(1/25 – 2/16/2026)
LIVE!
We took an Oceania cruise from Chile to Tahiti in 2019 and was very impressed with the food. Therefore, we have decided to take another Oceania cruise. In-laws were joining us on this vacation. We picked an Amazon cruise because we all wanted to visit Amazon.
Pre-Cruise
We booked a package with Oceania that included flights and transportation and were all really looking forward to a relaxing vacation.
However, there was a huge storm across the United States from Texas to New England, which created a commute travel nightmare.
Oceania booked a JetBlue flight for us from San Francisco to Barbados via New York. We got a notice from JetBlue one day before, telling us that our flight has been canceled. We were rescheduled to the next day to arrive after 3pm in Barbados, which was cutting too close to the cruise departure time (5pm). After spending time making 3 phone calls and spending a lot of time waiting, we finally got a new Delta flight from San Jose to Barbados via Atlanta. Atlanta also experienced some weather issues, so we were still concerned. I constantly monitored the flight status, and it remained fine. Rei and I each packed a carry-on bag with two sets of changing clothes and other essential items just in case.
Our Bay Area In-Laws received a notice only about 5 hours before their flight saying the flight was canceled! So, it’s their turn to panic. Fortunately, they were able to reschedule to the same flight as us.
We arrived at the San Jose Airport about 3 hours ahead of our flight. The check-in counter was completely empty with only one agent waiting. She was very glad to see us, and we quickly finished the check-in. The security checking line was also empty! The security checking staff told us that most of the flights were canceled.
In-laws also arrived shortly after us. To our great relief, the flight was on time. It was a very empty flight, and Rei and I could share 3 seats between us. We slept quite well on the flight.
Our East Coast In-Laws were supposed to join us in Atlanta. However, their flight from DC was delayed, and they missed this connecting flight. The flight from Atlanta to Barbados was also on-time and had a lot of empty seats. Rei decided to move to the seats across the aisle, and each of us had 3 seats on this flight.
When the plane was approaching Barbados, I could see beautiful turquoise ocean and dark reefs and was very excited. The custom line was not long and was moving fast. Our luggage also arrived without issues. Oceania arranged transportation to the hotel for us.
We stayed at ACCRA Beach Hotel and Spa. The hotel check-in was chaotic. They told us to find a seat in a big room, and they will call for “the next” – the problem was that it’s not clear who was “the next”! So, people finally decided to simply form a line.
When we reached our room, Rei found out that the room couldn’t be locked! Some staff came checking and finally decided to move us to a new room. It’s an upgrade. Our new room is an ocean view suite!
It was getting dark, so we simply decided to have dinner. It started to rain; therefore, we just went to the nearby Rockley Resort restaurant. The service was very slow; we waited more than one hour to have our food, but the food was delicious. Rei ordered lamb, and I had lemon pasta.
Since we didn’t get enough sleep on the plane, after dinner we just took a quick shower and went to bed. East Coast In-Laws experienced more flight delay and cancellations and still had not arrived yet.
Day 1: Embarkation Day
I woke up before 6am local time. Our suite has a balcony facing the ocean. Though it’s not facing east for sunrise view, we still had great ocean view. Rei and I had our coffee and energy bar breakfast on the balcony enjoying the view.
It was too tempting to watch all those tourists at the beach, so Rei and I decided to venture out too. The beach was clean with soft sand. Many coconut trees dotted the beach.
There’s also a boardwalk by the beach, lined with bright-colored flowers. There was a section of walls with colorful mosaic tiles. We saw many tourists walking and taking photos. Today was a sunny day. The weather was warm but not too hot. The colors of the ocean ranged from navy at the farthest end to blue, turquoise and light green. It’s really splendid!
We saw many birds including doves, Brewer’s blackbirds and some sparrows or finches (couldn’t tell). The most interesting wildlife viewing this morning was a cute crab camouflage behind some leaves. The crab was quite big with large black eyes.
We were scheduled to take the 11:45am bus from the hotel to the port for embarkation on Oceania Insignia. The process went very smoothly. However, our cabin wasn’t ready yet, so we went to the cafeteria to have lunch first. Finally, we were able to get into our cabin to unpack around 3pm. We had an ocean view room, though it’s quite small.
