Good evening, friends and family,
Hope you all have enjoyed my blogging and are ordering more and more of my novels while we are out here cruising the world.
This morning we passed by the confluence of two rivers that make up the Amazon downstream. One is blue and the other a dirty tan color. The colors are very distinctive where the two waters meet.
We are off in about a half an hour to join new friends and see the city of Santare’m. We will rent a taxi and see what we find along the way.
I made a few mistakes when I packed for this trip, and we are just now discovering them. First of all, we brought too few pair of shorts. We packed four apiece, which won’t last long in this humidity, so it will require a few trips to the laundry in-between dinner settings. (The big secret).
And, I didn’t pack white t-shirts instead of dark colored ones. The dark does not reflect the heat, but absorbs it, making us even more uncomfortable. Live and learn!
We do use our long pants for dinner in the dining room, since shorts are NOT permitted, so we did well in that area. We also brought enough fancy clothes for formal nights. After 13 previous cruises, you’d think we knew all this in advance, but mistakes are made. If it gets too hot, we’ll buy white shirts in town or on the ship.
We tend to purchase shirts that are embroidered. The ones they sell on the ship appear nice, and they are, for a few months. Then they begin to fade and lose some of the paint or whatever the logos are put on with. And, embroidered shirts are MUCH easier to iron. Since Carol’s eyes have gone south, I’ve learned that in a hurry.
Well, time to head out for another adventure. See you later.
Our original friends didn’t show, so we met Hank and Helga, friends from our Trivia team, and drove into town with them. It was very hot and muggy – 80 degrees when we left the ship. I managed to find a six pack of large bottles of straight Coke, but no caffeine free – I guess we all have to suffer sometime – LOL
It was a chore carrying them back from the dock, but I prevailed, drenched in sweat. What we won’t do to save a few dollars!
So much for hat pins, magnets and key chains – impossible to find here. The city is pretty clean, except down some side alleys. There seems to be someone selling something everywhere – very industrious people. The cab ride for an hour for four of us was only $35, and we added a $5 tip.
The streets, roads and alleys were very rough. There was a wheel balancing place on the main road which I imagine has a lot of customers over the years. Many of the homes were painted in pastel colors; several were very modern, mixed in with others which had been there for many years and showed every day.
We traveled to an overlook where the two rivers come together and could see the clear difference in the colors. They drift downstream completely separate until they eventually join into one muddy river.
We were able to smuggle both our dolls, Curly, and her new friend, who now is named “Leo”, off the ship and take a picture of them in Santare’m. Security missed them again when we came back aboard. I think it’s the camouflaged bag we carry them in. No one can see them.
Now, we are back to a practically deserted ship, since most passengers are off on tours or walking or taking cabs into town as we did. We are sweaty, tired and weary, but heading up to the buffet to down a gallon of iced tea apiece and cool down on the fantail. The only good thing about the weather was a nice breeze blowing all morning, which helped and kept any bugs away. They tell us in lectures that there WILL be bugs.
And we didn’t bring any “off” along! Oh, well, they probably sell small spray bottles on board for a measly $50.
So, now to hit the swimming pool, which is empty, as is the top deck except for many a half dozen stay-aboards.
Boy, was that a mistake! It was drizzling when we got up to deck nine, so we climbed into the hot tub to avoid getting wet – that’s a joke. Afterward, I decided we should go in the pool, as it quit raining within a few minutes. After helping Carol down the ladder, I decided to swim down the pool and back, forgetting it was filled with salt water – man, my eyes hurt like the devil and I couldn’t open them without a burning sensation. I made it down to the cabin and found our “tears”, which helped some, but it was over an hour before my eyes quit hurting enough to be able to read anything. Never again!
Dinner tonight was nice. We spoke of other things than travel. Everyone had a good day ashore after five days at sea. Entertainment was a variety show featuring the dancers and singers, plus various members of the crew. An assistant purser sang several Sinatra songs and was wonderful. Another sang Broadway hits and was equally as good.
I guess I missed the announcement in the “Patter” for anyone with talent to show up, so didn’t get to take part. Perhaps the second cruise will have more talented people and we can have the passenger talent show. If not, I won’t miss the second announcement for the variety show.
Tomorrow we stop at Bocca Da Valleria, a small village of perhaps 60 full time residents – Indians from along the Amazon. We may not go ashore, as they tender us in by small boats, which are difficult for Carol to handle. From what they say, there are only a few huts there and it may rain, which will make walking very muddy and difficult for anyone.
Many of the passengers who took tours to the rain forest came back disappointed at the lack of birds, animals, etc. I’m glad we just went into town by taxi. I believe we saw as much if not more than many others who paid big bucks for the tours on the boat.
There is another big secret to cruising – don’t take the tours offered by the ship – you can either negotiate a price with a taxi driver, or find the same tour offered at half-price at a kiosk outside the gates to the port. A taxi stops where you ask him to. On a tour, you climb in and out of a bus at every stop with 40-50 others, some too heavy to maneuver the aisle easily, others handicapped or just old that have a time climbing the stairs.
A bus stops only where it is paid to – mostly tourist traps where the ship gets a percentage of the sales.
So, you can see the advantages of taking or arranging your own tours. We’ve done this with drivers who don’t speak English. How? We find a kiosk selling post cards, buy the ones that fold out and contain pictures of all the local attractions. That way, we just point to where we want to go and away we go. Simple, you see; if you just use your head and imagination.
Big news: WE ARE NOW ELITE!! This means we get our laundry done free from now on. And, just in time. We have perspired heavily the last few days in our t’s and shorts and they could use a good washing.
You become ELITE by either completing 15 cruises with Princess, or having cruised with them for a total of 150 days. Today is that magic day for us – 150 on the nose. We got our black cards tonight when we returned from dinner, along with black Princess pins to wear to identify us to the staff for more perks.
So, it’s been a long day and we are both tired. My eyes are still burning and very red. Sometimes I outsmart myself. This is one of those times.
I hope you all are enjoying my hints to make your next cruise a good one.
Christmas is coming – one of my novels would make a GREAT present for someone you love.
Until next time,
Via con Dias,
Karl & Carol
