December 27 to January 2
Well they almost had to take us screaming and kicking from our beautiful hotel back to Rio, but since we were going back for the New Year´s festivities, we went.
We are back at the Debret until we leave Jan. 3. Our room is on the side with a decent view of the beach and fortunately several tall trees that are home to some singing birds(in the early morning of course). Best of all, we have 2 sets of closets. The Hotel offered us a remodelled room on the top floor facing the beach but it had a few small drawers and closet space for only 4 hangers. They thought we were nuts to turn it down but it just did not have enough storage for 2 women for 7 days! However, we really appreciated the thoughtfulness of offering us such a trade at no extra cost. Barb thinks she saw a couple with all their belongings in plastic bags chortling as they moved to the top floor.
The Debret is undergoing a renovation programme that is beyond our understanding. They refaced one side of the building but not the other. They fixed the roof so we are back eating breakfast at the top of the building with a spectacular view of the beach. The second floor is being remodelled extensively, but they are still trying to rent some rooms there. The 10th floor (there are 11 floors) has some remodelled rooms and at this rate it will take 5 years to complete.
When we returned to Rio, the weather was lovely but we were tired from the trip. So the next day we decided to take a bus to Barra da Tijuca, which is a suburb of Rio. It looks like any burb of a big city and would fit in at home. They have a very large shopping centre, which was AIR CONDITIONED! The bus ride took us past many interesting sites in Rio and took 60 minutes so it was like a mini tour. Our ride back to the hotel proved to be extremely interesting. We went into Sao Conrado where both the Hotel Intercontinental and the Hotel Sheraton are located. There is a major project underway there with construction of luxury condominiums. It was surprising to see Canadian firms Brascan and Brookfield Properties as developers. We drove past the Botonical Gardens, the Race Track known as The Jockey Club, the Fashion Mall (which we were told was in outer space when it came to prices), the Planetarium all of which we did not have time to visit.
There is a huge slum, called a favella, overlooking these hotels and condos. It is one of the largest slums in Rio. The favellas are, we think, the most famous slums in the world. One of our guides remarked that they are the real Rio. We had an idea that because the favellas are squatters, that they would have no water, plumbing, etc. The favellas are built on the hills behind the flats that border the seashore. In fact, they have full services plus paved roads. They even have taxis to the top of the mountain! The taxis are motorcycles. We remember seeing in Vietnam whole families riding one motorcycle, mother, father and 3 kids. In some very lovely residential areas, the favellas are the next door neighbours. While many of the hilltop mansions were built first, it was impossible to control the construction of the favellas due to the huge numbers of people moving to the city. As a matter of fact, if we look left out of our window rather than right to the beach, there is a large favella behind us up the hill.
On our ride back from Barra, we drove through a section of road perched on the cliffside next to the ocean with the favella up the hill. As we neared Rio, we passed an enticing hotel next to the favellas called The Sinless Hotel with rates starting at 48 Reals per night. What a deal.
The weather turned very muggy in high twenty´s and low 30's with occasional rain during our bus ride, sometimes just pouring. When we got into Ipanema, we got caught in such a deluge but managed to find a bus to take us to Copacabana Avenue. We arrived back quite wet.
We saved the Corcovado (Statue called Christ the Redeemer)and Sugar Loaf Mountain tours for our last week and lucked out as we had a lovely day for the tour. Wow, both are very high up and most of Barb´s friends know how she loves heights!! But she persevered when Lynne insisted Sugar Loaf Mountain, which is two peaks connected by 2 differnet sets of cable cars, is a must. As she pointed out, Barb rode a cable car in Hong Kong up to a peak to see the great Buddah and she could do the same to see the great Sugar Loaf. Our tour also included a stop at the factory that is busy making all the costumes for the 2010 Carnival. All top secret so we couldn´t get in, but we did see last years and for 5 Reals you can get your picture taken in one of the costumes--no we didn´t. We also saw the area where they march out in costume to parade for the crowds. It is like a stadium, only it looks like 2 street blocks with the 'Suites' being closer to the street and air conditioned. The guide stated it was very expensive to attend and it was more for the tourists and the 'Cariocas' the citizens of Rio, don't go.
Another part of the tour included a stop in LeBlon, the last of the areas along the strip of beaches and an up and coming area, where we were told several of their soap operas as filmed are very popular with the other countries of South America and are a high demand export.
We toured another top jeweller in Rio--'Amsterdam, Sauer', but Barb still isn´t buying. She had hoped for a ring with the stones of Brazil, but knowing she still has 6 weeks of vacation left, decided to postpone such a purchase.
On December 30 it started to pour...such a torrent of water, we were worried there would be no New Year's Eve celebrations. By noon on December 31, the downpour started to disappear and low and behold - a pleasant Dec 31 on the beach. We planned our own New Year´s Eve meal as most places charged upwards of $300 (not Reals)so we picked up some goodies at our favourite dining location, a split of champagne and had our own celebration. We dressed up in the traditional white and joined the throngs of people (about 2 million) on Copacabana Avenue for the music and the fireworks. It was great!
We have been having a difficult time with the TV...STARVED for English. But must say, we are continuing to add to our Portugese vocabulary having discovered Fashion Week on television along with Jeannie Becker, of all people!
We have been wandering through grocery stores here as we are always buying water to drink. We noticed that prices are very high. Cherries are $6 lb and they come from Chile. Most of the produce is priced no differerent than at home and we found this very surprising. There are never fresh muchrooms on the shelves (must be the weather). It must be very difficult for people who live here as the minimum wage is $200 a month which is impossible to live on. We think a lot of families have several peope working at jobs one never sees at home. People sitting on a stool and punching floor numbers in a fully automatic elevator and 2 people per bus, one to drive and one to collect fares.
We have found a perfect place to eat that we call buffeteria. A huge selection of food sold at prices ranging from $1.59 to $3.49 per 100 grams. At every one, there is someone at the door to give you a blank bill, all sorts of people running around filling the food trays, selling water, beer etc., cashiers and one person to collect your receipt as proof of payment. We never see so many people running around at home.
