Our South American Cruise Begins
Since our cruise lasted 57 days, I am going to break it into three sections, plus one section for Iguazu Falls. This is the first part of our South American Cruise: Miami to Rio.
This first segment of our South American cruise started in Miami with three ports of call in the Caribbean. A quick stop at Devil’s Island and into the Amazon. After the Amazon, we spent our days making port calls in a variety of Brazilian cities until we reached Rio de Janeiro.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Our first stop, San Juan, is a very familiar port of call for us. In fact, we have spent several weeks in Puerto Rico and traveled completely around the island. Art and I enjoy spending time in this beautiful place.
On this visit we spent the morning wandering through Old San Juan, walking a couple of miles. We discovered a few things on our walk, the Paseo de Sombrillas, and Paseo de la Princesa Park where we stumbled upon a statue of Felisa Rincon de Gautier, the first female mayor (1946 -1968) of San Juan. By the way, I am happy to report that, at least in Old San Juan, most of the hurricane damage seems to have been repaired.
The port lecturer on the ship shared some information about the streets of old San Juan. The blue bricks that make up the cobblestone streets are the ballasts that were discarded from ships that sailed into the port in the 1700’s. How many are still the original bricks I am not sure, but it was an interesting tidbit.
Stocking up
We also spent a bit of time, and money, in the Walgreen’s at the end of the pier. Since we didn’t want to weigh down our luggage with all of the toiletries that we would need for our entire cruise; we brought enough to get by for the first few days. Then, we simply purchased what we would need for the rest of the cruise at Walgreen’s. The store was packed; I guess we were not the only people with that idea! But, we were able to purchase the things we didn’t want to carry with us on the plane; nail polish remover, bug spray, hair spray, sun screen (lots of sun screen) and the like. It worked out quite well for us.
St John’s Antigua
The main attraction in Antigua is the beaches; some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Art and I are just not big beach people, so we decided to take a quick walk around town.
We noticed a large church from the pier and decided to take a walk up to it. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is an Anglican church. The third, and current building, opened its doors in 1847, and has stood the test of time. (The two earlier buildings were destroyed, one by fire the other by earthquake.) Although currently undergoing a massive renovation; it was open the day we were there, and we were able to take a few photos.
Bridgetown, Barbados
Our last stop in the Caribbean was Barbados. We rented a car and drove around the island many years ago on our first visit. This time, we just took a nice walk from the ship into Bridgetown and back. It was a beautiful, hot, day and we enjoyed our leisurely walk.
Salvation Islands, French Guiana
Art and I had been looking forward to this port of call; Devil’s Island. Devil’s Island is the name given to the penal colony that occupied the three islands that make up the Salvation Islands.
The largest, Royal Island housed the main part of the prison, and is the island that we visited. This is also where the guards and their families lived.
Royal Island is interesting to see. The remnants of the prison are a bit on the creepy side, and without them it could be a very beautiful place. However, without the buildings you loose the history and it’s just another tropical island. There is a small hotel where you can go and stay for a few days. There is a small group of people who live on the island as caretakers. I will say, if you have the opportunity to go there, do, it is worth your time.
Devil’s Island, proper, is the smallest of the three islands and is inaccessible. During it’s time of use, it was reached by a cable system from Royal Island. Devil’s Island is where the political prisoners were sent.
The third island, St. Joseph, is where the prisoners were sent to live in isolation. (If you recall in the movie Papillion, this is where Papillion was sent after he tried to escape the first time.)
Crossing the Equator
All the pollywogs (those who have not crossed the equator by sea) became shellbacks as they were initiated into the Ancient Order of the Deep by King Neptune and his Court when we crossed over the equator. Each pollywog had to kiss the fish and be doused with ice water to complete the initiation.
I recall my father talking about becoming a shellback during one of his Navy cruises. I am sure his initiation was a lot more rigorous than that on board Sirena.
