this weather!

Have decided, after all,  to venture out onto the dock area to see if there are any local handicrafts available.  I need to bring home something with feathers!!!!   Maybe an Amazon headdress?!?!?  

Just back from the thriving metropolis of downtown Santarem (Sant-areem - someone has told us this means St. Irene.)   Had to take a bus shuttle past the dock area.  One store right near the place where we left the bus featured tons of local art work – baskets, hats, wood carvings, water buffalo horn carvings, painted wooden birds of the area, hammocks (this area is big on hammocks!), ornately carved wood paddles, masks, headdresses, the meanest machetes you’ve ever seen, and all sorts of things made from the semi-precious stones of Brazil.    Adolfo bought a wood carved toucan and a turtle made from buffalo horn.

Then we sauntered in the rain down the center of the main street.   All store are open onto the sidewalk.   Sales people stand outside the store and clap their hands to gain your attention as you walk by.  I find this preferable to the towns of Natal and Fortaleza where we were pursued by the natives shouting, “Lady!” “Lady!” “Buy Lady, Buy!”   Music blared everywhere, beating out the wonderful rhythms of Brazil.    There were tons of fabric stores featuring bolt after bolt of the cheapest, sleaziest, loudest colored fabric I’ve ever seen.   Also went into what appeared to be the local Sears-like store.   Didn’t see one sewing machine.  That fact had me wondering how all the fabric was used.  Perhaps everything is sewn by hand?

Back to the ship for a quick lunch and shortly thereafter gathered to go out into the rain once again, board small riverboats and this time to head for Lake Maica where we’ll fish for piranha.

Lake Maica is called a lake but it really isn’t one.  It’s a particularly wide portion of the river that completely floods during the months of May and June.    There are lots of residents in this area raising chickens, cattle and water buffalo.   It’s really amazing as you see cattle grazing and then others swimming along in certain areas.   There are also lots of piranhas.  Four riverboats plied their way through the murky waters as Seabourn guests tried to catch piranha with raw beef as bait.  After an hour or so – no luck.   Then one of the crew on our riverboat did catch one and we all posed with it as if we’d done the deed.   The guide on our boat then cooked the fish and we all had a tiny taste.    The fish is white meat, very mild, quite sweet.  He sautéed it with onion, and then served it piece-by-piece, dredging each in manioc flour.   Manioc flour, hardly flour consistency, is a ground up root.   White manioc can be eaten fresh, cooked or dried and ground.   Yellow manioc without a certain curing process is quite poisonous and can kill those who eat it.    The fish was good, but the manioc flour served with it tasted like we were eating fish with coarse ground raw polenta.  

The views along the river were wonderful.   Even in the rain there was much to photograph.   Beautiful and dramatic clouds, lush foliage, ramshackle houses that seemed would fall over in a strong wind all made the tour quite alluring.   Along the way, native Amazonians were out in dugout canoes, often with children, oaring through the reeds looking for good spots to catch fish.   

At one “farm”, our guide brought the riverboat to shore.   He wanted us to see an unusual sight.   These people had found a baby capibarra (world’s largest rodent) and were bringing it up as a pet.   Imagine having the world’s largest rat as a pet – Adolfo thought it looked more like a large rabbit!    The woman came aboard the riverboat with the animal in her arms.    Its fur was extremely coarse, face like a rabbit, but with no discernible ears and no rat-like tail.   It was already the size of a five-year old child and was only a baby.    These animals get really huge and are also good for eating.   While the capibarra appeared quite docile, most of us were relieved when mistress and “pet” departed.

Our riverboat guide, Renato, brought fresh Brazil nuts, still in the large pod.   When each nut is removed from the pod, the Brazil nut appears as we know it - in a hard triangular shell.   Eaten fresh, the nutmeat is almost like fresh coconut and absolutely delicious.   Renato also brought along a sopapaia (not certain of the spelling).    This nut only grows in the Amazon, in a huge gourd like container, green in color and hangs from a tree on a long, tough stem.    At the time of ripeness, the bottom of the sopapaia falls to the ground as if someone had cut out a perfect round circle, thereby revealing a soft, pale green, substance inside where many sopapaia nuts nestle.   The nuts have to be harvested from the soft substance and then shelled.   These nuts were good, too, but can’t give a likeness in taste and texture.   Perhaps the closest taste comparison would be if you’ve ever gotten an almond when it’s still in its fuzzy green pod, culled out the fruit before it’s fully developed. My brother and I did that as children and that’s my only memory of something comparable.   If by accident you eat any of the soft substance around the nuts of the sopapaia you will have hallucinations!

TRIVIA ANSWER:  Chinese Zodiac:  Rooster; Dog; Pig; Rat; Ox; Tiger; Rabbit; Dragon; Snake; Horse; Goat; Monkey.

The waters of the Amazon erode the Andes and carry downstream as much as one billion tons of sediment every year. Deposits clog lower reaches of the river and oceanic currents lay down silt along the continental shelf northwest of the mouth.  Channels are deeper upstream.  Near the hilly city of Manaus in the heart of the basin, the river is three hundred feet deep at high water.  Its bottom at that point lies more than one hundred feet below sea level.

The Amazon’s flow is maximum at midyear and minimum towards the year’s end.  While its rise and fall is hardly noticeable at the sources of tributaries and at the mouth of the river where ocean tides prevail, the water’s rise and fall may exceed forty feet at Manaus in mid-continent, and at Iquitos, 2,300 miles upstream.   This is the reason that most towns in the Amazon region on the river have floating piers.

The climate throughout the Amazon Basin is equatorial, warm and humid in the lowlands, cold and wet in the western highlands.   But, nowhere does the diurnal temperature approach 100 degrees F except in the urban streets and dwellings.  Temperature differences between day and night are greater than those between seasons.  Rainfall varies from less than forty inches in some places to more than 240 inches in others.