We have set up our own little buffeteria in our room with Lynne's portable coffee maker and our own supply of tea bags and cookies for that well balanced evening snack with coffee cups, plates and cutlery from our breakfast room.
CURVES GALS: we took pictures of the Curves location on Rua Migel Lemos 21 in Copacabana and will bring them in when we get home.
We are very glad we came to Brazil and spent enough time here to get a feel for the country. There is a sense of energy and optimism everywhere and if they can solve the problem of employment at meaningful wages, they will be well on their way to general prosperity.
We found the weather a trifle too hot for us (heading to 45 by full summer) and too humid as well. Thank goodness for air conditioning.
We are leaving for Peru tomorrow and are packing now...although Barb managed a couple of hours on the beach this morning. We took our last free hour to update our blog and are not sure when we will be able to post again. But keep in touch.
We anticipate a big change in climate once we head into the Andes.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
BUZIOS THE BEAUTIFUL
December 21 - 27
We bought a pig in a poke and got a silk purse.
If you want a runaway week, come here. It is a little bit of the Mediteranean and feels like the Greek Islands or St. Tropaz! There is a miriad of bushes and flame trees in bloom with sweet scents in the air. Buzios is a peninsula,feels like an island, and is great for fishing, snorkeling, surfing, swimming, walking, suntanning and general lazing around.
We were picked up Monday a.m. by our interpreter Rakel, her 2 sons and their 2 friends, and our driver and headed to Buzios. Her boys had never been to Buzios and she planned to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Our return trip will just be us, her and a driver.
It was a 2 1/2 hour drive through beautiful country and another 1 hour trying to find our hotel. It was worth the scavenger hunt as we landed in a pot of jam called the Posada Vila D'Este (www.viladeste.com.br) The photos don't do it justice.
This is a charming boutique hotel with 15 rooms that is built into the side of a hill overlooking Buzios Bay with two tiers of swimming pools (hot and cold) with jacuzzi and sauna, a wonderful dining room overlooking the bay and fantastic staff, not to mention outstanding food. Our roon is surrounded by beautiful flowering trees and a multitude of birds.
We are a 5 minute walk to the central part of town and a 15 minute walk to a wonderful little beach that sells great pina coladas, cerveja and grilled European sausage on a bun. We can also buy 600 ml of cold beer for 3 Reals which is about $2.
Buzios was a fishing village until Bridgitte Bardot came here in 1964. Although she never returned after 1969, the locals revere her memory as she put Buzios on the tourist map and the locals have memorialized her by naming many bars and streets after her. Today it is a popular resort. Since Punta del Este in Uruguay is getting so expensive, Buzios seems to be picking up as a destination stop. We have seen 7 cruise ships in our short stay...3 Royal Caribbean,2 MSC, 1 Ibero, and 1 french ship that holds 196 passengers and plies the water from B.A.to Venezuela.
We found an Argentinian restaurant called Don Juan and were fortunate that we were here for their Tuesday night Tango show. The steak was also great. In fact, their grilling methods are so good we went back for beef ribs which are cut totally differently than what we call beef ribs. You can spend as little or as much as you want for a meal and we have.
The Tango show was a bit of a disappointment as the place was so full of people, there was too little space for the dancers. The singer was good. Can someone tell us why all tango singers sound like Charles Azenouv?
Christmas in Brazil is very different from North America. Here, Carnival is the big deal. Except for an evangelical church with loudspeaker, there were few indications of the frenetic activity that marks N.A. We spent December 24 at our hotel. We started with a fantastic massage in the garden and then into the dining room for a mouth watering meal. We also tried the local lime drink called "caipirinha". Barb liked it once she got over the lime flavour, Lynne stuck with the cerveja. We are told the Dec. 24 family dinner is more important than Dec. 25. Some of the retail stores opened up about 3 pm on Dec 25 so the biggest thing going on for the 25th were the 2 cruise ships that came in. We got off the street and spent the day by our pools.
We added to our Portugese vocabulary such words as cocktail, happy hour and shopping not to mention garagem, Fordje and Fiatje. Like the French, the Brazilians like to make foreign words "Brazilian."
Another thing we noticed is all the dogs. They are everywhere and no one cleans up after them. Some people have 2 living with them in their apartments. So far we have only seen 1 cat.
There is a unique gift store in town that sells resin based art jewellery, evening bags and, would you believe - a bejewelled toilette seat?
We took a walk on the beach past the Centro commercial district and into a residential area where we noted a number of dwellings being rehabilitated. Lynne thinks they are or are being turned into boutique hotels and that this is an investment that will pay huge dividends in 5 years. It appears that the first properties to be snapped up are on or very near the waterfront near Centro. There are a lot of properties for sale and one would have to be careful not to make a costly mistake.
There is a surplus of commercial property and some look like they have been vacant for quite a few years. One former 2 storey restaurant facing the beach would probably make a great posada. A couple of guys from New York staying at the D'Este told us they walked past a vacant storefront and saw 2 dozen turkeys inside so we walked by in daylight....sure enough, 18 turkeys! Guess, some went for Xmas dinner and the rest probably will be a New Year's day feast.
This place is filling up fast with families coming in for New Year. It's out guess that all the decent places are fully booked.
We took an open air bus tour today and got a good look at several other popular spots on the peninsula. Many 5 star hotels, bays that specialize in snorkeling and a very tony and popular horseshoe shaped bay with the priciest homes in Buzios. Most of these locations we would find boring as without a car you are stranded. We are convinced we have the perfect location.
We plan to spend our last morning around the pools enjoying the view and are sorry to be leaving this delightful hotel but are looking forward to our next adventure.
We bought a pig in a poke and got a silk purse.
If you want a runaway week, come here. It is a little bit of the Mediteranean and feels like the Greek Islands or St. Tropaz! There is a miriad of bushes and flame trees in bloom with sweet scents in the air. Buzios is a peninsula,feels like an island, and is great for fishing, snorkeling, surfing, swimming, walking, suntanning and general lazing around.