Our East Coast In-Laws haven’t arrived yet. Their flight from Miami to Barbados last night was again canceled. They were very frustrated and wanted to just go home. We all encouraged them to keep trying. They were able to get on a flight this morning and finally arrived a little past 5pm. We were all very relieved. The cruise was supposed to leave at 5pm. However, the departure was delayed so that passengers arriving a little later were still able to make it.
The ship finally departed around 5:30pm. Rei and I went to the upper deck to take sail-away photos. There were many passengers on the deck celebrating.
We didn’t feel like changing clothes for dinner. Therefore, the six of us simply went to the cafeteria to eat. We will try the Grand Dining Room tomorrow.
Day 2: Sea Day
Today was our first sea day. After two hectic days, we all decided to take it easy. We were informed last night that we needed to adjust the clock one hour ahead, so when we woke up this morning, it was already past 9:30am.
Rei went to the cafeteria to have breakfast. When I arrived, they were about to close. I quickly grabbed two pastries and a cappuccino. In-laws were all still in bed and completely missed the breakfast.
We had some port changes, so we needed to book new excursions. Some popular excursions, like the whale and dolphin trip that Rei favored, were already sold out. We selected a range of activities, including forest walks, river tubing, kayaking, and snorkeling.
Then we went to the upper deck for our daily walk. It was cloudy this morning, then the sun came out. It was quite hot, but the strong sea breeze brought down the temperature. The sea was calmer than yesterday.
After half an hour of walking, it was time to meet in-laws at the Grand Dining Room for lunch. We all loved Oceania’s food. I ordered salad and Rei had salmon. Both were very delicious. We had panna cotta for dessert (with a chocolate labeled “No Sugar Added”).
Rei found out that there’s another whale and dolphin excursion tour in Dominica. So, we went to the excursion desk to ask whether the tour was still available. Yes, it still had a few spots. We quickly swapped the river tubing excursion to the whale and dolphin excursion, which made Rei very happy.
It was hot in the afternoon. Since there wasn’t very much else to do, we went to the Afternoon Tea at 3:30pm. Then there’s the Captain’s Welcome Party at 5:30pm. The Grand Dining Room served Maine lobsters tonight, so we all decided to dine there. Basically, we ate from 3:30pm to around 8:30pm!
Day 3: Another Sea Day
We woke up earlier this morning around 7am. After breakfast at the Terrace Café, Rei and I started our daily walk on the upper deck. It was sunny again today. The sea was quite calm with only gentle waves. However, strong wind with sea sprays made walking challenging. After enduring half an hour, we decided to go down to lower decks instead.
We missed yesterday’s morning talk. There’s another one this morning at 9:30am covering the daily life and culture of Amazonian people. The lounge was full of a lot of passengers eager to learn about the Amazon.
After the talk, Rei wanted to return to our room to rest. However, the room has not been cleaned yet. So, we went to listen to a Future Voyages talk instead. The room was ready by the time we returned, so Rei went to bed to rest, and I used the opportunity to do some laundry. The laundry facility will be closed tonight before the ship reaches Amazon River, and it won’t reopen until we leave the Amazon 9 days later! Therefore, everyone was doing laundry.
The East Coast In-Laws made it to this cruise, but their luggage didn’t. After filing a claim with the airline, they went on a shopping spree.
There’s another lecture at 2pm. This one covered Amazonian ecosystem, fauna and flora. We got to see pictures of interesting plants, butterflies, frogs and larger animals. I also learned that there were walking palms in the Amazon region that could actually move around!
Rei refused to go to the afternoon tea, so it’s just me and some in-laws. I had a pear tart and a raisin scone. The Oceania afternoon tea couldn’t hold a candle to the afternoon tea we had in Scotland. It made me really miss the Scotland trip.
We had dinner at the specialty restaurant Toscana. The food looked great, but the taste was a great disappointment. We’re considering cancelling the next Toscana reservation.
Day 4: Entering Amazon River
We finally arrived at the Amazon River Delta. The water was a mixture of two colors: black and muddy.
