Fort Lauderdale - April 15th 2011 - The End

Reluctantly, we departed the boat about 10am.  We could have stayed another 42 days! - and had the boat not been going into dry dock for repairs, we would have booked a further cruise with it, back to Bermuda.  The Veendam will spend its summer back and forth from New York to Bermuda so we will be seeing it on Front Street, Hamilton every week, to remind us of what a fantastic time we had.

The night before and the morning of leaving, was filled with all the goodbyes, with hope to see some of our new friends in the future.

We got off the boat, rented a car and drove up to Orlando to spend a hectic week with our friends Tommy, Lisa and Haley (last seen in Buenos Aires).  Back in the USA things were very different to what we had experienced in South America over the last 3 months.  Whilst happy to be back into the organized and convenience of the USA, we also have some very fond memories of Argentina and Brazil.

Half Moon Cay - Bahamas April 15th 2011 Day 42 - Final Day!

Half Moon Cay is Holland America Line’s private resort on Little Salvador Island.  It is less than 100 miles SE of Nassau and has a perfect beach, perfect waters etc - everything anyone would imagine a tropical island to be.

We were there at the same time as another Holland America boat, on its way back from a 7 day Caribbean Cruise.  Charlotte asked someone on the other ship, how many children they had on board - she said "only 80"!! (compared to our 6 who had become such good friends and played together all day (every day after home school!)).

The island had activities galore, every water sport, horseback riding, swimming with the stingrays.... and to ensure no one went hungry, the put on a huge BBQ.

The beach was over a mile long - we stayed at the beginning of the beach (by the kids area hanging out with the children's parents), which was crowded but the other end was deserted for whoever wanted it.  We were the last ones off the beach for the tender ride back.  It seemed very similar to some of the beaches we would anchor off with Heat Wave.

Turks and Caicos - April 14th 2011 - Day 41

Grand Turk is part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Crown Colony (like Bermuda), comprising 40 islands and cays.  It is blessed with crystal turquoise water and smooth white powder beaches.  It is 7 miles long an 1.5 miles wide, about 575 miles SE of Miami, and 30 miles south of the Bahamas.

It was a short stop - all due back on the boat by 12.30pm.  Right by the cruise ship dock was Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville" - a restaurant with big pools and a lovely beach (and wifi!). None of the cruise-ship passengers were interested in the restaurant but margaritas were flowing and the kids had a great time in the pool and snorkeling on the beach.

The town was a short distance away but most people never made it past Margaritaville and the purpose built tourist shops in the plaza right by the dock, which was very new and clean (they were hit by a category 4 hurricane not long ago).

We finished off the day with a nice meal at the Pinnacle Restaurant with Margaret and Chris

Aruba – April 11th 2011 – Day 39

Aruba, together with Curacao and Bonaire (that we had sailed to last summer) form the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain, just off Venezuela.  Aruba was formally a part of the Netherlands Antilles, however in 1986 it became a separate self-governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The architecture is mostly influenced by the Dutch style, with colourful buildings in the capital of Oranjestad.  The language spoken is an unusual blend of Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish, commonly called Papiamento. The island’s main business is tourism with many casinos, great beaches and waters.

Back in the Caribbean sea again.  We took a catamaran trip

– snorkeling, beach stop

and rum punch! 

Again the colour of the water, and the beaches struck up and reminded us how beautiful the Caribbean and Bermuda are.   We saw lots of fish while snorkeling and also a turtle.

Barbados – April 9th 2011 – Day 37

We docked just outside of Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados.   The first thing that struck us was the blue of the water! – the same as Bermuda, but we have been so long without it, we forget how beautiful it is!  Very different from the muddy Amazon.

By coincidence, friends, Helen and Roger from London were in Barbados on holiday, so we headed off to meet them at their hotel in the afternoon (while Charlotte, by choice, stayed on the boat at Kids Club!)