We were picked up Monday a.m. by our interpreter Rakel, her 2 sons and their 2 friends, and our driver and headed to Buzios. Her boys had never been to Buzios and she planned to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Our return trip will just be us, her and a driver.
It was a 2 1/2 hour drive through beautiful country and another 1 hour trying to find our hotel. It was worth the scavenger hunt as we landed in a pot of jam called the Posada Vila D'Este (www.viladeste.com.br) The photos don't do it justice.
This is a charming boutique hotel with 15 rooms that is built into the side of a hill overlooking Buzios Bay with two tiers of swimming pools (hot and cold) with jacuzzi and sauna, a wonderful dining room overlooking the bay and fantastic staff, not to mention outstanding food. Our roon is surrounded by beautiful flowering trees and a multitude of birds.
We are a 5 minute walk to the central part of town and a 15 minute walk to a wonderful little beach that sells great pina coladas, cerveja and grilled European sausage on a bun. We can also buy 600 ml of cold beer for 3 Reals which is about $2.
Buzios was a fishing village until Bridgitte Bardot came here in 1964. Although she never returned after 1969, the locals revere her memory as she put Buzios on the tourist map and the locals have memorialized her by naming many bars and streets after her. Today it is a popular resort. Since Punta del Este in Uruguay is getting so expensive, Buzios seems to be picking up as a destination stop. We have seen 7 cruise ships in our short stay...3 Royal Caribbean,2 MSC, 1 Ibero, and 1 french ship that holds 196 passengers and plies the water from B.A.to Venezuela.
We found an Argentinian restaurant called Don Juan and were fortunate that we were here for their Tuesday night Tango show. The steak was also great. In fact, their grilling methods are so good we went back for beef ribs which are cut totally differently than what we call beef ribs. You can spend as little or as much as you want for a meal and we have.
The Tango show was a bit of a disappointment as the place was so full of people, there was too little space for the dancers. The singer was good. Can someone tell us why all tango singers sound like Charles Azenouv?
Christmas in Brazil is very different from North America. Here, Carnival is the big deal. Except for an evangelical church with loudspeaker, there were few indications of the frenetic activity that marks N.A. We spent December 24 at our hotel. We started with a fantastic massage in the garden and then into the dining room for a mouth watering meal. We also tried the local lime drink called "caipirinha". Barb liked it once she got over the lime flavour, Lynne stuck with the cerveja. We are told the Dec. 24 family dinner is more important than Dec. 25. Some of the retail stores opened up about 3 pm on Dec 25 so the biggest thing going on for the 25th were the 2 cruise ships that came in. We got off the street and spent the day by our pools.
We added to our Portugese vocabulary such words as cocktail, happy hour and shopping not to mention garagem, Fordje and Fiatje. Like the French, the Brazilians like to make foreign words "Brazilian."
Another thing we noticed is all the dogs. They are everywhere and no one cleans up after them. Some people have 2 living with them in their apartments. So far we have only seen 1 cat.
There is a unique gift store in town that sells resin based art jewellery, evening bags and, would you believe - a bejewelled toilette seat?
We took a walk on the beach past the Centro commercial district and into a residential area where we noted a number of dwellings being rehabilitated. Lynne thinks they are or are being turned into boutique hotels and that this is an investment that will pay huge dividends in 5 years. It appears that the first properties to be snapped up are on or very near the waterfront near Centro. There are a lot of properties for sale and one would have to be careful not to make a costly mistake.
There is a surplus of commercial property and some look like they have been vacant for quite a few years. One former 2 storey restaurant facing the beach would probably make a great posada. A couple of guys from New York staying at the D'Este told us they walked past a vacant storefront and saw 2 dozen turkeys inside so we walked by in daylight....sure enough, 18 turkeys! Guess, some went for Xmas dinner and the rest probably will be a New Year's day feast.
This place is filling up fast with families coming in for New Year. It's out guess that all the decent places are fully booked.
We took an open air bus tour today and got a good look at several other popular spots on the peninsula. Many 5 star hotels, bays that specialize in snorkeling and a very tony and popular horseshoe shaped bay with the priciest homes in Buzios. Most of these locations we would find boring as without a car you are stranded. We are convinced we have the perfect location.
We plan to spend our last morning around the pools enjoying the view and are sorry to be leaving this delightful hotel but are looking forward to our next adventure.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
RIO REDUX
December 16 to 21.
After Iguacu, we returned to Rio for 5 days to recuperate from all our running around to fabulous news....Barb's lost luggage was found. Luckily, the baggage claim office was not far from the Debret so we walked over and claimed it.
Barb made arrangements for a tour to the jewellry factory of H. Stern. They have an intense sales programme which includes picking up tourists at their hotel and taking them to the Stern Factory and Sales Floor. Lynne left Barb with a charming salesman but she is sales-proof. Both of us toured the museum and private collection of H. Stern's toramaline gemstones.
When inquiring about bus routes, they kindly arranged for the Stern van to drop us off acrosssthe city at the CARMEN MIRANDA MUSEUM.
It is a small museum and houses pictures, clothing, jewellery, hats and those fabulous platform shoes that are back in style. They also have a small viewing area where Carmen's movies are on a continuus loop. How many of you remember this lady who we just found out was originally from Portugal not Brazil!
We woke up one morning to clear sunny skies (the first in 2 weeks!) and rushed to the beach for a sun burn..Yeah for us. Some of the police boats, helicopters and water bombers were out practicing for what we believe are New Year's Eve festivities.
Other than the factory tour and the return buses from the museum and one large shopping centre, we are walking everywhere.
We discovered a couple of very nice places to eat. Like the cuccinas in Mexico, there are buffets all through Copacabana where they sell food by the 100 grams. Many are just regular buffets but some contain grills where you can also choose steak, chicken, seafood, etc. right off the grill. We discovered one that is spotlessly clean and with a very wide selection so we can try a teaspoon of a local dish to see if we like it. Our way of pretending we are being concerned over what and how much we are eating.