Thursday, February 27, 2003 – Parentins, Brazil in the Amazon

Parentins is a tiny town, but one that has the distinction of being the home to Boi Bumba.   This is a native dance troupe, divided into blue and red teams.   They perform each year in a stadium and probably have their busiest time during Carnivale.  Adolfo and I are both ailing with terrible colds.  I slept away the afternoon in hopes of being able to attend the show on deck tonight when a portion of the red team of Boi Bumba will come aboard to perform for us.

We were supposed to take a tricycle ride around town, like those taxis used in Viet Nam and Thailand, but we declined and rested instead.

After dinner we climbed up to the top deck to await the arrival of Boi Bumba.   Here they came, young people all in native costume.   Beautiful bodies bedecked in feathers, carved coconut bikini tops and the young men in tooled suede, very brief bottoms.    From ankle to knee were intricate feather/leather contraptions.   Each dancer wore a headdress.  Some of the young women wore headpieces so ornate that they threatened to fall off as they danced to the accompaniment of drums and native instruments and some recorded music.   The dance continued for over one hour without stopping – one song blending into the next.   While some might say there was a great deal of repetition to the dance, keeping it up for that time was a truly Herculean feat.   Our friend, Jimmy Dell Orto, nodded off at the first drum beat and slept through the entire show.  We have a photograph to prove it!

The night was so lovely.   Boi Bumba went ashore just before we were to sail and the ship left the port of Parentins at around 11:00 p.m.   Adolfo had been drawn to his bed right after the show, but most of us on deck found the night so wonderful that we preferred to remain out on deck.   After rain and clouds during the last couple of days, we loved being able to count the very near stars.   Except for the ship, all around us was pitch

black. We were blessed with no bugs in the air.   What more could we ask! Just dark water, very dark, but starry skies and we were in a river so wide that one shore was not discernible during the day light hours.

Friday, February 28, 2003 - Cruising the Amazon toward Manaus

This was our last day of cruising.   Tomorrow morning we dock early in Manaus and we must be off the boat by 8:00 a.m.   Spent most of the day packing.   Finally get to go home.   Am ready.

Boi Bumba:  The Festival we witnessed this evening gave an insight into the folklore of Brazil that few people are privileged to witness.   In June of each year, the people of Parintins who are known for their artistic talents and are considered the most beautiful Caboclos on the river, stage a three-day competition that rivals, and many people feel exceeds, the renowned carnival in Rio.   Through very special negotiations and because of the courtesy of the people of Parintins, this remarkable event was abbreviated into a one-evening performance exclusive for the Seabourn Pride.

Called “Boi Bumba”, the festival has been an annual event for the last twenty-five years and is the most traditional folk festival in the Amazon region.   The townspeople are divided into two teams, one using red on white for their coloration and other blue on white.  The teams then dramatize folk stories that are based on legends about local flora and fauna, snakes, giant water lilies and dolphins.   The headdresses and costumes which are created from all natural materials, are all original and one of a kind.   They are never repeated another year.

During the actual festival in June, the major performances are held each evening for three days and virtually everyone in Parintins (an island) participates.   The performances stadium is in the shape of a bull’s head and the horns are the entrance ramps.

Saturday, March 1, 2003 - Manaus, in the Amazon

Seabourn has arranged a bus tour of Manaus for departing passengers.  The tour will end at the airport for those leaving the Amazon.    Visited the local market with its fresh Amazon fish, vegetables, herbs of the region and handicrafts.   The most wonderful thing was being able to see the fresh caught fish of the Amazon all displayed for sale.    Some so large, some very small, some having to be scaled while they live, for after death their scales are impenetrable.   I expected that with the heat and general lack of cleanliness in the area that this market would really smell bad.   It didn’t.  I couldn’t help remember some of the outdoor markets in France.   This one smelled lots better.   The men dressing the fish and selling them always had music going in the background and sometimes with sharp knife in hand they danced while working.  Knives were regularly sharpened on some sort of large rock that was wet liberally with water while honing the blade.  Sharpening a knife took a really long time.

The weather is so hot and so humid I feel that I’m in some sort of huge sauna.    Also stopped at a zoo.   I remained on the air-conditioned bus with Alexandra.   Adolfo went in to “shoot” the animals.   Made a stop also at the Manaus Opera House.    Lovely old building, still in use for some concerts or plays, but no longer used regularly for opera.

Finally arrived at the airport where we will fly to Sao Paolo, Brazil, spend a night at the InterContinental hotel there, and then leave tomorrow for Santiago, Chile, then on to a plane for Los Angeles, via Lima, Peru.   Then onto another plane to San Francisco.  Finally, we will arrive home on March 3 at around noon.

Check-in at the Manaus International Airport was a most interesting experience.  We were able to check our bags through without any fuss.  We were even allowed to lock them for their journey to Sao Paulo.   Many of our fellow passengers were traveling directly to Miami, Florida.   Because of the heavy, illicit drug trade ongoing in the Amazon, all baggage leaving Brazil had to be hand searched – every single piece!   Most angry was our friend, Alexandra, who was traveling first class and felt that this was an unnecessary imposition.    She stood in line with all sorts of passengers traveling from the furthest seat back in coach, all the way to the furthest front First Class Premiere seat.  This process took her nearly two hours.   She finally showed up in the lounge and told us her story.  As usual, the colorful way she related her experience, with her wonderful accent, and the bit of drama with her stance, made the whole thing funnier than I could ever write!

What’s even funnier is that after we got home, received an email from Alexandra stating that all baggage was once again searched in Miami.   She’d ranted and raved, kicked a sign and just short of being handcuffed and carted away, calmed down and let it all happen! 