Devil’s Island – Iles Du Salut – 7th April 2011 – Day 35

Remembered by most, from the book and film Papillion (starring Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen about 30 years ago), Devil’s Island was part of the notorious French penal colony (1852-1952).  Iles Du Salut consists of 3 islands (including Devil’s Island) about 6 miles off the coast of French Guiana.  We visited the largest island of Ile Royale, which now, in addition to the relicts of the prison cells etc, has a hotel!!

A great many of the 80,000 prisoners, sent to the harsh and diseased ridden conditions, were never seen again,  The sharks were kept well fed with over 10 prisoners dying every day.

We enjoyed a nice day, walking around the island for a few hours and exploring the remnants of the prison cells and buildings. It was interesting to see the ruins of the prisons – the solitary confinement cells were all still in tact and we actually went inside some of the cells - it gave us a real eerie insight as to how awful it must have been.

The history of the severe penal colony was fascinating and the scenery beautiful.  The island was like a lush tropical resort! – but, no wonder it must have been hell for the poor prisoners – there was no beach!  (see Devil's Island in background below):

We saw all different types of animals and a lot of people also saw monkeys.

It was nice to get back to a Caribbean type island and quite a novelty, in that it did not rain at all – we are no longer in the rainforest!!

The language was now French, and so we had to remember “merci” instead of “obrigarda”.

King Neptune Ceremony – Crossing the Equator – April 5th, 2011 - Day 33

The King Neptune Ceremony commemorates a sailor’s first crossing of the equator.  Originally the tradition was created as a test for sailors to ensure their new shipmates were capable of handling long rough times at sea.  Sailors who have already crossed the equator are nicknamed “Trusty Shellbacks”, Sons of Neptune, those who have not, are “Vile Pollywogs”.  During the ceremony, officiated by King Neptune, the Vile Pollywogs undergo a number of ordeals, largely for the entertainment of the Shellbacks.

After being led in tied together, each crew Pollywog was first forced to “Kiss the Fish”, then thrown along a table and covered with coloured egg-whites and finally thrown in the pool.  Kaylie, who runs the Kids Club was a Pollywog, which caused great entertainment for the kids!

By the end, all the kids were in the pool with the crew, and Charlotte had also been thrown along the table and covered in gunk!

Needless to say, the pool was drained that night and refilled!!

We finished off the sea day activities with a nice dinner for the parents / grandparents of the 4 (out of 6) kids on the ship.

 

Alter do Chao - April 4th 2011 - Day 32

Today was a beach stop and our chance to get to swim in the Amazon!   It is a small little “beach town” of 700 on the Rio Tapajos which runs into the Amazon.  The white sand beach was soon packed with cruise ships passengers, but the local beach bar managed great at keeping everyone supplied with beers and Ciaparinas (the local drink of sugar cane spirit, lime and sugar).

Charlotte and the other kids had a great time playing on a half submerged tree, climbing and diving off it.

This was our last stop in Brazil and so a last chance to get rid of the local currency, the “real”.  Apart from the ciaparinas, we bought a stuffed parana fish!

Parintins – April 3rd 2011 - Day 31

The city of Parintins is located east of Manaus, on the island of Tupinambarana, in the Amazon River.  It has a population of about 100,000. Main harvest products are avocado cocoa, banana, coffee, cashew, tapioca, watermelon, pineapple, sweet potato, coconut, corn and beans.

Each June the city hosts the famous Boi-Bumba folklore festival.  Tens of thousands of visitors pour into the town for the party, with costumes and floats comparable to those seen in Rio Carnival.

We arrived on a Sunday and so most of the shops were shut.  We took a ride around the town on a rickshaw

and saw the 35,000 person stadium built specifically for the Boi-Bumba festival.  We then watched the local boats loading and unloading,

stumbled upon a street party where we sat and had a beer, listened to the local music until it was time to get back on the boat.

Anaconda River Trip - Manaus - 1st April 2011 - Day 29

We took a great, unforgettable day trip on the river with Amazon Riders.

First, the boats sped over to the “Meeting of the Waters” where the dark waters of the Rio Negro meet the muddy water of the Amazon.  For over 3 miles, both rivers run side by side without mixing.  This natural phenomenon is caused by the great difference in water temperature and current speeds (the Negro river flows approx 1.2 mph at 82F while the Solimoes / Amazon flows 4 mph at 71F).

