Thursday December 31, 2015 – Boca da Valeria, Brazil – New Years Eve

We dropped anchor about 7 am in Boca da Valeria, but we didn’t get up until about 7:30.  We had some breakfast in La Veranda and then went to the tender to go ashore.  Boca da Valeria is a very small village on the Amazon and it gives us an opportunity to see how they live along the river.

The villagers were out in force, especially the children.  We brought the chocolates from our room and we handed those out.  They ate them with great abandon, but the down side of it was they threw the paper wrappers that the chocolate came in on the ground.  Not so good as all of this trash will end up in the Amazon River.  Oh well, the children enjoyed it.

We followed Mirjana for a while as she was in search of the local shaman.  She got way ahead of us and we ran into Robin and Michael from Plantation.  They had met a local man, Sergio, who showed us around.  We then found John and Janet and I asked Sergio to take us to a boat for a ride up the river.  He took us to Ishmai, who had a covered dugout with a longneck motor on it.  We started up the river. 

Panorama of the very muddy and very wide Amazon River

The muddy Amazon River

Some of the locals in Boca da Valeria came out in traditional costume

The village built up on stilts because of the rainy season when this is flooded

A young boy with his pet

Inside the church on Boca da Valeria

The small village of Boca da Valeria

Tim, Sergio, Robin, and Michael

There was beautiful jungle scenery on both sides.  We rode inland for about 30 minutes and then stopped at a landing site.  Young boys were there with a giant pet rat and other animals, including sloths and monkeys.  We walked up a steep hill to the village where Sergio lives.  There was a great lookout point and we could see The Mariner at anchor off shore.

Sergio then took us to his home where he lives with his wife and six children.  Amazing is all I can say.  One of the grandmothers lived there too.  He was very proud to show us his home.

Loading on the canoe for our ride up the river

Ready for our river ride at Boca da Valeria

John and Janet from Newport Beach, CA

The muddy river off of the Amazon

Our canoe driver in Boca da Valeria

Lots of marshland

Homes along the way

A young boy with his pet rat - a VERY LARGE pet rat1

A selfie up river at Boca da Valeria

The small village where Sergio lives

Sergio's home and family

Janet with Sergio's wife and twins

Sergio showing us his pet turtles - I really think they are for meals!

The Festival grounds in Sergio's small village

Janet with 2 young boys

Boats along the river

We then bought a beer at the local pub and walked through their festival grounds on the way back to the dugout.  We loaded up and headed back to Boca da Valeria.  A great river tour.

When we got back, I paid Sergio (50 reales) and Ishmai (60 reales) for the tour.  Tim and I went and had a cold beer at a small hut serving cold drinks.  The beer was Kirin Brazil beer and was only $1 USD each!

It was VERY hot and the beer tasted so good

Back to the Amazon - we saw pink dolphins here

We then headed back to the dock and while waiting for the tender, a pink dolphin broke the surface right off shore.  We saw it several times.

It was a short ride back to the ship.  We went to La Veranda for lunch.  Tim finally got his grilled fish sandwich that he has been talking about and I had the pasta bar and a salad for lunch.

Then it was cold shower time and nap time.  It was so hot outside and sticky – very humid so the shower felt good.

We relaxed in the room for a while and I took a short nap as the meds make me sleepy.  At 2:30 the Captain came on and we pulled anchor and set sail inland to Manaus.  We’ll be there early tomorrow morning.

The New Years Celebration in the theatre

We relaxed during the afternoon and then got dressed for our New Years Eve dinner in Prime 7.  We had a martini at Prime 7 followed by a wonderful New Years Eve steak dinner.  We rested in the cabin after dinner and then went to Observation Lounge for a glass of champagne.  We went to the Theatre at 10:15 for the New Years Eve Celebration.  The entertainers danced and sang while passengers danced.  The staff had made a huge ice carving of 2015 and at midnight they changed it to 2016.  It was a fun celebration.

We headed off to the cabin about 12:30 as we have an early day tomorrow.

Wednesday December 30, 2015 – Cruising Up The Amazon River

Tim got up early but I slept until 9:30. I'm not feeling 100% yet but I think the meds helped.  I took some azithromycin and got dressed. 

We went off for coffee and then the lecture at 10:15.  Tim went to the lecture and I stayed in the coffee bar.  We relaxed the rest of the morning and then went to the pool buffet where they had Tex-Mex food.  It was pretty good, especially the rice pudding for dessert.

I slept most of the afternoon as the meds made me very tired, but at least my voice is back and I’m not coughing and draining so much. 

We went to the 3 pm Popcorn Movie which was a documentary by a Frenchman about the Amazon River and the people who live in the villages along it.  It was interesting but not a great production.

Tim went back to the gym after the movie and I took another short nap.  We were going to go up on the pool deck for the “Crossing the Equator” ceremony with Neptune but it was raining so we went to Horizons for that.  It was fun.  Gemma was dressed up like a mermaid.  The Marine Biologist played the part of Neptune and did a great job with Jamie, the Cruise Director.