Brazilians are futebol crazy. One evening, our hotel filled up with dozens of people wearing red and black striped jersies. One man was walking around with a stuffed Tucan on his head. Turns out there was a final game to determine who would represent Brazil in the World Cup to be held in South Africa in 2010. These people were Flamingo fans. The game was held on a Sunday and as we walked by a local bar, we noticed about 100 people standing in the street staring at a wall mounted TV in a local bar. The Flamingos won and the fans went nuts....firecrackers, group hugs in the middle of the street etc.
After Iguacu, we returned to Rio for 5 days to recuperate from all our running around to fabulous news....Barb's lost luggage was found. Luckily, the baggage claim office was not far from the Debret so we walked over and claimed it.
Barb made arrangements for a tour to the jewellry factory of H. Stern. They have an intense sales programme which includes picking up tourists at their hotel and taking them to the Stern Factory and Sales Floor. Lynne left Barb with a charming salesman but she is sales-proof. Both of us toured the museum and private collection of H. Stern's toramaline gemstones.
When inquiring about bus routes, they kindly arranged for the Stern van to drop us off acrosssthe city at the CARMEN MIRANDA MUSEUM.
It is a small museum and houses pictures, clothing, jewellery, hats and those fabulous platform shoes that are back in style. They also have a small viewing area where Carmen's movies are on a continuus loop. How many of you remember this lady who we just found out was originally from Portugal not Brazil!
We woke up one morning to clear sunny skies (the first in 2 weeks!) and rushed to the beach for a sun burn..Yeah for us. Some of the police boats, helicopters and water bombers were out practicing for what we believe are New Year's Eve festivities.
Other than the factory tour and the return buses from the museum and one large shopping centre, we are walking everywhere.
We discovered a couple of very nice places to eat. Like the cuccinas in Mexico, there are buffets all through Copacabana where they sell food by the 100 grams. Many are just regular buffets but some contain grills where you can also choose steak, chicken, seafood, etc. right off the grill. We discovered one that is spotlessly clean and with a very wide selection so we can try a teaspoon of a local dish to see if we like it. Our way of pretending we are being concerned over what and how much we are eating.
Brazilians are futebol crazy. One evening, our hotel filled up with dozens of people wearing red and black striped jersies. One man was walking around with a stuffed Tucan on his head. Turns out there was a final game to determine who would represent Brazil in the World Cup to be held in South Africa in 2010. These people were Flamingo fans. The game was held on a Sunday and as we walked by a local bar, we noticed about 100 people standing in the street staring at a wall mounted TV in a local bar. The Flamingos won and the fans went nuts....firecrackers, group hugs in the middle of the street etc.
There are some things you should definitely know if you travel in South America. Society is organized so that there is a little job for everyone. This means that little conveniences that we take for granted are not available and they can drive you crazy! Even so, things are pretty technologically savy. For example, in our hotel in Iguacu, the lights, A/C and TV could be controlled by buttons on the telephone.
- Bring an emersion rod or travel sized coffee/tea maker with you. Even if you stay in a 5 star hotel, there will be no coffee maker in your room.
- Bring a travel iron. The hotels hire people to work in a laundry so will not provide an iron.
- Bring an electrical adapter.
- We hate to say it, but bring instant coffee.
- Bring kleenex.
- There is often no toaster and there is always cake for breakfast.
- Tea here is most often herbal so if you want regular tea, pack tea bags.
- Do not expect people to speak English outside tourist facilities. Make an effort to learn some common courtesies in the local language. This and sign language goes a long way. Not to mention a smile and some patience.
- Adjust your budget to purchase lots of drinking water. The water is safe for bathing and brushing your teeth but NOT for drinking. It is hot and you will drink lots.
- The plumbing systems in Central and South America are not as accommodating as we are used to and do not generally accept toilet paper as a desposit!
We ended this round of "Rio days" with a fabulous brunch at the Marriott which included all the water and champagne we could drink. And we polished off at least one bottle of the bubbly.
We are so looking forward to the resort of Buzios.
Friday, December 18, 2009
IGUACU - One of the world's great wonders.
December 14 - 16
We had a sensible departure time for Iguacu - spelling Iguassu, Iguazzu etc - but we are using the name as spelled at their airport. Instead of a taxi, we took the Real bus and had a little tour of Rio on the way to the International Airport for one tenth the cost of a taxi.
Our flight was pleasant and uneventful and we were actually given a hot sandwich gratis! We also learned this country is cola crazy - no gingerale, no 7-up.
We arrived in Foz do Iguacu (ig-wa-SUE) on a hot day with only a few clouds and were met by our young guide, Luiz. He is a University student studying ecology, etc. Business seems to be slow as this was another tour with few customers...in this case just us.We started tour of the Falls on the Brazilian side.
The next day we journied to the Argentinian side. As we approached the falls, we could see the spray of the largest section of the falls which is referred to as the `"Devil´s Throat. ' Iguacu (in the native dialect meaning the end of the big waters), consists of 275 individual waterfalls in varying layers and sizes. It is very impressive and we must say, beats Niagara Falls. The Brazilian and Argentinian governments have created a huge national park system with amazing walkways that go over parts of the river and also contain balconies for photo taking. The river separates the two countries and also produces the world's second largest hydro electric power in one location.
After finishing our viewing and picture taking, we took a trail to the bottom of the falls where we boarded a jet boat for our Gran Adventura tour with over 35 university students (all singing the local soccer cheer) for a trip into the bottom of the falls (not once but 3 times) getting thoroughly soaked. The kids could hardly wait for the run under the falls. We knew it was coming and saved our raincoats from our Amazon jungle walk just for this. After the dunking, we headed down the river to a truck that was waiting to take us on a 20 minute ride through the jungl.e with a guide who specialized in local fauna and flora.
The entire park area is filled with millions of the most beautifully coloured butterflies we have ever seen ranging from clear yellows, reds, and blues to irridescent colours and many with multi-patterned wings.
WOW!!!! Until we started planning this trip Barb had not heard of these falls. So glad we got to see a UNESCO Heritage Site. Our pictures will say more than words can describe.