Next we stopped at a place where we “fished for/ fed” massive fish in a pen, using a small fish, that was tied to a piece of string on a rod.

A ride down the river past all of the floating river homes (rather them, than us!!) and through the jungle spotting wild life.

A nice stop for lunch,

by the obligatory souvenir market and also a walk in the jungle where we saw monkeys and Cayman (small alligators) on the lily pads.

The excitement continued in the afternoon with a stop at a local home, to see an anaconda snake

and a sluth.

Then through the jungle, where all the trees are partly submerged, as the skies opened to torrential rain (to add to the atmosphere).

A further stop, for parana fishing.

The day ended, as it got dark, with cayman (alligator) catching! – as we motored slowly in the dark, the guide held out the flashlight looking for the alligator eyes! And then pounced.  We got to hold the alligator…..

(adults the larger, children just the smaller one).  Charlotte tried

and then dropped it as it started to move – I had visions of this alligator running around the boat with us all standing on the seats – however her friend Michael was holding the tail, and so instead, this alligator was being held upside down, snapping away with us all yelling at Michael to drop it back in the water!!! – are we mad? I guess our children will have some unforgettable experiences….

Back to the boat in the evening, exhausted (even Charlotte decided to miss kids club!) but what a great experience we had!

The Amazon Basin and Manaus

The Amazon Basin is by far the world’s largest river basin, and represents over a half of the planets remaining rainforest.  It is the source of 1/5 of the planets fresh water supply and 8 South American nations depend on its massive eco-system.  More than 1/3 of the world’s species live in the basin and it is the final refuse for some endangered species. Unique animals include the pink fresh water dolphin and the piranha.

The Amazon is a long, wide immense river, with many huge rivers feeding into it, covering half of the continent, coming primarily from the Andes in Bolivia, Venezuela, Columbia and Peru.  It is littered with islands, the largest the size of Switzerland.   The water level can fluxuate more than 15 meters and so the trees etc have to learn to live a lot of the year under water. The river is 200 feet deep in places and hence it is possible to navigate right up the Amazon, as far as Manaus, in a big cruise ship.

It has a fragile ecosystem and there are continual struggles between conservationists and developers.  Deforestation happens at over 9,000 square miles per year – which is over 30 square miles per day!

Manaus, in northwestern Brazil, is the capital of the Amazonas State and one of the chief ports for the developing Amazon Basin, located on the Negro River.  It is a big city, over 2 million, bustling with what seemed to be mainly Brazilian tourists.  Lots of shops, market stalls, people, high-rise building, boats….  It is a tax free zone and the major income in the city now, is electronics (right in the middle of a huge jungle!).  Several manufactures have set up factories here, and we were told that 80% of the people are employed in this industry.

With a massive water level range, between rainy and dry season (of about 15 meters!) much is the surrounding areas are accustomed to being under water a lot of the time.  2009 was a record high tide when the water spilled into the city.

Manaus was the furthest up river we were going.

Boca da Valeria - 31st March 2011 - Day 28

The village of Boca da Valeria is located at the meeting point of Rio da Valeria (one of the thousands of tributaries) and the Amazon, about 300 miles up river from our last stop.  This was our opportunity to visit a small Amazonian village.  With a population of about 100, it was a dramatic contrast to what we had seen so far, and to many people this became the highlight of the trip.  Villagers in traditional boats greet visitors.

As we got off the tender, after having our photo taken with the mayor,

children rushed to hold our hand and show us around the village – I was carrying a big bag of school supplies (paper, notepads, pencils, crayons, pencil sharpeners) that we had bought in Santarem, which seems to attract more of the children.  Due to the language barrier the “tour” tended to consist of smiles and pointing but have no doubt they were expecting a tip at the end, and once you gave them one, they ran off to the next tourist!  We stopped at the local school to drop off the supplies – they invited Charlotte to join them in their dancing but she was too shy.

Parents often dress their children up in “Native Costume” hoping to earn tips for their efforts.