Today’s morning talk was about Brazil. The speaker presented the environment, culture, and food of Brazil. Of course there’s an emphasis on the Brazil national sports: football/soccer!
There were a lot of yellow-billed terns flying around the cruise ship. They were beautiful! I took many photos of the birds. From the 5th floor, we could see the terns flying by. When we went up to the upper deck, we could look down to see terns from a different angle! (Check out my Bird List!)
We were crossing the equator too. There was a ceremony on the upper deck at 10:45am. A lady was leading an oath. When she said, “I, (say your name) …” Instead of saying our names, everyone repeated verbatim, “I, say your name.” Then we were all laughing.
After the parade, passengers could participate in the ceremony to have ice water dumped on their heads. A great number of cruise passengers participated. We weren’t so crazy.
Afterwards, we simply stayed on the upper deck to have lunch and ice cream at Waves Grill.
This afternoon’s talk was about the UNESCO sites in Brazil (there are currently 25!). Brazil is a big country with diversified landscapes, and there are many natural beauties such as Iguazu Falls and Amazon Conservation among others. Many Brazilian UNESCO architectural sites looked very similar to what we saw in Portugal.
The ship sailed past Macapá, where the equator runs through the city. Later we were each given a “Crossing the Equator” certificate. Rei loved certificates! He could now add this to his collection of certificates, which included El Camino, Kilimanjaro, Arctic Circle, etc.
We had a special afternoon tea today. Many people were taking photos of the colorful cupcake display. There was no description information, so we all judged cupcake flavors by the colors. Rei had a pistachio cupcake, I had a mango cupcake and a chocolate cake, and we shared a raisin scone.
“Today’s scone was better,” commented Rei.
The East Coast In-Laws suffered PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) symptoms after their 2-day ordeal before boarding the cruise. They kept remembering the events of those 2 days of flight delays and cancellations. However, at least they were among the lucky ones who managed to board this cruise. We were told that around 80 people missed the ship, including some staff members!
Rei had an eye infection, so he returned to our cabin to rest. I went outside to the upper deck Fitness Track to walk off the extra calories and sugar intake. The weather wasn’t as hot as this morning. There was a gentle sea breeze, which made the walk quite enjoyable. The upper deck offered a panoramic view of the surroundings, so the walk also doubled as sightseeing. It’s amazing that we were sailing on the Amazon River!
I took a shower after the walk. We were informed that we had to practice water conservation now we were in the Amazon. Therefore, I applied the “mountain hut shower” strategy: washing my hair with shampoo and conditioner together, turning off the water while soaping, and then quickly rinsing off.
We had dinner with in-laws at the Grand Dining Room tonight. We ordered salad, crab cakes, steaks, salmon, and risotto. The dishes were all very delicious. We all agreed that tonight’s dinner was better than last night’s.
Day 5: Santarem
Today would be our first port day of this cruise. I woke up around 7am and then woke up Rei at 8am. We had breakfast at Terrace Café and then went for a walk around the deck. The sky was cloudy and it wasn’t too hot. After less than 10 minutes of walking, it started sprinkling, so we had to take a break before restarting.
Then we realized that the morning talk had already started, so we quickly went down to the lounge. This morning’s talk was about the myths and legends of the Amazon. Even though we were late, we were still able to listen to the talk about Ayahuasca medicine for hallucination, the Jaguar Shamans, and the El Dorado legend. It turned out that El Dorado was about a tribal chief dusted in gold performing a religious ceremony. The Spanish conquistadores mistook El Dorado as a city of gold. They started several futile excursions trying to find the illusive gold and ended up conquering and destroying ancient American empires such as the Inca.
Rei went back to the room to rest, and I restarted the daily walk. The weather was hot but not unbearable. There were other passengers walking on the Fitness Track and doing sightseeing at the same time. I was able to see trees and houses on the shore, though the Amazon River was broad. The water was muddy with some black patches here and there.
I saw two small dark birds flying around the ship. The birds had a white belly and forked tail and flied swiftly. I guessed they were swallows. One bird perched on the rail for a while and offered great photo opportunities. Two birders on the deck confirmed that those were swallows.
