It was really nice not to have to go anywhere today after having had so many ports in a row. Like many cruise friends before us have said, "It's a hard job, but somebody has to do it". Just as Captain Frank had said yesterday, the local river pilots were dropped off into their pilot boat at 10am this morning. This was near the town of Macapa, where we began our river adventure about a week ago. Gosh, the time went by fast.
The day began with a nice breakfast, followed by a deck walk, then up to deck 9 for some sun time at the Sea View pool. Something funny happened up there. We watched as one of the deck fellows proceeded to lift the wooden grates on the floor inside the outdoor pool showers. Dozens of little Amazon critters were hiding under these grates, and scattered when he uncovered them. Prepared with a broom and dust pan, he chased these bugs before they reached the smoker's section. There were too many of them as they hid under the tables and chairs. Most guests never saw them. At a closer look, we saw they were green grasshoppers in all sizes. We doubt they will last long on the ship. While we were walking the promenade, we spotted dozens of the same insect plastered on the walls and ceilings. We bet that after sunset, these insects will be sprayed or hosed off. And tonight will be the final evening that the outside deck lighting will be at a minimum, since we will be leaving the river soon.
Summing up our Amazon River experience this time, we compared it to the first time we came here to the jungle. Back then in the late 90's, at most every port, we had dozens of canoe locals bringing their boats close to the tender landings and either selling their souvenirs or begging for anything folks would give them. One of the worst things we saw was an older passenger bringing out a roll of quarters, and tossing them near the canoes, where the young kids would dive for the sinking coins. Shortly after he began doing this, the captain came on the outdoor speakers telling the man to stop what he was doing, which he did. The captain reminded the folks that someone's eye could be taken out.
At another port, such as Boca da Valeria, the guests threw clothing, shoes, socks, toiletries, and fruit like oranges and apples from their staterooms to the begging natives in those canoes. Then right before leaving one of the ports, a couple of crew members brought out cases of those small squeezable shampoos, conditioners, and lotions and dumped the contents into the water. The little kids dove in the water and scooped up the floating toiletries and tossed them into their canoes. We saw none of this happen on this trip, which is a good thing. Of course there was a 50 meter warning sign for any craft to stay away from the ship and it was honored.
Lunch was from the Dive-In Grill with one chicken sandwich and a couple of hot dogs. Going to the grill around 2pm, there has never been a line and seldom more than a 10 minute wait. In our opinion, we feel their burgers are the best choice or the hot dogs. The chicken breast tends to be stringy and difficult to eat. It tastes good, but is messy with lots of sauce.
Yesterday we were informed our flight home in May had been cancelled, and they were offering another flight with a stopover in Houston. No, we were not happy with that change as it would be getting us to San Francisco by midnight. Being that we made our reservations with HAL with a hotel stay for one night including transfers, they were willing to find us another straight through flight. So now we will be flying home at 8:30am and getting to SFO by noontime. And there is no stop over. Now we hope that won't change.
We had an invitation to a special event for the President's Club members held in the Officer's Bar on deck four at 6:30pm. This was a first on this ship, and we figured it was due to the fact that the number of guests in the Club are lower than last year. Better for all of us, we located the hidden door forward on deck four. There were as many officers as there were guests. This lounge was half the size of the one on the Amsterdam, but very nice and cozy. Special canapes were passed around as well as bottomless beverages. The party lasted over an hour, and we were lucky to be able to visit with Captain Frank and his wife, Christel, Henk, Shiv, Mila, the environmental officer and the best guest relations manager, Maja. She is the happiest person on this ship and pleasure to chat with. When many of the guests and staff left, she went to the back of the bar, and brought over a tray full of canapies to share with us. We did help her out, but it was our dinnertime and we finally said our thank you's and left for the dining room.
Our meals consisted of salads, a soup, a smoked duck appetizer, and one Weiner schnitzel and a Peruvian chicken. Not sure which one was the best. Our buddy Don upon leaving the dining room, ordered a slice of carrot cake for Bill, a special treat that was not on the menu. We did share it and it was quite good.
And as the Captain mentioned earlier, the waters at the mouth of the Amazon became a bit rough. He did advise all of us to lash down any breakables just in case the turbulence got worse during the evening. So far so good and it is 11pm as this is being written.
Bill & Mary Ann