 Some of the villagers have exotics pets, such as macaws, sloths, anacondas and alligators! Very different from the goldfish and hamsters back home!

We took a boat ride up the river, where there were other little villages.

The homes are built on stilts – when the rainy season comes each year the river overflows so stilts help keep floors dry!  A walk around the inside of the house, showed very basic living conditions with the children sleeping on the floor.

 We thought Charlotte would have found this quite interesting – however, she found it strange how they live (most sleeping on the floor of huts) and also a bit overwhelming.  Also she asked me later, why we gave them money for holding our hands, or letting us take a picture of them. Interestingly, The Veendam comes to Bermuda each summer – Charlotte is wondering if she can hold the hands of passengers on Front Street and show them around Hamilton for a few bucks!!

It was fun interacting with the villagers and seeing how wonderful (?) and simple life can be on the river.   Everyone looked happy and healthy – their diet is fish and fruit, vegetable.   Our 1,500 passengers left the village to go back to its peaceful state. 

Santarem - March 30th 2011 - Day 27

Santarem was our first significant stop in our journey up the Amazon - a fairly small city with a population of about 130,000.  Although the Amazon’s third largest city (after Manaus and Belem) it’s tiny in comparison.

The muddy water of the Amazon meets the blue water of the Rio Tapajos, and they run for some distance, side by side, in two distinct stripes, without mixing.  You can see the “Meeting of the Waters” very clearly (especially from the 12^th deck in on the boat.)

Since boats are the chief mode of transport, there are cargo, produce and passenger vessels in various shapes and conditions all along the bustling waterfront. There were numerous passenger boats going to many different places up the Amazon - we saw what our alternative form of transport would have been, had we not opted for the luxury of the cruise ship! Then we understood why there were so many hammocks for sale at the local market (your bed for the next 5 nights!).

We took a nice walk along the waterfront - Charlotte enjoyed playing on the animal statues.
 

Some friends were fortunate enough to see pink dolphins.

 

In the town, there were shops after shops selling the same cheap stuff from China – it was as though there must be one “Mr China” that distributes to al the shops to sell for him.  Lots of market stalls also selling the same stuff.  While there we bought some school supplies to give to the village school the next day.

We got caught in another torrential rain storm on our way back to the ship – just to remind us again that we are in the rain forest in rainy season!

Macapa 29th March 2011 - Day 26

Macapa, on the north bank of the Amazon, is the official port for clearing in to the Amazon, to go up the river. It is here where we (well the crew…) needed to do all of the paperwork including getting a river pilot.  It is one of Brazil’s least populated regions, surrounded by uninhabited forests and hills.

The city lies exactly on the equator and hosts a monument to this, knows as Marco Zero (“Zero Mark”).  It gained international notoriety in December 2001, when the international NZ yachtsman Peter Blake was murdered while anchored on his explorer yacht Seamaster off the Port of Macapa.

We were given a berth at a dock, which is nicer than having to wait for tenders.  However, the dock was over 100 feet shorter than the boat, and we were going to share it with another boat – the captain wondered how we would get off the boat, but everything worked out, with a very steep gangplank (real slow going with all the old folks!).  There is also a very big tidal range here.

Once again we docked about 20 minutes outside of the town – this time in a yard that was making sawdust out of old trees! We are definitely in expedition mode now, and living the river life (in luxury!) and visiting places off the beaten track that rarely see cruise ships.

We took the shuttle into town.  After a short trip around town, we took a taxi to the Marco Zero (“Zero Mark”).  We took the obligatory photos (one foot on either hemisphere for Charlotte, Jimmy in the southern hemisphere and me in the northern (or the other way round…))

and then headed back to the boat again.  An early departure as we had a lot of miles to cover to the next port, up river against the current (the ship can do 18 knots – not like Heat Wave!).

The boat is still on CODE RED but good news is that no new cases have been reported in the last 30 hours.  If no new cases by tomorrow morning, we will be off CODE RED  (a few of us are thinking of camping outside the medical centre now so no one can pass in to make a new report J).  2 weeks of washing piling up! (as the self service laundry has been closed)

Charlotte continues to enjoy her freedom around the boat.