Greetings,
This latest cruise took us around South America. It had added excitement because of the virus. Facebook is not my thing so I thought I would share a few of the highlights here. We embarked from Fort Lauderdale on Jan 21st. The virus was reported only in Wuhan with ten deaths and 200 cases. We returned on Mar 17th, for a total of 56 nights. Rumors abounded but we were told if we had one case of virus on board we would be quarantined. With 2,000 passengers and 1,200 crew the expression " only as strong as it's weakest link" had real meaning. Our cabin was above the A in Cunard. Billye is holding a towel over the balcony in both ship pictures. We boarded about noon and unpacked. We were assigned a dinner table and table mates for the trip. This is changeable of course. Our primo table was at the very back of the ship. Great views but background light made pictures difficult. Let's start cruising. I will not cover every port, only if I think it might be interesting. If the isolation goes on for many months then maybe there will be some desperate demand for something else to read. The Amazon was much more awe inspiring then I imagined. I love our Mississippi but there was no comparison. We went 900 miles up to Manaus. It was just a broad mass of water slowly going past thick jungle. Flocks of birds if not in the air were along the shore, We watched from our balcony and from chairs in the Commodore Room located just above the bridge. This is a better map of our river journey.
At Manaus, home of the rubber plantation boom prior to WW I, the Rio Negro and Solimoes come together. The area is called "the Meeting of the Waters." The rivers don't mix for about three miles. It is because of difference in temperature, ph, and density. The Negro is so acidic that mosquito larvae can't survive. We took a small boat out to the rivers meeting and then changed to a canoe to explore side channels. The picture below was taken from Commodore Room located just above the bridge.
After a days cruising to Santarem we took a hike into the deep jungle. Our native guide did not speak English but our main guide could translate his tribal tongue. I have birded MS and LA swamps but the oppressive heat and humidity here along the equator was exceptional. The trees were massive and tall. It trapped a huge amount of hot air above us. It felt heavy.
Continuing south we arrived at Rio for two days. Rio was what I expected. It deserved it's reputation for having a very beautiful harbor when pictured from the top of Corcovado Mountain ( Statue of Christ the Redeemer ) or Sugar loaf Mountain. We went to the top of both and drove by the beautiful beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana. The restaurant for lunch was special. A huge buffet of salads and side dishes and they came around with skewers of all kinds of meats. The rich lived behind walls, gates and guards. The poor areas were heart breaking. While we were warned of crime issues we did not have a problem. Montevideo, Uruguay was the next port of call. We took a tour up the bay to Colonia del Sacramento. Both cities were neat and clean. People seemed happy and we were told that crime was not a big issue. It appeared that there was more middle class residents and less extreme poverty. Note that our tour guide could buy a house with a 9% mortgage.
Buenos Aires, Argentina is right across the bay from Montevideo. It is called the Paris of South America and rightly so. The architecture of the public buildings in the central city is stunning. All around this center are apartments with equally spectacularly presence. Everything there is about 125 to 100 years old. New high rise condos are fenced and fences are now around the grand old apartment buildings. That is the problem. After a burst of glorious economic times Argentina has lost it's way. Inflation is 80% yearly. People are restricted in buying gold or converting their money to dollars. Our tour guide is saving to buy a house with a 37% mortgage. Crime is a big problem. The reddish building with a balcony is at the end of a public square. It is where Evita spoke to the crowds. Lighting made a good picture impossible. Even here we were warned about muggers who would dart into the area and grab cameras etc. The dark doorway is were Evita was buried.
On our first night here we were treated by the ship to a banquet, gaucho rodeo and tango dance show. Five hundred new passengers got on board. They were going from Buenos Aires to San Antonio, Chile. There was no concern for the virus. This was February 15th. Between SA and the Falkland Islands we hit a major storm...thirty foot seas and 60 mph winds.It went on relentlessly for 18 hours. I was surprised how loud it was. We crashed into the wave with a loud bang and the whole ship would shudder. The wind would pick up the top curl of the wave and slam it onto the side of the ship. Many times it would smack our balcony. This is Cape Horn.The lighthouse is on the right. An estimated 800 ships and 10,000 men were lost here. We arrived four hours late because the storm slowed us down. Combination of clouds and late in the day made for a bad picture .But we had a nice view. Magellan rounded the cape in 1520. Mike and Billye in 2020. |