The trip’s been fun, enlightening, educational, sometimes restful, sometimes tiring, full of reminiscences, with tons of photos to remind us – I think over seven hundred pictures in all.    Adolfo’s camera and my computer have been the hit of the ship.   I think I’ve sold five of this particular computer (a new Mac G4 PowerBook) to people who plan to buy them when they arrive home.   Should have an agency for Apple and I don’t know even what half of all the buttons are for!!!

We’ve booked our next cruise.  January 16, 2004 we’ll be boarding the Seabourn Spirit, in Cairns, Australia for one month.  Because after this cruise to the Amazon, we’ve accumulated one hundred forty days aboard Seabourn vessels, we get a free two-week cruise of our choice.  So, the first two weeks in 2004 will be on Seabourn, the following two weeks on us, as we cruise Australia, New Zealand and end up in Fiji at Lautoka, where we hope to spend a few days on a beach.

‘til 2004 . . . . . .

Finally leaving the dirty harbor of Rio at 8:00 in the morning.   For such an idyllic setting the city of Rio has yet to find its responsibilities where the seawater is concerned.   Can’t understand how Rio’s inhabitants can swim the beautiful beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema knowing that there is raw sewage going into the bay waters.  Indication is everywhere.   Rather off putting!   They must get a treatment facility or more than one, operating to contain the stem of effluence into the waters.

Today we were at sea, trying to make up some ten hours we awaited passengers and crew due yesterday afternoon.   All are safely aboard and we’re going full speed ahead.    It was a lazy day aboard ship as we all tried to recuperate from the high temps of Rio.   Most passengers are sporting new jewelry, in either tourmaline, amethyst, imperial topaz, emerald or aquamarine.   If we ever come again to Brazil will bring an allowance to purchase gems mined in this country.   Have never seen such an array and at pretty good prices.   I didn’t do my homework before this trip so the opportunity took me unawares.   Perhaps this is a good thing!

TRIVIA:  What musical toured the United States before opening in London – the year was 1972?

Gemstones:  Tourmaline – my favorite, sometimes referred to as the Brazilian emerald.  Bicolor crystals occur that are pink at one end and green at the other; concentric color zoning may also occur.   The transparent stones that are free from flaw are cut as gems.

Aquamarine – my other favorite, a pale blue-green variety of beryl that is valued as a gemstone.  The commonest variety of gem beryl, it occurs in pegmatite in which it forms much larger and clearer crystals than emerald (one completely transparent crystal from Brazil weighed 110 kilos  - 243 pounds).  Aquamarine occurs in Brazil, the chief source.  Heat treatment improves the color of many gem beryls;  green beryl turns blue between 570 and 840 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Another day at sea, cruising northward toward Salvador de Bahia.   Lazy times for us all, catching up on reading and journal writing.

TRIVIA ANSWER:  Jesus Christ – Superstar opened in London after touring the United States.

Wednesday, February 19, 2003  - Salvador de Bahia

We arrived this morning about one and a half hours later than scheduled.   During the night we lost one of our four engines and were forced to go slower than the Captain had planned.

The day was so hot and muggy, didn’t know how long we’d last on the tour.   We’d chosen the “Colonial Tour” of Salvador that was a combination of bus and walking.   First stop was a lighthouse which we were allowed time to photograph from its rear.  Unfortunate, because it had a huge building obscuring it’s bottom half.  Interesting watching so many trying to adjust cameras while natives shout, “Lady”!   Lady”!   “ Buy, Lady!”  This is the first place that I’d wished I’d stayed aboard ship.   Didn’t like these people in my face not understanding a firm “NO”, which was always following a polite “No, thank you”.   Got hotter and more frustrated by the moment.

The town of Salvador de Bahia was first built on the bluff above the harbor.   There’s a church for almost every block of the town.   Realizing that they had a beautiful bay perfect for shipping commerce the Bahians built another town, the lower town at the water’s edge.   The bus took us up to the town where we walked very uneven stone streets.  Probably missed seeing tons of stuff because I was constantly looking where my next step was going to be planted.   Easy to fall and hurt oneself on the streets of Salvador de Bahia.    Plans are going on for their Carnivale that will begin next Wednesday and go the next eight days, unlike Rio’s that begins March 1 and only goes on for three days.

All of us were so hot and tired as we trudged toward the church of St. Francis of Assisi, a former Jesuit church and a very ornate building.   In the 1600s one ton of gold was brought to Salvador for the interior gilding of all of the carving in the.   It’s certainly a contrast to the poverty out in the streets.   Lots of beggars and an occasional leper are in the streets.  Some of the older people hadn’t read the description of the tour and complained loudly and bitterly that they were tired and wanted to go back to the ship.   What?   And spoil it for the rest of us who were doing so well?!?   After we’d exhausted the streets of Salvador, or rather we’d exhausted ourselves on the streets of Salvador, we took an elevator down to the lower town where our bus waited.   Then we were whisked to a local craft market where one must bargain for anything of interest.    I’m so not good at this!   Hate it, in fact!    But did buy a bird carved out of some sort of semiprecious stone.   The bargaining was just too much work for a $15.00 bird.

After a light lunch back aboard ship, instantly collapsed on the bed for a nap.  Such a tough life!

One good thing about our stop today - twenty years ago, Salvador de Bahia had the dirtiest waters in the whole of the country of Brazil.   Now their waters are crystal clean, of a gorgeous green blue color and fit for swimming.   That seems to me a tremendous undertaking given the apparent poverty of the city.

TRIVIA:  Who was the first Playboy centerfold?   Volume # and Edition #?

Salvador de Bahia is famed for the beauty of its many Baroque colonial churches, especially the church of the convent of the Third Order of St. Francis (1701).   There are also notable examples of colonial secular architecture, including the Barra lighthouse at the Atlantic tip of the peninsula and many 17th century forts.   Salvador is the seat of Universidade Federal da Bahia (1946) and Universidade Catolica do Salvador (1961).  There are several museums, including one displaying sacred art in the monastery of Santa Tereza.