After about an hour of walking, Rei came to fetch me to go to Wave Grills to have an early lunch with in-laws. The ship was supposed to arrive at Santarem at 12:30pm. However, due to strong wind, there would be an hour of delay.
After lunch, Rei and I went outside to take photos. The cruise was approaching Santarem, and we were able to see clearly the meeting of two waters. The place was the confluence of muddy Amazon River and clear Tapajos River.
We booked a River Tour & Eco Maica Lake excursion with Oceania Cruises and were supposed to go to the Insignia Lounge at 1:30pm. However, the excursion got delayed due to the cruise’s late arrival at Santarem.
From our cabin window, we could see that they were lowering the boats for tendering. When we arrived at the excursion gathering place, they announced that there’s a protest going on at the tender stop. Because the cruise line couldn’t guarantee the safety of passengers, they have decided to cancel this port call! Not only were all of today’s excursions canceled, but passengers were also not allowed to land! It was a great disappointment since we were very looking forward to visit Maica Lake.
Since there was nothing else for us to do, we decided to go to afternoon teatime again. We were at Horizons, the front of the ship on 10th floor. The view of the Amazon River was superb! We could see clearly the meeting of two waters. Many passengers were taking photos.
We had dinner in the Grand Dining Room again. I had swordfish, which was pretty good. Rei ordered Korean BBQ, which didn’t taste like Korean BBQ but was delicious anyway.
Day 6: Parintins
Today was Day 6 of the cruise, and we were about to develop cabin fevers. Fortunately, we were able to go to Parintins by tender.
We originally planned to take the 8:30am tender boat, but the Bay Area In-Laws were not ready yet. When they were ready at 9am, tender tickets were no longer needed. So, we simply lined up to board the tender boat. The ride wasn’t bumpy.
When we arrived at Parintins port by tender, we saw many yellow-billed terns flying overhead. In addition, we also saw large numbers of turkey vultures circling around. I saw a Fork-Tailed Flycatcher perching on a pipe and was able to take several photos.
Parintins was famous for the annual “Boi Bumba” festival held in late June about a resurrected ox. Therefore, symbols of white and black oxen were ubiquitous. There was a performance for passengers joining an Oceania shore excursion at $169 per person! We didn’t feel the need to splurge, so we simply walked around the town.
Today was another sunny day. The weather was warm but not too hot. We first visited Catedral Nossa Senhora do Carmo (Cathedral of Our Lady of Carmo). There was a Brazilian version of the Last Supper mural inside the cathedral.
The East Coast In-Laws still didn’t get their luggage. They went to a small store to buy 3 pairs of socks and a lady shirt costing only USD $6 total!
Then we walked to Bumbodrome de Parintins, the arena that hosted the annual Boi Bumba festival. There were colorful statues and mural paintings outside. We all took many photos. The arena itself was closed; however, we were able to take photos from outside.
In-laws felt that they had enough walk, so they negotiated with a motorized tricycle taxi driver for a ride for USD $10. The driver would take them on a city sightseeing tour before returning to the port.
Rei and I decided to walk back to the port by ourselves. We were able to see additional murals and interesting birds such as Greater Ani, Great Kiskadee and a Red-Capped Cardinal. We also saw a great egret, some cormorants and yellow-billed terns near the port.
There was a giant “Eu (Heart) Parintins” (“I Love Parintins”) sign and more statues near the port, where Rei and I took several photos.
It was already almost noon, so Rei and I simply took a tender back to the cruise to have lunch. In-laws returned soon after. They reported that they had a great city tour and were able to visit a new museum.
We felt that we had seen enough. Moreover, the last tender would be at 3pm. Therefore, we just returned to the cabin to rest after lunch.
Since we didn’t have anything else to do, it’s afternoon teatime again. Rei still had a red eye, so he returned to the cabin to rest after the tea. I went upstairs to have my daily walking and sightseeing. In-laws came to take photos too.
The ship sailed very close to the south bank of the Amazon River. We could see the shores very clearly. The places were mostly covered with tall green trees. There were a few houses scattered around, and we saw some horses too. It wasn’t too hot, and there’s a gentle breeze. I walked on the deck for almost an hour and took many splendid pictures.