We stayed at the Continental Inn. Again a wonderful hotel with a great pool area and of course cold beer. We actually had time to walk to a large shopping centre which was air conditioned and offered a variety of stores selling Brazilian wear.
Flight back to Rio uneventful as was the bus ride, other than we got the slow ride to our Hotel.
We had a sensible departure time for Iguacu - spelling Iguassu, Iguazzu etc - but we are using the name as spelled at their airport. Instead of a taxi, we took the Real bus and had a little tour of Rio on the way to the International Airport for one tenth the cost of a taxi.
Our flight was pleasant and uneventful and we were actually given a hot sandwich gratis! We also learned this country is cola crazy - no gingerale, no 7-up.
We arrived in Foz do Iguacu (ig-wa-SUE) on a hot day with only a few clouds and were met by our young guide, Luiz. He is a University student studying ecology, etc. Business seems to be slow as this was another tour with few customers...in this case just us.We started tour of the Falls on the Brazilian side.
The next day we journied to the Argentinian side. As we approached the falls, we could see the spray of the largest section of the falls which is referred to as the `"Devil´s Throat. ' Iguacu (in the native dialect meaning the end of the big waters), consists of 275 individual waterfalls in varying layers and sizes. It is very impressive and we must say, beats Niagara Falls. The Brazilian and Argentinian governments have created a huge national park system with amazing walkways that go over parts of the river and also contain balconies for photo taking. The river separates the two countries and also produces the world's second largest hydro electric power in one location.
After finishing our viewing and picture taking, we took a trail to the bottom of the falls where we boarded a jet boat for our Gran Adventura tour with over 35 university students (all singing the local soccer cheer) for a trip into the bottom of the falls (not once but 3 times) getting thoroughly soaked. The kids could hardly wait for the run under the falls. We knew it was coming and saved our raincoats from our Amazon jungle walk just for this. After the dunking, we headed down the river to a truck that was waiting to take us on a 20 minute ride through the jungl.e with a guide who specialized in local fauna and flora.
The entire park area is filled with millions of the most beautifully coloured butterflies we have ever seen ranging from clear yellows, reds, and blues to irridescent colours and many with multi-patterned wings.
WOW!!!! Until we started planning this trip Barb had not heard of these falls. So glad we got to see a UNESCO Heritage Site. Our pictures will say more than words can describe.
We stayed at the Continental Inn. Again a wonderful hotel with a great pool area and of course cold beer. We actually had time to walk to a large shopping centre which was air conditioned and offered a variety of stores selling Brazilian wear.
Flight back to Rio uneventful as was the bus ride, other than we got the slow ride to our Hotel.
AMAZING AMAZON
December 8
We flew to Manaus (manOUSE) which turned out to be a long flight with a transfer in Brazilia. We were picked up at the airport and our guide gave us an interesting tour of the downtown area and their famous opera house. There are about 3 million people there as it is a major tax free zone with manufacturers like Phillips and LG etc. The city is growing at 20% a year and they are finally doing something about their favelas (slums) in order to clear up major pollution on the river Rio Negro.
We were delivered to a fabulous 5 star hotel, the Tropical, a chain of deluxe resort hotels in Brazil and waited for our tour to begin. It was tough lounging around the pool!
We must have brought a little Canadian weather with us. Previous to our arrival, Manaus had 2 months of 45C weather. When we arrived the temperature dropped 20 degrees and it started to pour. We had left Rio in a tropical downpour but found the skies clear in Brazilia and hoped for better things to come. No such luck.
On December 9, our tour guide gathered together his little tour of 9 passengers....5 Spaniards, 1 Aussie, 1 French woman and 2 intrepid travellers. We traipsed down the hill behind the hotel to cross a sandy beach and into a motorized canoe for a quick jaunt to the Amazon Clipper. The boat is exactly as pictured and normally carried 32-35 passengers. Not the 9 that were on this tour.
It rained so hard that our first nights tour was cancelled. The next day the birds, the animals and the Spaniards went on strike. But our fearless foursome started out to tramp through the jungle in plastic raincoats and running shoes...no one had ever told us that a pair of rubber boots was essential gear....just in case! We walked on a sponge of dead leaves which will be the floor of the river in the rainy season which is just starting. The trees also will be under the river. Last year the river was so high it reached over 21 metres high.
We felt like millionaires with our own private yacht as we could sit on the deck in glorious isolation and pretend we were alone.
One of our tours took us into the river islands at sunset and we saw caiman (crockadiles) and the guides found an anaconda snake which they managed to bring down on a long stick and brought it over to show us....yeach! One tour was an early morning fishing trip (for pirranahs) at which time the 2 canadians and the french went on strike. The cook prepared the fish for dinner and they were delicious. As a matter of fact the food was outstanding and could match what we had on the Veendam any day. No movies, radio or TV.
We were confused as the tour material provided to us did not match what we were doing. The guide said the tour we had was 20 years out of date. However, we had a wonderful time...just a different wonderful time than we expected.
One of our night tours down a tributary of the Amazon ended at a hotel where the true explorers stay..the Jungle Lodge. We finally saw an animal!!! The squirrel monkey--cute but no cupíe doll and certainly no 3 toed Sloth. Our poor guide Hugo, no matter how hard he tried we didn`t see anything else. What birds we did see were quite something, but didn`t see as many has he had hoped.
The day before we returned, we stopped at a village located on one of the many islands for an introduction to their practices and traditions. Who knew an indiginous tradition was having television and electric guitars. The plan was to stroll through the village, stop to watch them make flour, have the children sing a few songs and then head back to the ship. Well we were about 20 minutes into the tour when we realized Lynne was not taking the heat and humidity well, so we missed the flour making part. While we waited for the rest of the gang to meet at the communict arena, Barb doused Lynne with wonderful cold spring water which is now pumped into their homes.
They have a school house in which they are learning their AB C´s as well as two languages...their own dialect from a mixture of several cultures living in the village and Portugese.