Thursday, February 20, 2003 – Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

The ship’s broken engine is fixed.   We are going full steam ahead to the town of Natal where we will ride dune buggies, board ferries, and perhaps have a swim at a local very clean beach.

But, today, it will be laundry, trivia play, another nap, perhaps a short sun out on deck, and a formal evening.

TRIVIA ANSWER:  First centerfold for Playboy magazine was Marilyn Monroe, Volume #1, Edition #1.

Brazil is the world’s leading producer of coffee.   Coffee is a common name for any of a genus of evergreen tress of the madder family and also for their seeds (beans) and for the beverage made from them.   Of the 40 species of the genus, only three are commercial important:  Arabica or Arabian, robusta or Congo, and Liberian

Usually several varieties of green coffee are blended and roasted together to produce the tastes, aromas and flavors popular with coffee drinkers.   As a rule the beans are heated in rotating, horizontal drums that provide a tumbling action to prevent uneven heating or scorching.   The roasted beans are cooled rapidly.  In the producing and consuming countries, the major roasters have moved to higher roasting temperatures and more rapid throughout, which is more energy efficient. Some coffee aficionados criticize this process because it produces a slightly less smooth tasting beverage because the surface of the bean is severely heated while the interior of the bean receives less severe heat.   A very slow roasting process has also been developed which exploits cheap waste materials for fuel.  

Friday, February 21, 2003 - Natal, Brazil

This day, we are in another obscure (for me) city in Brazil.   However this stop proved to be lots of fun.   Instead of the usual bus to pick up passengers and whisk us off to beaches, churches, cities old and new, etc., we were met by a fleet of dune buggies – all sizes, colors and each buggy in various state of repair.  The day had been divided into the soft/short ride, or the hard/long ride.   We chose the former, climbed into a cream colored buggy and off we went, Adolfo firmly ensconced in the front seat under a shade canopy and I in the back seat on a bench seat out under the sun – the very hot and burning sun!   Had put on sun screen and wore a hat which threatened to get away from me and in fact once did just that.   The driver stopped, ran back and picked it up out of a ditch!   After several blocks from the ship, through a horrid, smelly part of town, all the buggies boarded a ferry to get to the other side of an inlet bay.

We drove off to the sand dunes, huge sweeping dunes, lovely, ivory colored sand, smooth, except for an occasional tire mark of a previous buggy.   We swooped and bogged, swayed and jumped over the sand, stopping occasionally to admire the beaches, sweet water lagoons and city skyline in the distance.   Our driver/guide spoke no English, but that didn’t stop him from enthusiastically pointing out all the interesting sights - in Portuguese.   Realized that if I shouted the words back, as closely as I imagined him to speak them, he was pleased and absolutely certain that I understood all that was said!   Got lots of smiles from him!

We continued to hurtle over and around sand dunes, out onto the road, off the road onto another beach and there in front of us were the smallest ferries I’ve ever seen, at least until later that morning.   These ferries were wooden rafts long enough to hold two buggies.  At each end of the raft there were hinged planks that could be raised and lowered to drive on or drive off either end.   The crossing was perhaps a half-mile long and the ferry/rafts and operated by men with long poles pushing along the bottom of the bay.   One man with a pole ferrying across two buggies – amazing!   From what I could tell from the depth at which the pole went into the water, it appeared no deeper than four to five feet at any point we crossed.

We were soon off the second ferry and into a small, very primitive settlement.   There was one curiosity, though.  On one building was a painted sign as follows:  “Materiale & Costruscione  – Bin Laden”, and then a phone number.   Maybe we’d found Osama!

Soon we were on another beach hurtling along toward a white canopy.   Underneath it were tables and chairs set up for our refreshment.   Soft drinks, beer, caiperinhas - Brazil’s national drink - (pronounced “ky-per-een-yas”), skewered BBQ’d shrimp and lobster were offered.   It was so nice to get out of the buggy and relieve my backside from the rough ride.   Adolfo had trouble getting out of the buggy and in trying to lift his leg over the side he tweaked his knee.  We were entertained while we rested with the local dance by young men who mirrored a martial art set to music – very athletic, almost balletic and very beautiful to watch.   It has its derivations from slave days.

Some of the guests from the ship chose to go swimming on this very inviting beach.   However, we’ve had enough of the sun so we went back to the ship for another long rest.  A day without a nap was hardly complete!

Caiperinha:   The Brazilian national drink made with about six lime wedges in a medium squatty glass, muddled heavily with powdered sugar.   Then the liquor Cascas (pronounced “ka-shas”) is added.   Cascas is made from sugar cane.   Don’t know the proportions, but when finished drinking this concoction, there are tons of smashed limes at the bottom of the glass.   My personal preference is still the national drink of Argentina – the Pisco Sour.  The Pisco Sour is made similarly to the Margarita, but instead of using tequila, liquor called Pisco is substituted.   It’s really good!

Pisco Sour (recipe from Spanish Club in Iquique, Chile – 1998 trip)

1 part Pisco                             1/3 part Lemon/Lime Juice

1 TBS powdered sugar           1 egg white

                        ice

Blend all (N.B. - might have also had small portion of orange liquer)

TRIVIA:  Which Hollywood star has a patent for a way in which to do secure military transmissions?  The system is called Spread Spectrum.

Gemstones:  Topaz, when pure, may be colorless and when brilliant cut has been mistaken for diamond.   It may also be colored various shades of yellow, blue or brown; the color in many cases is unstable, and the brown topazes of Siberia are particularly liable to be bleached by sunlight.  In 1750 a Parisian jeweler discovered that the yellow Braziliana topaz becomes pink on exposure to a moderate heat and this treatment has

since been extensively applied, so that nearly all the pink topaz occurring in jewelry has been heat treated.   Such “burnt topaz” is often known as Brazilian ruby, as is the very rare, natural red topaz.  

