Ed & Patti, the four of us reminisced about the great time that we all enjoyed last year at Pindha and what a pleasure it was getting to know you both.
Anne Marie with Nat. Nat had two trays each with a different canapé as they always do in the evening before dinner. This time he had "Pigs in a Blanket" which is one of the only canapés that once in a while Anne Marie will try, but we explained to Nat that we were saving our appetites for our dinner later in the evening at Tastes.
Speaking of Tastes, we had a wonderful time dining there last evening along with our dear friends Bob and Glo. As usual we enjoyed a terrific conversation with Bob and Glo and we were all taken care of very well by the wonderful waitstaff team at Tastes.
Our Waiter was Deidre who we have had throughout the World Cruise. She went over all of the new items that have been added to the Tastes Menu.
This is the new Tastes Menu.
There were around six new items including a new Torn Kale Salad, Goat Cheese Dip, Garam Masala-Dusted Artichoke Hearts, Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi, and Philly Cheese Steak Sliders and Lamb Kibbeh. All were new to Tastes with the exception of the Philly Cheese Steak Sliders which were on the menu last year.
This is the Garam Masala-Dusted Artichoke Hearts.
This is the Lamb Kebbeh.
By the time we finished dinner it was fairly late for the two of us so we skipped the evening entertainment and we went back to our room and read and wrote.
We slept very well as we sailed to our next port of call. We are sailing the Amazon River and the seas were very calm.
Keith was up first and enjoyed a great workout at the Fitness Center. Like He felt that he needed a bit workout after all of the food he ate last evening. Afterwards, he had coffee in the Lido Cafe and also read and wrote.
Anne Marie was up next and she walked an hour inside the ship.
Since we did not arrive to Alter Do Chao until noon, the daily morning show was on and we watched it as we ate breakfast.
The morning was like a sea day since we did not arrive to our next port of call until Noon.
The lecture that was given was by Tom Macan who spoke about how Brazil is getting together for the 2016 Olympics and all of the work which remains to be complete.
Anne Marie attended Yoga. She is feeling a little under the weather so she skipped the Knitting Class but worked on it in our room.
Keith played around three hours of Paddle Tennis. It was hot and very humid so like yesterday he came back drenched. He played with several of the regulars who come in the morning including Bob from Ohio, Ray, Rob, Christine, Christie, Cindy and a couple of other guests. Between games there was beautiful scenery to see and we also past the city of Santarem where we dock at 8:00 PM this evening.
We had our typical lunch with each of us having a Salad Entree.
The original plan was to visit the port of Alter do Chao, Brazil. More on this in a moment.
This is a tender port and the down has a population of less than 1,500 people. This town was found on March 6 of 1626 by Portuguese pedro Teixeira. Until the 18th century this little town was inhabited mainly by indigenous communities. By the early 20th century, this area was on of the transportation routes of latex which was extracted from Rubber Trees of Belterra and Fordlandia. This only lasted a short time with the reduction in Amazonian extraction and the area soon suffered a severe economic downturn. From the 1990's to the current day, this area focuses on tourism.
The highlights of this port include;
Ilha do Amor, also known as the Island of Love, which is a white sand island.
Lago Verde, also known as the Green Lake, which includes canoeing and kayaking.
Floresta Nacional (Flona) do Tapajos which is a reserve that has behemoth samauma trees whose trunks are so large in diameter that it would teak twenty or more people to stretch their arms around each tree trunk.
Unfortunately, our visit to the port was not possible. The location that was designated by the local port for the tender pier turned out to be too shallow and too risky that one or more tenders could go aground. Initially, Cruise Director Gary Hunter spoke from the bridge to advise us that about the water being to shallow and saying that they were trying to see if there was an alternative tender droopy location. Around thirty minutes later, Gary spoke again from the Bridge and advised that there were no alternatives and that we would be heading to our next port of call in Santarem. Ironically, we were to arrive to Santarem tomorrow morning but the schedule had already been pulled up to this evening at 8:00 PM so that we could bring on board water from the water bunker.
A little while later Gary spoke again and noted that a shuttle bus would be available shorty after we docked to take guests to the city. Also, the one tour that was offered in Alter Do Chao would be offered shortly after we docked as those on the tour would be driven over to Alter do Chao. Those guests not wanting to take the tour could just turn in their tickets for a full refund.
The irony was that in 2013 we never made it over to Alter Do Chao as there was a torrential rainstorm and now for the second time in two years we have seen the port from the ship but have been unable to visit the port.
Keith walked with Anne Marie for a portion of her walk and then Anne Marie finished up her walk by herself.
Later in the afternoon Anne Marie worked on her knitting and Keith met up with dear friend Bob.
This evening we are back at the Crystal Dining Room for dinner. We have a guest joining us for dinner.
"A friend is one who was in when others walk out." - John Fitzgerald Kenney
Keith & Anne Marie
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