Our final day was spent lounging on the deck as the others went for one last walk in the jungle. When they returned we cruised to what they call ¨the meeting of the waters¨where the Rio Negro and the Amazon meet. You can see the way the two rivers butt up against each other..the black and the muddy.
December 12.
Our return flight was another adventure. The schedule was Manous to Rio through Sao Paulo leaving at 3:20. The flight was delayed almost an hour and shortly before we were to land we were advised over the PA system that due to the traffic at the airport we were being diverted back to Brazilia where we refueled. After 30 minutes on the ground, we continued our flight to Sao Paulo. However, by that time we had missed our connection to Rio. Fortunately for us a delightful young Mexican gentleman tanslated the communications to us and we found out that the plane we were on was being renumbered and was to be our intended connection to Rio, so we just changed seats after we bid him a safe journey home. His flight to Mexico was to leave at midnight and we don`t know if he made it or not.
We finally made it back to our hotel around 2:30 a.m. after an 80 Real taxi ride. This time our room was a sideview and nothing to brag about but we were only staying 2 nights so no complaint.
We flew to Manaus (manOUSE) which turned out to be a long flight with a transfer in Brazilia. We were picked up at the airport and our guide gave us an interesting tour of the downtown area and their famous opera house. There are about 3 million people there as it is a major tax free zone with manufacturers like Phillips and LG etc. The city is growing at 20% a year and they are finally doing something about their favelas (slums) in order to clear up major pollution on the river Rio Negro.
We were delivered to a fabulous 5 star hotel, the Tropical, a chain of deluxe resort hotels in Brazil and waited for our tour to begin. It was tough lounging around the pool!
We must have brought a little Canadian weather with us. Previous to our arrival, Manaus had 2 months of 45C weather. When we arrived the temperature dropped 20 degrees and it started to pour. We had left Rio in a tropical downpour but found the skies clear in Brazilia and hoped for better things to come. No such luck.
On December 9, our tour guide gathered together his little tour of 9 passengers....5 Spaniards, 1 Aussie, 1 French woman and 2 intrepid travellers. We traipsed down the hill behind the hotel to cross a sandy beach and into a motorized canoe for a quick jaunt to the Amazon Clipper. The boat is exactly as pictured and normally carried 32-35 passengers. Not the 9 that were on this tour.
It rained so hard that our first nights tour was cancelled. The next day the birds, the animals and the Spaniards went on strike. But our fearless foursome started out to tramp through the jungle in plastic raincoats and running shoes...no one had ever told us that a pair of rubber boots was essential gear....just in case! We walked on a sponge of dead leaves which will be the floor of the river in the rainy season which is just starting. The trees also will be under the river. Last year the river was so high it reached over 21 metres high.
We felt like millionaires with our own private yacht as we could sit on the deck in glorious isolation and pretend we were alone.
One of our tours took us into the river islands at sunset and we saw caiman (crockadiles) and the guides found an anaconda snake which they managed to bring down on a long stick and brought it over to show us....yeach! One tour was an early morning fishing trip (for pirranahs) at which time the 2 canadians and the french went on strike. The cook prepared the fish for dinner and they were delicious. As a matter of fact the food was outstanding and could match what we had on the Veendam any day. No movies, radio or TV.
We were confused as the tour material provided to us did not match what we were doing. The guide said the tour we had was 20 years out of date. However, we had a wonderful time...just a different wonderful time than we expected.
One of our night tours down a tributary of the Amazon ended at a hotel where the true explorers stay..the Jungle Lodge. We finally saw an animal!!! The squirrel monkey--cute but no cupíe doll and certainly no 3 toed Sloth. Our poor guide Hugo, no matter how hard he tried we didn`t see anything else. What birds we did see were quite something, but didn`t see as many has he had hoped.
The day before we returned, we stopped at a village located on one of the many islands for an introduction to their practices and traditions. Who knew an indiginous tradition was having television and electric guitars. The plan was to stroll through the village, stop to watch them make flour, have the children sing a few songs and then head back to the ship. Well we were about 20 minutes into the tour when we realized Lynne was not taking the heat and humidity well, so we missed the flour making part. While we waited for the rest of the gang to meet at the communict arena, Barb doused Lynne with wonderful cold spring water which is now pumped into their homes.
They have a school house in which they are learning their AB C´s as well as two languages...their own dialect from a mixture of several cultures living in the village and Portugese.
Our final day was spent lounging on the deck as the others went for one last walk in the jungle. When they returned we cruised to what they call ¨the meeting of the waters¨where the Rio Negro and the Amazon meet. You can see the way the two rivers butt up against each other..the black and the muddy.
December 12.
Our return flight was another adventure. The schedule was Manous to Rio through Sao Paulo leaving at 3:20. The flight was delayed almost an hour and shortly before we were to land we were advised over the PA system that due to the traffic at the airport we were being diverted back to Brazilia where we refueled. After 30 minutes on the ground, we continued our flight to Sao Paulo. However, by that time we had missed our connection to Rio. Fortunately for us a delightful young Mexican gentleman tanslated the communications to us and we found out that the plane we were on was being renumbered and was to be our intended connection to Rio, so we just changed seats after we bid him a safe journey home. His flight to Mexico was to leave at midnight and we don`t know if he made it or not.
We finally made it back to our hotel around 2:30 a.m. after an 80 Real taxi ride. This time our room was a sideview and nothing to brag about but we were only staying 2 nights so no complaint.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
Decemer 5
Our arrival here after 2 days at sea was a symphony of disasters, beaurocracy run amok and general frustration. Due to an outbreak of GIF on the ship, the Brazilian Medical Officer showed up and would not let anyone decamp until he checked all the passenges and crew who had been sick. This took about 5 hours. Finally, the Immigration Officers came on board to check Visas and passports and that took another 5 hours. We finally got off the ship at 5:30 pm and to our hotel by 6pm. At least we had a room waiting! Unfortunately one of Barb´s carry on bags was not with our stuff and she is suffering trying to figure out what was in the bag.
