Author: Maria

Manaus (Amazon River), Brazil

November 17, 2018

Today we got off the ship and took a boat ride up the Rio Negro River about an hour and then we got to this cool place that has unique pink dolphins. The guy at the dock feeds the dolphins fish. The dolphins look very different than bottlenose dolphins. At the same place they had this other fish, I never heard of Arapaima.  They put a fish on a long string and the fish eats off the stick. It’s a strong fish and if you watch the video below you will hear a sucking sound that’s how the Arapaima fish eats the bait on the stick. John fed this fish, and he said that it was powerful!

The first evening our friend Carol & John purchased tickets to the Opera House. While there we saw Bassanova which is Portuguese music.

November 18, 2018

Today we took a boat up the Rio Negro River to the floating market, and we walked through the Amazon forest to see the water Lillies.

We then walked back to the boat a went to see the meeting of the waters. It’s pretty amazing to see the muddy Amazon River water and the dark Rio Negro River form a straight line of difference. We had really cool tour guides on the trip one of them has YouTube videos of him teaching Portuguese. The Tutor’s name is Jeferson Dionisio Alves.

John

John

Opera House

John

Boca Da Valeria (Amazon River), Brazil

November 16, 2018 

Today we took the tender into this village Boca Da Valeria which was unique and very poor. The kids meet you at the pier, and they have all these exotic animals, and you take pictures with them and give them a $1. They had crocodiles, sloths, toucans, parakeets, macaws.

We already love Oceania Cruises, and I never thought I could love this company any more than I do but this blew me away. We saw them take a whole bunch of candy, toys, school supplies, clothes, flip-flops, soccer balls and gave them to the locals in the village. As far as I know, they are the only cruise line that does this.

John with a Toucan

John with a native

Shrunken Head

Santarem (Amazon River), Brazil

November 15, 2018

Today we got picked up by a boat while we were anchored and we sailed up the Tapajos River to see the meeting of the waters. We then sailed up the Maica River to go piranha fishing which was fun. Our boat caught two catfish and two piranhas and a weird looking fish

Amazon Water & Tapajos Water

This is a root that they grate and bake in the oven because if not it’s poisonous.

Port of Spain, Trinidad

November 11, 2018

Today John and I grabbed a cab with another couple which was advised by Oceania Cruises. They don’t want you going off the ship alone 

Our driver took us to the Botanical Gardens, and we saw the Magnificent Seven which are homes that were built and owned by the farmers. 

St. George’s, Grenada

November 10, 2018

Today we rented a car and what an adventure it was. The roads were very narrow, and they were two-way streets with ditches on either side.

We drove up to this cool hotel called Petite Anse Hotel in St. Mark and had a great lunch. Afterward, we drove through the rainforest and saw the Grand Etang Lake on the way to the rental car place. The whole day was fun and very scenic. It’s a very green lush island, and the people are all really nice!

We were lucky enough to purchase a bunch of fresh spices from this fabulous spice island of the Caribbean.

If you would like to see what and where we ate while in St. George’s.

Maria
Maria

Gustavia, St. Barts/St. Barthelemy

November 8, 2018

Today we rented a car and drove around the island we’ve been here before, so we visited a couple of our favorite places. We had lunch at this cool place called Nikki Beach and then went shopping at this amazing store called Laurent Effel.

If you would like to see what and where we ate while in Gustavia.

Maria

St. Petersburg, Florida

October 26, 2018 

Today we decided to take a drive to St. Petersburg to visit a friend of ours.

If you are ever in St. Pete’s make sure you stop and grab a bite to eat at Fresco’s Waterfront Bistro. The food and atmosphere are excellent. Make sure you tell David (The owner) John and Maria from NY sent you!

Next time you see a Banyan Tree you know what you need to do!
Tarzan