The Amazon
The primary reason we chose this particular South American cruise was the time it spent in the Amazon. Since we have cruised so many times, we find that we choose our cruises based on destination rather than cruise line.
Just prior to crossing the equator, I noticed that the ocean had lost it’s beautiful blue hue and become muddy. Although still many miles from the Amazon, we had already entered the confluence. Here are two photos of the Atlantic Ocean, one in the Caribbean the other in the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean and the Amazon.
One of the largest rivers in the world, I thought I could visualize the Amazon; I was wrong. I was in awe, it is so wide. Even some of the tributaries are large enough for cruise ships to navigate. We sailed for a full day on the Atlantic Ocean and the Amazon before making our first port of call.
Watching the Amazon as we cruised along, you could see the silt suspended in the river. Added with the turbulence caused by the ship’s movement in the water, it looked as though the river was at a constant slow simmer; you could see the silt as it boiled up in the water. As you could not see anything else in the water, I knew there was no way I would put even a toe into it!
Santarem, Brazil
Watching the old movies about the Amazon, I imagined that there were just small villages along the river. Not the case! Santarem, our first stop, is inhabited by more than 205,000 people. It is a decent sized city with all of the amenities you would expect.
We walked from the pier to the downtown area, about three miles along the water. I was very taken by this scene of people loading boats in town. This was more like what I expected to see along the Amazon.
Being the later part of January, we should not have been surprised at the heat and humidity, but we simply were not prepared for it. We were drenched in sweat by the time we returned to the ship. Showers were the first point of order once we were back on board. There really wasn’t a lot to see as we walked through the town. There were two smaller Catholic churches and a market area. The locals seemed friendly enough and we did feel safe walking on our own.
Boca da Valeria, Brazil
This was more the like the villages I had in my mind when thinking of life along the Amazon. It has a population of 75 – 100 people. All the buildings are built on stilts so they don’t flood when the river rises. Some of the residents dressed in their native costumes to greet us.
The children of the village are expert at working the tourists. Some of the tourists came prepared with gifts such as pencils and tablets of paper for the children. As soon as the children realized you were out of treats they ran off to the next bearer of goodies.
Manaus, Brazil
After traveling more than 900 miles up the Amazon, we pulled into Manaus, a city of over two million people! Actually, it’s not even on the Amazon, but 11 miles away on a tributary, Rio Negro. The port is very industrialized. Not the only cruise ship in that day, we were moored next to a ship of the Fred Olsen Cruise Lines.
This port of call offered numerous tours ranging from a jungle tour to a basic tour of the city. Art went on the jungle tour and really enjoyed it, even though he was hot and exhausted when he returned. He said the guides were excellent and he learned a lot. Those who went on the city tour were most impressed with the opera house, Teatro Amazonas.
Laundry
As I woke up with a migraine headache, I was one of the few who elected to stay on board Sirena. After the headache abated, I did laundry. Just a note, if you are on a ship with a laundromat, shore days are the best to do laundry. On days at sea it can be difficult, at best, to find washers and dryers available. I was the only person using the laundromat that day. Score!
Shortly after our departure from the pier in Manaus, we witnessed the meeting of the waters, where the black Rio Negro and the silt laden Rio Solimoes (upper Amazon) run side by side for six kilometers. It truly looked like coffee and cream!
Alter do Chao, Brazil
This rather surprising beach resort, known as the Caribbean of the Amazon, is located near Santarem, our first port of call in the Amazon. It is a pleasant little town with lots of shops, restaurants, and hotels along the waterfront.
There is a lovely beach area, accessible by boat from the town – and lots of water taxis in various sizes to take you there. A few of our new friends from the ship went over to the beach and said it was quite nice. The water on this tributary of the Amazon is clearer, so people did actually go in.
Parintins, Brazil
We took the tender from Sirena to the huge floating dock in town. We walked through the town but did not take any tours. Apparently, moto taxis are the way to get around in this city of over 71,000 inhabitants.