Saturday, February 22, 2003  - Fortaleza, Brazil

Fortaleza is another city that I’d never heard of before this trip.  On a bus we were taken to the “new” cathedral completed in 1971.   The church is very gothic in architecture, rather cold,  but the stained glass windows inside this church are absolutely beautiful.   Some of our photos will reflect their bright colors.   We are batting a thousand in our never-ending search for a church to light candles.   Haven’t found a single one in all of Chile, Uruguay, Argentina or Brazil!!!  In Europe I’ve been known to single-handedly cause an economic increase in the candle making industry.   This phenomenon won’t happen in South America.

The city of Forteleza was not interesting to me.   Am I getting jaded?    I think that the first part of our trip with its natural beauty was so rich.  Seeing these old towns at the other end of the trip is so tiring.  The guides talked a lot but said little of value.   Whenever I‘d catch a pearl in the strange sounding talk, that lack of English language skills in the speaker was such that the whole story wasn’t conveyed.  Questions were seldom answered.  We just got more gibberish and clever chatter and often lots of sexual innuendo regarding the music and Carnivale.  

The beaches were lovely but most of us were afraid to chance a swim.   There’s so little responsibility about sewage in these places and so many very poor areas near and around the beautiful beaches where sewage treatment is non-existent.

Had a terrible headache today that I couldn’t seem to shake.  This could be part of the reason for my negative response to Forteleza, but I don’t think so.    Even after sleeping a while it was still there.   Think I’ll stay in tonight and dose myself with more Tylenol, have room service and get to bed early.

TRIVIA ANSWER:   Spread Spectrum inventor – Hedy Lamaar.

Gemstones:  Amethyst, a transparent, coarse grained variety of the silica mineral quartz that is valued as a semiprecious gem for its violet color.  The name derived from the Green amethystos, “not intoxicated,” expresses the ancient folk belief that the stone protects its owner against drunkenness.  (Should have worn amethysts every day aboard ship!) 

Sunday, February 23, 2003 – Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Headache still lingers but not too strong.   We are at sea for the next four days.  There’s lots of time for reading, resting and perhaps starting to pack up.   I’m ready to get on home.

Have just come up with a recommendation for anyone who might want to repeat this trip.   While I loved the first part of the trip from Valparaiso, through the Patagonian fjords to Rio de Janeiro, I feel we should have ended our trip there and flown home.    On another trip, we should have picked up the boat at Manaus in the Amazon, (where we will debark), and taken the ship from there out of the Amazon through the Caribbean and ended in Fort Lauderdale.   Think it would have been much more interesting and flying home from Florida would have been a piece of cake.  At the end of our trip it will take us three days of flying from Manaus to San Francisco.   That’s enough to make you need another vacation!

TRIVIA:  What is the meaning of the musical term “strepitoso”?

Amazonia is thought to be the oldest tropical forest region in the world, as old as one hundred millions years.   Perhaps forty kinds of rain forests have been differentiated - some are flooded half the year, others would die if inundated.  None are static.  Trees are uprooted and washed downstream when rivers change their courses.   Forests burn from natural causes as well as man-made fires.  With the abundant rainfall, forests renew themselves in time.

Amazonian forests hold an astonishing variety of species; there are few solid stands of trees.   Fauna are even more varied.  Most creatures live in upper story of the forest, the canopy that gathers energy from the sun through photosynthesis.

Early Portuguese explorers called the almost oceanic complex of waters “O Rio Mar”, the River Sea.   The first European to descend the river, Francisco de Orellana in 1541, named the river Maranon (Big Maze) because of its confusion of channels.  However, Orellana’s chronicler reported attacks by women warriors, which led eventually to its being named The River of the Amazons.

Monday, February 24, 2003 – Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Took a seasick pill last night thinking that perhaps my headaches are caused by a motion problem with the inner ear.   Slept really well and woke this a.m. at 6:30 with another headache.   Two Tylenol later, pain subsided, but it still lingers.   Could it be caffeine withdrawal?   Am not drinking as much coffee as at home so maybe . . .

We are still heading toward the Amazon.    The shore on the port side of the ship is more visible than it was yesterday.    Am seeing the surf break on long reefs away from the shore.   We should be entering the narrows of the Amazon late this afternoon or early evening.   

We were told last evening that once in the Amazon the ship will be approached by “cacoclos” (local inhabitants living beside the river region) in canoes wanting passengers on the ship to throw gifts overboard to them.   It is recommended that we not throw fruit as they have it growing wild in their back yards!    Really!  Would you think of throwing a banana gift to someone living in the jungle with his own banana tree in his backyard?   Those of us that have discussed this have decided to throw them clothing that no longer fits (that could be the entire wardrobe), or that clothing which we’d like to burn when we get home because we’re just sick of it.

Have made up a package of a couple old t-shirts and a cotton shirt that I bought on the ship.  Inside those clothes have filled a Ziploc baggie with ship’s soaps, shampoo, bath supplies and tied it all together.  It’s ready to toss overboard.

TRIVIA ANSWER:  Strepitoso – noisy and boisterous.

The Riverside Caboclos:  Today there are many peasants or “caboclos” living beside the Amazon and its tributaries (almost 100% of the families you will see from the Seabourn Pride are Caboclos).  In some cases, these settlers live and depend entirely on the river and varzea or flooded area, but many cultivate some of their crops on terra firme or non-flooded areas.   The riverine caboclos have adopted many of the same techniques as the Indians.

Their life is strongly influenced by the annual cycle of the river.  In dry season, many will cultivate beans or corn on the exposed river margins.  In some places, especially near Manaus, cattle have been introduced and in flood time they must be removed to terre firme or kept on rafts and fed with grass.  In spite of the adverse conditions, there are about half a million head of cattle in the flood plain on the Manaus-Careiro area.