Dinner was at the Grand Dining Room again. Rei had cod, and I had red curry fried vegetables. We had crema catalana for dessert. It was delicious.
Day 7: Manaus (Day 1)
Manaus is Brazil’s largest city in the Amazon region. It’s the highlight of our Amazon cruise. Manaus is situated where Rio Negro (“Black River”) and Amazon River met. When I looked out from our cabin window this morning, I could see clearly the meeting of two rivers: black Rio Negro meets muddy Amazon River.
We booked an afternoon Pink Dolphin excursion with Oceania Cruises, so we had this morning free. Rei’s right eye was still red, though it no longer hurt. He was very concerned, so we decided to look for an eye doctor this morning.
It was still raining at 9am when we left the ship. Rei found an eye clinic about half an hour’s walk away. On our way there, we passed the famous Manaus Opera House, but we only had time to take pictures from outside.
The eye clinic charged R$ 700 and accepted only Brazilian currency (“No credit card. No US dollars.”), so we had to look for a bank to get local currency. Rei found another eye clinic nearby, Oftal Center, that would accept credit cards and charge only R$ 500, so we went there instead. (Interestingly, Manaus had many eye doctors.)
The receptionist only spoke Portuguese, but we only knew very basic Portuguese – so, it’s Google Translate to the rescue. We were told that doctor wouldn’t arrive until 10:30am, and there were 10 people ahead of us. We were under time constraint, so the receptionist graciously gave Rei priority.
They checked Rei’s eye pressure first. (“This clinic has more advanced equipment than my doctor in California,” commented Rei.) Very soon, we were called into the doctor’s office. The eye doctor was very nice. He spoke limited English, so it’s Google Translate again. The doctor checked Rei’s eyes and gave him two bottles of eye drops for free and wrote a prescription of an ointment that we needed to get from a drugstore.
The eye doctor also gave Rei several packets of powder for pain relief. Moreover, he demonstrated dumping the powder on his tongue and swallowing it.
“It tastes good,” he told Rei.
The receptionist pointed out a drugstore across the street, where we purchased the ointment using a credit card.
Since we would stay in Brazil for a few more days, we thought that we should get some local currency. There’s a nearby Banco do Brazil with ATMs. However, the ATM required a 6-digit code, but US ATM cards used a 4-digit code. A security guard at the bank pointed out a currency exchange across the street to us. We went there to exchange USD $40 (the exchange rate was $1 USD to R$ 5). The guy there took our US dollars and went across the street to the bank to exchange money! One interesting aspect of traveling is that you get to see how things work in different regions of the world 😊
It was almost noon, so we decided to return to the ship to have lunch in preparation for the afternoon excursion. On our way back, we stopped by Catedral Metropolitana de Manaus near the port to take photos. The place was closed and we couldn’t enter. There were many pigeons around the cathedral.
In-laws also returned to the ship for lunch. They took an opera house guided tour in English (“It’s very opulent inside the opera house!”) and did some shopping this morning while we were at the doctor’s office.
The Pink Dolphin excursion was by a speed boat ride. We first went under the magnificent Ponte Rio Negro (“Rio Negro Bridge”). The guide pointed out some tall buildings.
“This is the place for affluent people, because there’s a beach in front. People like to go to the beach and swim in Rio Negro. Yes, there are piranhas and caimans in the river, but they don’t attack people.”
I wouldn’t go into a river with piranhas and caimans!
The guide also told us that there were only 2 seasons in the Amazon: wet season and less-wet season. Many small islands we saw now would be immersed in the water during the very wet season.
It took us about 1.5 hours to reach a small village Acajatuba. There was a handcraft gift shop, but I didn’t find anything interesting to buy. I walked around, while Rei kicked soccer with a little boy.
The village was quite small, but it was verdant with many colorful flowers. The guide pointed out 2 tall Brazil Nut Trees to us and cautioned us not to walk under them, because the heavy nuts could cause serious damages when falling on your head!
I saw a fork-tailed flycatcher and many saffron finches on the field.