It was from the floating dock that we watched a small pod of pink dolphins swimming in the river. Pink dolphins differ from bottlenose dolphins in their coloring, a short dorsal fin which runs along their back, and the fact that they can turn their heads 180 degrees. And, of course, that they live in fresh water. It was hard to capture a photo of them as you never know when they will surface. I did get one good shot. It might look a bit grainy as I had to enlarge it quite a bit, and I did enhance the colors so you could see them better. Look carefully and you can see the snout and eyes of one right behind the dorsal fin of another.
Fortaleza, Brazil
Our first stop after cruising the Amazon for a week. When seen from the ship, this city inspired one thought – back to civilization. One of the main tourist destinations in northeast Brazil, this city of 1.3 million residents is choc-a-bloc with high rises along a beautiful beach.
We opted to take the city tour of Fortaleza. Our guide was very young, possibly early twenties, but she did a nice job. Her English was amazing with an extensive vocabulary. I asked her where she learned to speak English, fully expecting her to say she had lived or studied in the US. Her answer was that she taught herself. When asked if she had been to the US, she stated that it was her dream.
Our first stop was the massive Metropolitan Cathedral of Fortaleza. With a capacity of 5,000, the cathedral was constructed over a period of 40 years.
Next on our tour was the Theatro Jose de Alencar. This small but ornate theater featured a vast array of ironwork that was imported from Scotland. It was absolutely stunning; definitely our favorite stop of the tour!
Our third, and last stop was at a former prison converted to a center for tourism (i.e. shopping). It was large and there was a wide variety of items.
Recife, Brazil
Recife, is a large city (3.7 million residents) with a lot more of interest for tourists. We took another tour offered by the cruise line and were pleased with it.
Olinda
We first headed to Olinda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved colonial cities in Brazil. Since the roads of Olinda are very narrow, they had to transfer us from the large busses into vans. It is a beautiful, colorful area, offering wonderful views of Recife.
Our return to the busses was delayed as there was a funeral procession, on foot, that blocked our vans from getting to us. Even though it was a sad occasion, it did give us a glimpse into everyday life in greater Recife.
Old Recife
From Olinda we went down to the old part of Recife, past the Hall of Justice and the governor’s mansion. We were unable to get off the bus here as the square was closed. Apparently they were expecting protestors. I am not sure if they closed the square to keep the protestors away or others, but, regardless, there was no one there.
Soon our bus stopped and we were at the Franciscan Convent of St. Anthony which houses the Golden Chapel, an extraordinary example of baroque sacred art. Part of the convent is used as a museum and part used by the Franciscans as an administration area. There is also an active church within the complex.
Finally, we drove through to newer part of the city and along the beach. There is a reef along the beach from which the city derives its name. The tide was out so people were in the water that was trapped between the reef and the beach. When the tide is in, it is not recommended to swim in the shark infested waters. What irony to have such a long, beautiful beach and not be able to swim in the ocean.
Rio de Janeiro
Our ship sailed into the harbor about 6 am, just before the sun peeked up over the horizon. It was a beautiful sail in; worth the early wake up.
Finding a cruise with an overnight stay at the beginning or end of your cruise, in a city you want to see, is a bonus. This South American cruise ended with an overnight stay in Rio. If you had to pack up and move to a hotel for a night, you would lose a lot of valuable touring time. So having that extra night on the ship is valuable.
Time to say Good-bye
After 23 days, we had arrived at the conclusion of the first segment of our South American Cruise: Miami to Rio de Janeiro. We made some nice friends on this part of our trip, and we were sad to say good-bye to them. But we were ready to head off on our next adventure, Iguazu Falls.
Have you ever seen the Amazon River? What were your thoughts? Have you visited any of these ports in Brazil? What were the highlights for you? Do you have any experiences you would like to share? I’d love to hear about them!