The simple houses of the caboclos, usually built with a palm thatch roof, are either on stilts or are floating.  One can even find floating stores, churches and gasoline stations in larger villages.  A common feature of such houses is a raised garden, usually planted in an old canoe shell.   The river people depend heavily upon fishing for their livelihood and use lines and hooks as well as nets (called “tarafas”) to catch the fish.  In dry season they catch lots of turtles.

The life of the caboclos is simple.   In general they are content when they have caught enough fish for the day’s meal and do not catch more to sell.   Their food consists mainly of cassava flour mixed with fish and they also grow some fruit and keep a few chickens.  The caboclos have many superstitions and legends originating from Indian culture, including a rich history of folk medicine.  Where there are groups of people, sometimes primary schools may be found, but the vast majority of riverside children live too far away from such schools to receive any formal education.

Tuesday, February 25, 2003 – Cruising the South Breves Narrows - In the Amazon

Today we are in the narrows at the mouth of the Amazon region.   Although still not on the Amazon River, but the Rio Tapajos, the scenery was certainly wonderful.   Thick jungle grew on either shore, thatched houses every so often, rickety, and perched atop rotting pilings.  Colorful wash hung out on the line at every hut. In the water, the canoes paddled (“caboclos”) from shore loaded with children looking for something to be thrown overboard by the ship’s passengers.

The water of the Amazon basin is like thick, rich chocolate.   Occasionally at the shore you spy a black intrusion into the river that is fresh water cutting into the muddy water.  Strikingly green, fresh local flora filled the river as it washed out to sea – the green clumps sometimes so large in diameter that they appeared to be floating islands.   It’s all in striking contrast to the milk chocolate color of the river.    Can’t figure out where people do their washing, which must be on Tuesday, as every house has a full line of clothes drying on this humid, semi-sunny day.   Doesn’t appear that they have running water coming into their “houses” so they must find fresh water away from the shore.    Occasional spritzes from rain showers cooled us.  With the damp from above and a spot of shade out on deck the weather was just barely manageable.    We stayed out on deck most of the morning and finally retired to the comfort of the aircon inside the viewing lounge.

Noting the muddy water and thinking of the weight of my overboard package and also noting the great numbers of children in dugouts throughout the day hoping for something from the ship, decided to break it up into four smaller parts.   Finally threw four packets overboard and dugout canoes scrambled to get them before they disappeared below the murk.   Some of the passengers aboard ship wondered whether or not in the next National Geographic or Discovery Channel documentary we will see someone from the Amazon wearing our clothing!?!

TRIVIA:  What are the signs of the Chinese zodiac?

Amazonia is the 2,722,000 square mile drainage basin of the Amazon River in South America.  While most of the basin is Brazilian, the river’s countless tributaries also drain vast areas of

 Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia and Venezuela.

About three-fourths of the Brazilian Amazon is rain forest.   The remainder is largely scrub and natural grasslands. Nearly ten percent of the forest has been cut and burned to develop farms, settlements and several large cities. (The 10% figure was challenged aboard ship – most feel that the number is higher).

The Amazon’s most distant tributaries form in the snow clad Andes at the western edge of the continent and flow east.  From the most distant source, Laguna McIntyre at 17,200 feet elevation in southern Peru, its waters run about 4,000 miles to the Atlantic Ocean via the Apurimac and thence the Ucayali Rivers.

In the course of its eastward flow, the Amazon’s volume is augmented by a dozen great rivers.  Two of them are larger than the Mississippi:  The Rio Negro draining northwestern Brazil and the Rio Madeira draining Bolivia.  Nearer to the ocean, the basin is narrowed by two masses of ancient rock, the Guiana Shield to the north and the Central Brazilian Plateau to the south.  Navigable rivers pour from these highlands into the Amazon mainstream.

The Amazon is by far the greatest river on earth.  At maximum flood, around June 1, its flow equals that of the next eight largest rivers on earth combined.  It discharges into the Atlantic about 60 million galls per second, 200 times the municipal water requirements of the United States.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003  - Santarem, Brazil, in the Amazon

The captain has arranged for a surprise port visit.   We are stopping at Santarem, a small city in the Amazon.  We’ll have time to walk around town in the morning, however, at this writing, it’s pouring outside.  In the afternoon, we’re going to take a local riverboat into one of the tributaries and out to a lake where we’ll hope to view the local flora and fauna and fish for piranha!   Not certain whether I really want to do this, but then how many others can claim that experience!  So we’ll go out covered from head to toe, sprayed with bug repellant and hope for the best. The bugs here are huge – the wasps look positively prehistoric!    We’ve not taken malaria pills.   The doctor on board felt that it was not necessary especially because of the side effects for so many who do take them.   We have had yellow fever shots so we’re okay in that event.

Santarem seemed a pretty big city for the Amazon.   There appeared to be quite a bit of commerce there.   Large dock facilities – however, it’s still pouring.   Am not venturing out in this weather!

Have decided, after all,  to venture out onto the dock area to see if there are any local handicrafts available.  I need to bring home something with feathers!!!!   Maybe an Amazon headdress?!?!?  

Just back from the thriving metropolis of downtown Santarem (Sant-areem - someone has told us this means St. Irene.)   Had to take a bus shuttle past the dock area.  One store right near the place where we left the bus featured tons of local art work – baskets, hats, wood carvings, water buffalo horn carvings, painted wooden birds of the area, hammocks (this area is big on hammocks!), ornately carved wood paddles, masks, headdresses, the meanest machetes you’ve ever seen, and all sorts of things made from the semi-precious stones of Brazil.    Adolfo bought a wood carved toucan and a turtle made from buffalo horn.