The next stop was to watch pink dolphins. Pink dolphins are river dolphins unique to the Amazon region. I thought it was wildlife viewing, but to my dismay, it was more of a “Sea World-like” excursion. Local guides were in the river trying to lure dolphins with fish bait. Tourists were allowed to enter the water, and many fellow passengers on the boat got into the water. We didn’t realize that we could get into the water, so we weren’t prepared. Moreover, I wouldn’t get into the black water anyway.
So, we just stayed on shore taking pictures and videos of pink dolphins. A few dolphins came to eat the fish held by the local guides, which offered us opportunities to take clear photos.
There were also a couple dolphins swimming a bit farther, and I took several photos. After I returned, I realized that one “dolphin” looked more like a caiman!
The place also had a “pool” with 8 giant Amazon fish. Guides demonstrated feeding the giant fish. Tourists were also given opportunities to “fish” – Rei and in-laws all tried to feed the fierce fish.
It was another long boat ride to return to the cruise. It was already past 6pm when we finally returned. I planned to just have dinner in the cafeteria, but Rei informed me that the Grand Dining Room was serving Thai food tonight.
They reopened the launderette today and tomorrow in Manaus. Many passengers including us took the opportunity to do some laundry. The weather was hot and humid in Amazon, and we needed to change clothes every day.
Day 8: Manaus (Day 2)
Today’s shore excursion was in the morning, so we went to Terrace Café early to have breakfast. Many passengers were already having breakfast there. The service was very slow this morning. The tea and orange juice we ordered never arrived. It ended up that I went to make the tea myself. Many other passengers were also helping themselves.
Meeting of the Water Cruise excursion was also on a boat, but it’s a slow-moving boat rather than the speed boat we rode yesterday. On the way sailing down Rio Negro, we saw two gray dolphins swimming past the boat. They were too fast for me to take pictures. We also saw many Great Egrets and Cormorants along the river. The guide told us that due to its acidity (pH 4), Rio Negro didn’t have mosquitos because the eggs couldn’t survive.
We stopped by a place with a gift shop to switch into smaller motorized boats to sail in the February River. Each small boat could only accommodate about 10 to 12 people.
There were two fishermen fishing from a small boat. Our guide “borrowed” some fish from the fishermen to show us. There were piranhas, dog fish and catfish.
We saw some giant lily pads. This wasn’t the right season, so we only saw 2 lily flowers. It started to rain. (“We’re in the rain forest!“)
February Lake was full of birds and insects. There were many Great Egrets and Wattled Jacanas in the area. We also saw a Black-Collared Hawk perching on a tree in front of our boat!
For insects, we saw a wasp and a beautiful black, red and white colored Scarlet Peacock Butterfly.
The last stop was to see meeting of the water – where black Rio Negro meets muddy Amazon River (also called Solimões River by locals). We have seen meeting of two waters for the past few days. However, we got the closest view today from our boat. People were all busy taking photos from various angles.
We returned to the port at the end of the excursion around 1:30pm. Rei still missed some medication for his eye, and he was anxious, so we went directly out to look for a drugstore. We found a pharmacy not too far away, but they didn’t have the medication.
I saw a beautiful picture of Rio Negro Palace, a former seat of government once owned by a rubber baron. The place wasn’t too far away, so I suggested that we went to take a look. According to the information on the web, the palace was closed today (Tuesday), but we could still take photos from outside.
When we arrived at the magnificent Rio Negro Palace, I saw a person standing on the second story balcony. The front door of the palace was open. The lady at the entrance confirmed that the place was open. Later we saw a group of tourists joining an Oceania shore excursion – that’s probably why the palace was open.
The main staircase of Rio Negro Palace was a spectacular wooden structure that looked very similar to the staircase inside the famous bookstore Livraria Lello in Porto! In addition to the beautifully decorated rooms with intricate wooden furniture, there was also a large, covered porch on the second floor overlooking the garden.
We didn’t have a lot of time for the visit, because we need to return to the cruise ship no later than 3:30pm. However, Rei was very impressed with the palace, and he suggested we should also have a quick visit to the garden. The verdant garden had tall trees and colorful flowers. I also saw a yellow-browed sparrow.