The Hotel Debret is a european hotel with all its pluses and minuses. They seem to be in the midst of a renovation project that will take years. When we went outside to look for the balcony rooms, we discovered that all the balconies had been removed and that side of the hotel restuccoed (but not the front facing the ocean). The dining room had a hole in the roof and so our breakfast is in a temporary room on the main floor. But the staff is accommodating. Our room for this first leg of our stay has a fabulous view directly overlooking the beach.
We are enjoying the atmosphere and walking along avenue Atlantica which fronts the ocean. Watched an indiginous band performing and selling CDs. Two of their group danced and you can certainly see they are cousins of the Cree. Their beading is lighter and brighter and the feather head dresses contain some of the colourful feathers that South American birds sport. They also included a pan pipe which make the sound very distinct and pleasant.
We are finally eating sensibly....and can barely do up our pants so have a lot of incentive to walk more and eat less.
We are leaving for Manaus in the Amazonus on Tuesday, December 8 and will keep everyone updated as time allows.
For some reason time is in short supply. Could be because we are having a fabulous time!
Our arrival here after 2 days at sea was a symphony of disasters, beaurocracy run amok and general frustration. Due to an outbreak of GIF on the ship, the Brazilian Medical Officer showed up and would not let anyone decamp until he checked all the passenges and crew who had been sick. This took about 5 hours. Finally, the Immigration Officers came on board to check Visas and passports and that took another 5 hours. We finally got off the ship at 5:30 pm and to our hotel by 6pm. At least we had a room waiting! Unfortunately one of Barb´s carry on bags was not with our stuff and she is suffering trying to figure out what was in the bag.
The Hotel Debret is a european hotel with all its pluses and minuses. They seem to be in the midst of a renovation project that will take years. When we went outside to look for the balcony rooms, we discovered that all the balconies had been removed and that side of the hotel restuccoed (but not the front facing the ocean). The dining room had a hole in the roof and so our breakfast is in a temporary room on the main floor. But the staff is accommodating. Our room for this first leg of our stay has a fabulous view directly overlooking the beach.
We are enjoying the atmosphere and walking along avenue Atlantica which fronts the ocean. Watched an indiginous band performing and selling CDs. Two of their group danced and you can certainly see they are cousins of the Cree. Their beading is lighter and brighter and the feather head dresses contain some of the colourful feathers that South American birds sport. They also included a pan pipe which make the sound very distinct and pleasant.
We are finally eating sensibly....and can barely do up our pants so have a lot of incentive to walk more and eat less.
We are leaving for Manaus in the Amazonus on Tuesday, December 8 and will keep everyone updated as time allows.
For some reason time is in short supply. Could be because we are having a fabulous time!
BUENOS AIRIES, ARGENTINA
December 1
We arrived in Buenos Airies (fair winds in spanish) on a beautiful day. Come to think of it, we had generally cool weather until Montevideo. We had arranged to meet Monica and Augustina for lunch and decided we could walk through Calle Florida (the Rodeo Drive of South America) and into San Telmo to meet them. We walked for 3.5 hours and arrived early and thirsty. We sat down at an outdoor table under a tree and enjoyed a beer while waiting. A tour bus loaded with our ship passemgers drove by and we waved while they took pictures. I can just imagine someone developing their pictures and wondering ¨who are those old broads...they look like two women we saw on the ship!
We had a wonderful visit but our hostesses had to get back to work. They called a taxi for us and we journied on to Carmenito, the outdoor museum, in La Boca. We regretted our lack of time but managed to get back to San Telmo for a look around and walked back to H. Stern tograb their shuttle to the Port.
Our stay in B.A. was cut short as the ship had to leave several hours earlier than schedule on Dec. 2 and most of the passengers were quite annoyed as 1.5 days in B.A. is certainly not enough time.
It you are looking for a winter get away this is the city to shop in. You can buy a smallish pied a tiere here for about $18,000 US and fix it up for about half that again!
This is definitely a city to visit and stay a couple of weeks...maybe longer.
We left with regrets.
We arrived in Buenos Airies (fair winds in spanish) on a beautiful day. Come to think of it, we had generally cool weather until Montevideo. We had arranged to meet Monica and Augustina for lunch and decided we could walk through Calle Florida (the Rodeo Drive of South America) and into San Telmo to meet them. We walked for 3.5 hours and arrived early and thirsty. We sat down at an outdoor table under a tree and enjoyed a beer while waiting. A tour bus loaded with our ship passemgers drove by and we waved while they took pictures. I can just imagine someone developing their pictures and wondering ¨who are those old broads...they look like two women we saw on the ship!
We had a wonderful visit but our hostesses had to get back to work. They called a taxi for us and we journied on to Carmenito, the outdoor museum, in La Boca. We regretted our lack of time but managed to get back to San Telmo for a look around and walked back to H. Stern tograb their shuttle to the Port.
Our stay in B.A. was cut short as the ship had to leave several hours earlier than schedule on Dec. 2 and most of the passengers were quite annoyed as 1.5 days in B.A. is certainly not enough time.
It you are looking for a winter get away this is the city to shop in. You can buy a smallish pied a tiere here for about $18,000 US and fix it up for about half that again!
This is definitely a city to visit and stay a couple of weeks...maybe longer.
We left with regrets.
MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY
November 30
After 2 days at sea, we arrived in beautiful Montevideo. The portuguese numbered their discoveries and Mont refers to hills Vi is the number 6 and Deo is day...we discovered 6 hills today.
There are many lovely old buildings, modern skyscrapers and fabulous beaches not to mention 2 notable golf courses. The Uruguans are soccer mad and their team made it into the finals for the World Cup.
This is the first place since San Diego that we noted quite a few street people.
Jose Gurvich is a noted painter who originated here and we went to the museum set up by his widow. He died very young in New York preparing for an exhibit. His widow arranged for him to be buried in Israel and she brought his collection back to Montevideo for public viewing.
We spoke to many passengers who really loved the look and feel of this city including us.
After 2 days at sea, we arrived in beautiful Montevideo. The portuguese numbered their discoveries and Mont refers to hills Vi is the number 6 and Deo is day...we discovered 6 hills today.