Then we sauntered in the rain down the center of the main street.   All store are open onto the sidewalk.   Sales people stand outside the store and clap their hands to gain your attention as you walk by.  I find this preferable to the towns of Natal and Fortaleza where we were pursued by the natives shouting, “Lady!” “Lady!” “Buy Lady, Buy!”   Music blared everywhere, beating out the wonderful rhythms of Brazil.    There were tons of fabric stores featuring bolt after bolt of the cheapest, sleaziest, loudest colored fabric I’ve ever seen.   Also went into what appeared to be the local Sears-like store.   Didn’t see one sewing machine.  That fact had me wondering how all the fabric was used.  Perhaps everything is sewn by hand?

Back to the ship for a quick lunch and shortly thereafter gathered to go out into the rain once again, board small riverboats and this time to head for Lake Maica where we’ll fish for piranha.

Lake Maica is called a lake but it really isn’t one.  It’s a particularly wide portion of the river that completely floods during the months of May and June.    There are lots of residents in this area raising chickens, cattle and water buffalo.   It’s really amazing as you see cattle grazing and then others swimming along in certain areas.   There are also lots of piranhas.  Four riverboats plied their way through the murky waters as Seabourn guests tried to catch piranha with raw beef as bait.  After an hour or so – no luck.   Then one of the crew on our riverboat did catch one and we all posed with it as if we’d done the deed.   The guide on our boat then cooked the fish and we all had a tiny taste.    The fish is white meat, very mild, quite sweet.  He sautéed it with onion, and then served it piece-by-piece, dredging each in manioc flour.   Manioc flour, hardly flour consistency, is a ground up root.   White manioc can be eaten fresh, cooked or dried and ground.   Yellow manioc without a certain curing process is quite poisonous and can kill those who eat it.    The fish was good, but the manioc flour served with it tasted like we were eating fish with coarse ground raw polenta.  

The views along the river were wonderful.   Even in the rain there was much to photograph.   Beautiful and dramatic clouds, lush foliage, ramshackle houses that seemed would fall over in a strong wind all made the tour quite alluring.   Along the way, native Amazonians were out in dugout canoes, often with children, oaring through the reeds looking for good spots to catch fish.   

At one “farm”, our guide brought the riverboat to shore.   He wanted us to see an unusual sight.   These people had found a baby capibarra (world’s largest rodent) and were bringing it up as a pet.   Imagine having the world’s largest rat as a pet – Adolfo thought it looked more like a large rabbit!    The woman came aboard the riverboat with the animal in her arms.    Its fur was extremely coarse, face like a rabbit, but with no discernible ears and no rat-like tail.   It was already the size of a five-year old child and was only a baby.    These animals get really huge and are also good for eating.   While the capibarra appeared quite docile, most of us were relieved when mistress and “pet” departed.

Our riverboat guide, Renato, brought fresh Brazil nuts, still in the large pod.   When each nut is removed from the pod, the Brazil nut appears as we know it - in a hard triangular shell.   Eaten fresh, the nutmeat is almost like fresh coconut and absolutely delicious.   Renato also brought along a sopapaia (not certain of the spelling).    This nut only grows in the Amazon, in a huge gourd like container, green in color and hangs from a tree on a long, tough stem.    At the time of ripeness, the bottom of the sopapaia falls to the ground as if someone had cut out a perfect round circle, thereby revealing a soft, pale green, substance inside where many sopapaia nuts nestle.   The nuts have to be harvested from the soft substance and then shelled.   These nuts were good, too, but can’t give a likeness in taste and texture.   Perhaps the closest taste comparison would be if you’ve ever gotten an almond when it’s still in its fuzzy green pod, culled out the fruit before it’s fully developed. My brother and I did that as children and that’s my only memory of something comparable.   If by accident you eat any of the soft substance around the nuts of the sopapaia you will have hallucinations!

TRIVIA ANSWER:  Chinese Zodiac:  Rooster; Dog; Pig; Rat; Ox; Tiger; Rabbit; Dragon; Snake; Horse; Goat; Monkey.

The waters of the Amazon erode the Andes and carry downstream as much as one billion tons of sediment every year. Deposits clog lower reaches of the river and oceanic currents lay down silt along the continental shelf northwest of the mouth.  Channels are deeper upstream.  Near the hilly city of Manaus in the heart of the basin, the river is three hundred feet deep at high water.  Its bottom at that point lies more than one hundred feet below sea level.

The Amazon’s flow is maximum at midyear and minimum towards the year’s end.  While its rise and fall is hardly noticeable at the sources of tributaries and at the mouth of the river where ocean tides prevail, the water’s rise and fall may exceed forty feet at Manaus in mid-continent, and at Iquitos, 2,300 miles upstream.   This is the reason that most towns in the Amazon region on the river have floating piers.

The climate throughout the Amazon Basin is equatorial, warm and humid in the lowlands, cold and wet in the western highlands.   But, nowhere does the diurnal temperature approach 100 degrees F except in the urban streets and dwellings.  Temperature differences between day and night are greater than those between seasons.  Rainfall varies from less than forty inches in some places to more than 240 inches in others.

Thursday, February 27, 2003 – Parentins, Brazil in the Amazon

Parentins is a tiny town, but one that has the distinction of being the home to Boi Bumba.   This is a native dance troupe, divided into blue and red teams.   They perform each year in a stadium and probably have their busiest time during Carnivale.  Adolfo and I are both ailing with terrible colds.  I slept away the afternoon in hopes of being able to attend the show on deck tonight when a portion of the red team of Boi Bumba will come aboard to perform for us.

We were supposed to take a tricycle ride around town, like those taxis used in Viet Nam and Thailand, but we declined and rested instead.