We managed to return to the cruise before 3pm. It was hot, so we went to have some ice cream before going to the afternoon tea.
Afterwards, I took my daily walk and sightseeing on the upper deck, while Rei returned to the cabin to rest. It wasn’t hot or windy, so I had a very pleasant walk. However, after half an hour, the wind grew very strong, and it started to rain. Therefore, I returned to the cabin to take a shower.
The dinner menu at the Great Dining Room didn’t look impressive, so we went to Terrace Café to have sushi, soba, salad and grilled steaks and shrimps. Desserts looked very tempting, so we tried many different varieties.
Day 9: Boca da Valeria
The cruise ship turned yesterday evening to sail out of Amazon. Today we would stop at Boca da Valeria (“Mouth of the Valeria River”). Boca da Valeria was a small tender port. The village had less than 100 people.
The ship arrived close to 11am. We’ve decided to go out after lunch. This was a very small settlement, and we figured that we wouldn’t spend much time there.
Boca da Valeria only had a small church and a school. There were some wooden houses near the tender stop. Many children ran around the port offering their services as guides in exchange for small tips. Many villagers set up stalls selling hand-made souvenirs. There were also dogs, chickens and a cat.
We visited the church, took some photos, and left a donation. After walking around the shore for a while, Bay Area In-Laws decided to return to the cruise ship.
East Coast In-Laws stayed with us to take photos of birds (Greater Anis and Great Kiskadees) perching on a big tree along the shore. I also saw some Muscovy ducks.
Rei suggested that we walk inland on a trail into the Amazon forest. East Coast In-Laws took another trail near the shore. There were other people walking on the same forest trail as we did. We saw more houses; many of them were beautifully painted with images of Amazonian animals and birds.
We didn’t see any birds inside the rainforest though we did hear bird chirping. The forest was verdant with tall trees, vines, and colorful flowers.
We also saw beautiful butterflies and a black dragonfly. Since we could hear the sounds of insects, Rei suggested that we should put on our mosquito nets, though we didn’t get any bug bites. We walked for around 20 minutes and then decided to return.
There were locals offering boat rides for USD $5 per person. There were no safety vests, so it’s a “no-no” for Rei. However, two separate groups informed us that the boat rides they took were excellent! One told us that they saw giant lily pads, and another suggested us go with a boat with covers (which made a big difference).
After hearing what they told us, Rei changed his mind and said we should go for a boat ride too. A local approached us to offer boat ride on his covered boat, so we went on the boat.
Rei and I immediately fell in love with the boat ride. We saw many other small boats passing by and waved to the people on the boats. The scenery was splendid, and we took many photos. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any internet connection, so we couldn’t pass the information to the in-laws. It’s a serene boat ride. We saw many cormorants and wattled jacanas flying around. There were other houses and a church.
I mentioned the lily pads to the boatman, and he told us to be patient. On the way back, he sailed into a narrow place with many tall marsh plants. Since the place was so narrow, the boatman had to stop the motor and rowed the boat instead. Inside there was a small lake with many giant lily pads and flowers. It’s amazingly beautiful! Rei and I both took many photos.
I found out that there was a small crocodile hiding on the motorboat! The boatman told us not to worry; the baby crocodile wouldn’t bite. Then we returned to the tender stop and paid the boatman $12 for his service. Rei and I both agreed that today’s boat ride was better than yesterday’s. There was a tender boat about to leave, so we quickly boarded the tender to return to the cruise.
In-laws were already back and were at afternoon tea. We told them about the boat ride, but they decided not to venture out because it’s too close to the 5:30pm departure time. So, we had afternoon tea, dessert and scones, and then returned to the cabin to take a shower.
Tonight, they had a special Chef’s Market Dinner serving Brazilian food at Terrace Café. The cafeteria was packed. Latecomers had difficulty finding a seat. We had various kinds of salad, grilled shrimps, fish, steaks and lamb chops. There was also an array of colorful and tempting cakes and tarts. We all enjoyed the dinner very much.
To Be Continued ...
Amy 'n Rei 