There are many lovely old buildings, modern skyscrapers and fabulous beaches not to mention 2 notable golf courses. The Uruguans are soccer mad and their team made it into the finals for the World Cup.
This is the first place since San Diego that we noted quite a few street people.
Jose Gurvich is a noted painter who originated here and we went to the museum set up by his widow. He died very young in New York preparing for an exhibit. His widow arranged for him to be buried in Israel and she brought his collection back to Montevideo for public viewing.
We spoke to many passengers who really loved the look and feel of this city including us.
THE FOLLY OF THE FALKLANDS
November 27
After all our good luck on the seas, we really thought we would make Port Stanley. While we came and saw we could not land. In this, we joined 3 out of 4 cruisers who do not manage to land in the Falklands.
The captain had warned us the night before that the winds were 40 knots and they need to be less than 20 for us to tender in. The wind did not abate and it was bad timing on our part that we were not part of 199 passengers who got off as soon as we arrived and before the wind picked up. There were many other disappointed passengers who had planned to view old wrecks, wreckage of the war and penguins.
After all our good luck on the seas, we really thought we would make Port Stanley. While we came and saw we could not land. In this, we joined 3 out of 4 cruisers who do not manage to land in the Falklands.
The captain had warned us the night before that the winds were 40 knots and they need to be less than 20 for us to tender in. The wind did not abate and it was bad timing on our part that we were not part of 199 passengers who got off as soon as we arrived and before the wind picked up. There were many other disappointed passengers who had planned to view old wrecks, wreckage of the war and penguins.
ROUNDING CAPE HORN
November 26
After leaving Ushuaia, we headed toward Cape Horn. The ship had been installing emergency lighting for some time and we had visions of the crew lashing the outside doors shut with chains while we strapped into out beds trying not to hit the ceiling! It did not happen....no grand adventure at all as we rounded the Horn as the sea was smooth for this section of water. However, it was very windy on the decks for the picture takers.
Of all the famous mariners - Magellan, Sir Francis Drake, Cook and anyone else you can think of who had places named after them, it is La Maire and the Schouten brothers of the Netherlands who discovered and first sailed around this cape which they named after Hoorn, their city of origin.
After leaving Ushuaia, we headed toward Cape Horn. The ship had been installing emergency lighting for some time and we had visions of the crew lashing the outside doors shut with chains while we strapped into out beds trying not to hit the ceiling! It did not happen....no grand adventure at all as we rounded the Horn as the sea was smooth for this section of water. However, it was very windy on the decks for the picture takers.
Of all the famous mariners - Magellan, Sir Francis Drake, Cook and anyone else you can think of who had places named after them, it is La Maire and the Schouten brothers of the Netherlands who discovered and first sailed around this cape which they named after Hoorn, their city of origin.
USHUAIA, ARGENTINA
November 25
Ushuaia, 55 degrees latitude, is in Tiera del Fuego and while most of the mainland belongs to Chile, this town is in Argentina. It has a sort of Alpine/Wild West atmosphere. The average winter temperature is about 5 but nearly 70% of the time there are winds blowing. The locals wear ski jackets and jeans and drive 4x4s. You cannot tell the big wigs from the small fries by the way they dress. The indegenous people, the Yahgan and Alaculufes (Canoe Indias), wore little or no clothes at all and kept warm from the constant fires they built. Wow!
The seas were very rough and it looked for a while like we would not be able to land. However, the captain managed when the winds fell below 20 knots. The town is very hilly and is a popular hunting and fishing destination.
On our way back from touring the city we walked into an H. Stern Jewellry store so Barb could drool. As we left the shop Barb told the sales rep she was very sorry but ¨I can´t afford me¨.
Ushuaia, 55 degrees latitude, is in Tiera del Fuego and while most of the mainland belongs to Chile, this town is in Argentina. It has a sort of Alpine/Wild West atmosphere. The average winter temperature is about 5 but nearly 70% of the time there are winds blowing. The locals wear ski jackets and jeans and drive 4x4s. You cannot tell the big wigs from the small fries by the way they dress. The indegenous people, the Yahgan and Alaculufes (Canoe Indias), wore little or no clothes at all and kept warm from the constant fires they built. Wow!
The seas were very rough and it looked for a while like we would not be able to land. However, the captain managed when the winds fell below 20 knots. The town is very hilly and is a popular hunting and fishing destination.
On our way back from touring the city we walked into an H. Stern Jewellry store so Barb could drool. As we left the shop Barb told the sales rep she was very sorry but ¨I can´t afford me¨.
IN THE WAKE OF CHARLES DARWIN
November 24
Still in Punta Arenas: went to a beautiful old mansion that the Braun-Menendez family donated to the City and has been turned into a museum. The furniture is lovely French Provincial stuff. It was surprising to see it in the middle of nowhere! This museum reminded both of us of the Biltmore House in Ashville, North Carolina. There were some people who made a great deal of money in this part of the world.
On leaving Puna Arenas we backed down the Strait of Magellan into the Beagle Channel. This was a stark, icily beautiful channel with tidewater glaciers to the east. There are five named glaciers that very, very blue. There were no birds visible and the glaciers are calving into the channel. We sat in the Crowsnest Lounge which has a 210 degree view. It stretches the mind to try and imagine the Beagle sailing through this channel in its exploratory voyage nearly 200 years ago.
Still in Punta Arenas: went to a beautiful old mansion that the Braun-Menendez family donated to the City and has been turned into a museum. The furniture is lovely French Provincial stuff. It was surprising to see it in the middle of nowhere! This museum reminded both of us of the Biltmore House in Ashville, North Carolina. There were some people who made a great deal of money in this part of the world.
On leaving Puna Arenas we backed down the Strait of Magellan into the Beagle Channel. This was a stark, icily beautiful channel with tidewater glaciers to the east. There are five named glaciers that very, very blue. There were no birds visible and the glaciers are calving into the channel. We sat in the Crowsnest Lounge which has a 210 degree view. It stretches the mind to try and imagine the Beagle sailing through this channel in its exploratory voyage nearly 200 years ago.
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