After dinner we climbed up to the top deck to await the arrival of Boi Bumba.   Here they came, young people all in native costume.   Beautiful bodies bedecked in feathers, carved coconut bikini tops and the young men in tooled suede, very brief bottoms.    From ankle to knee were intricate feather/leather contraptions.   Each dancer wore a headdress.  Some of the young women wore headpieces so ornate that they threatened to fall off as they danced to the accompaniment of drums and native instruments and some recorded music.   The dance continued for over one hour without stopping – one song blending into the next.   While some might say there was a great deal of repetition to the dance, keeping it up for that time was a truly Herculean feat.   Our friend, Jimmy Dell Orto, nodded off at the first drum beat and slept through the entire show.  We have a photograph to prove it!

The night was so lovely.   Boi Bumba went ashore just before we were to sail and the ship left the port of Parentins at around 11:00 p.m.   Adolfo had been drawn to his bed right after the show, but most of us on deck found the night so wonderful that we preferred to remain out on deck.   After rain and clouds during the last couple of days, we loved being able to count the very near stars.   Except for the ship, all around us was pitch

black. We were blessed with no bugs in the air.   What more could we ask! Just dark water, very dark, but starry skies and we were in a river so wide that one shore was not discernible during the day light hours.

Friday, February 28, 2003 - Cruising the Amazon toward Manaus

This was our last day of cruising.   Tomorrow morning we dock early in Manaus and we must be off the boat by 8:00 a.m.   Spent most of the day packing.   Finally get to go home.   Am ready.

Boi Bumba:  The Festival we witnessed this evening gave an insight into the folklore of Brazil that few people are privileged to witness.   In June of each year, the people of Parintins who are known for their artistic talents and are considered the most beautiful Caboclos on the river, stage a three-day competition that rivals, and many people feel exceeds, the renowned carnival in Rio.   Through very special negotiations and because of the courtesy of the people of Parintins, this remarkable event was abbreviated into a one-evening performance exclusive for the Seabourn Pride.

Called “Boi Bumba”, the festival has been an annual event for the last twenty-five years and is the most traditional folk festival in the Amazon region.   The townspeople are divided into two teams, one using red on white for their coloration and other blue on white.  The teams then dramatize folk stories that are based on legends about local flora and fauna, snakes, giant water lilies and dolphins.   The headdresses and costumes which are created from all natural materials, are all original and one of a kind.   They are never repeated another year.

During the actual festival in June, the major performances are held each evening for three days and virtually everyone in Parintins (an island) participates.   The performances stadium is in the shape of a bull’s head and the horns are the entrance ramps.

Saturday, March 1, 2003 - Manaus, in the Amazon

Seabourn has arranged a bus tour of Manaus for departing passengers.  The tour will end at the airport for those leaving the Amazon.    Visited the local market with its fresh Amazon fish, vegetables, herbs of the region and handicrafts.   The most wonderful thing was being able to see the fresh caught fish of the Amazon all displayed for sale.    Some so large, some very small, some having to be scaled while they live, for after death their scales are impenetrable.   I expected that with the heat and general lack of cleanliness in the area that this market would really smell bad.   It didn’t.  I couldn’t help remember some of the outdoor markets in France.   This one smelled lots better.   The men dressing the fish and selling them always had music going in the background and sometimes with sharp knife in hand they danced while working.  Knives were regularly sharpened on some sort of large rock that was wet liberally with water while honing the blade.  Sharpening a knife took a really long time.

The weather is so hot and so humid I feel that I’m in some sort of huge sauna.    Also stopped at a zoo.   I remained on the air-conditioned bus with Alexandra.   Adolfo went in to “shoot” the animals.   Made a stop also at the Manaus Opera House.    Lovely old building, still in use for some concerts or plays, but no longer used regularly for opera.

Finally arrived at the airport where we will fly to Sao Paolo, Brazil, spend a night at the InterContinental hotel there, and then leave tomorrow for Santiago, Chile, then on to a plane for Los Angeles, via Lima, Peru.   Then onto another plane to San Francisco.  Finally, we will arrive home on March 3 at around noon.

Check-in at the Manaus International Airport was a most interesting experience.  We were able to check our bags through without any fuss.  We were even allowed to lock them for their journey to Sao Paulo.   Many of our fellow passengers were traveling directly to Miami, Florida.   Because of the heavy, illicit drug trade ongoing in the Amazon, all baggage leaving Brazil had to be hand searched – every single piece!   Most angry was our friend, Alexandra, who was traveling first class and felt that this was an unnecessary imposition.    She stood in line with all sorts of passengers traveling from the furthest seat back in coach, all the way to the furthest front First Class Premiere seat.  This process took her nearly two hours.   She finally showed up in the lounge and told us her story.  As usual, the colorful way she related her experience, with her wonderful accent, and the bit of drama with her stance, made the whole thing funnier than I could ever write!

What’s even funnier is that after we got home, received an email from Alexandra stating that all baggage was once again searched in Miami.   She’d ranted and raved, kicked a sign and just short of being handcuffed and carted away, calmed down and let it all happen! 

The trip’s been fun, enlightening, educational, sometimes restful, sometimes tiring, full of reminiscences, with tons of photos to remind us – I think over seven hundred pictures in all.    Adolfo’s camera and my computer have been the hit of the ship.   I think I’ve sold five of this particular computer (a new Mac G4 PowerBook) to people who plan to buy them when they arrive home.   Should have an agency for Apple and I don’t know even what half of all the buttons are for!!!

We’ve booked our next cruise.  January 16, 2004 we’ll be boarding the Seabourn Spirit, in Cairns, Australia for one month.  Because after this cruise to the Amazon, we’ve accumulated one hundred forty days aboard Seabourn vessels, we get a free two-week cruise of our choice.  So, the first two weeks in 2004 will be on Seabourn, the following two weeks on us, as we cruise Australia, New Zealand and end up in Fiji at Lautoka, where we hope to spend a few days on a beach.

‘til 2004 . . . . . .