The crossing the equator ceremony with King Neptune

We got dressed about 6 and went to Mariner Bar for a drink but there was no musical entertainment so we went back to Observation again.  I Gusti and Alexander were there to take good care of us.

We went to dinner about 7:30. We talked to Mirjana for a while at dinner.  We had observed an incident in La Veranda where a passenger complained about Alexander unnecessarily and Tim set the record straight.  Mirjana was appreciative to get an independent view.

We left dinner about 9 and went to the cabin.  The violinist is playing again tonight and I think he’ll put me to sleep so we’ll skip it and get a good night’s sleep.  We set our time back an hour tonight.

Tuesday December 29, 2015 – Entering The Amazon River

We again woke up to an announcement by the Captain.  He had to take the stabilizers off of Mariner as the Amazon is very shallow.  It was rocky for a while but then it got smoother.  As we got closer to the mouth of the Amazon, the water got muddier and muddier.  This is going to be an amazing river.

We had morning coffee and went to the Enrichment Lecture by the Marine Biologist.  He talked about fish and the reefs.  Interesting.

We roamed around the ship for a while and sat outside near the pool but it was SO HOT and STICKY.  So we went in to La Veranda for lunch where it was cool.  Tim had his lunch from the Asian buffet but I stuck with the standard fare.

We returned to the cabin and read and relaxed until mid-afternoon when we went to the NASA talk.  He talked about the International Space Station and it was fascinating.

Tim went to the gym to work out and I caught up the blog.

At 6 we went to Observation for drinks and then to dinner about 7:15. We both had the Brazilian white fish for main course and it was delicious.

We went to the Cirque Rock and Roll Show by the Jean Anne Ryan cast and it was great.  Our favorite, Gemma, did a great job.   It was a very physical show with lots of dancing and gymnastics.  Roman and Olga, the specialty team, were great.

After the show we went to the cabin and went to bed.  I’m all congested and losing my voice – oh boy, here we go again.  I took some more meds and went to bed.

Monday December 28, 2015 – At Sea Enroute to The Amazon River

We woke up early as the Captain came on to inform us that we had been diverted during the night due to a medical emergency.  We drifted out in the Atlantic for a long time waiting for a medi-vac helicopter to come and pick up the patient.  Apparently a crew member had severe appendicitis.  The pool deck and all outdoor areas were closed to passengers so we stayed inside

We went to the morning lecture with the Marine Biologist.  Then we went to the dining room for lunch since the pool buffet was not set up and we figured La Veranda would be a zoo.  We had a good light lunch.

We napped, read, and went to the NASA talk about the retirement of the Space Shuttle.  Amazing talk.

We had our afternoon coffee at the Coffee Connection.  We dressed early since Jamie was holding the “State/Country Get-Togethers”.  Florida has more people on board than any other state.  54 in all.  Only about 20 came to the cocktail time.  We met Amanda from Miami and 2 couples from Stuart.

We then had been invited to Cabin 8103 to have drinks with John and Janet Ward.  They told us all about their around the world excursion with National Geographic.  They loved it.  Private plane, special accommodations, and a special trip.  Expensive too!

They had reservations at Prime 7 so we went to the Compass Rose and had a good dinner.

We met Gemma after dinner and enjoyed Mikah’s one-woman show.  She is a good performer.

By this time we were both well over-served, so we headed off to bed.

Sunday December 27, 2015 – At Sea Enroute to The Amazon River

We woke up about 8 am.  Tim went for his morning walk up Mt. Kilimanjaro and I caught up on email. 

We went to the morning lecture with the Marine Biologist.  We had lunch on deck since they were having an Indian buffet.  It was really good.

The afternoon was spent napping, reading, and we went to the NASA lecture about the Shuttle and International Space Station.

We had drinks in Observation and talked to Dana (Assistant Cruise Director), Lauren and Taylor.  Nice kids.

We had dinner in Compass Rose and then went to bed.

Saturday December 26, 2015 – Recife, Brazil

We woke up at 7 am as the Mariner was sailing into the Recife harbor.  The captain must have made up some time as we were behind schedule but we ended up docking early.  Recife is an island south of the mouth of the Amazon River.  We had coffee and got our things and went to the theatre to exchange our tickets for the tour.  They actually called our tour number early, so we left to get on the tour bus.

Our guide was a talker and informative.  She talked non-stop for 4 hours.  We rode through some of Recife en-route to Olinda, another small island.  Small vans took us up a steep hill to a lookout point.  There we saw a cathedral and enjoyed a vantage point to look out at the Atlantic Ocean and Recife.

The church at Olinda overlooking Recife, Brazil

Inside the Olinda church

Beautiful view of the Atlantic from Olinda

A selfie at Olinda

 We made a shopping stop and then loaded on the small vans for the ride back down the steep hill.  We loaded back on the large tour bus and went to the Golden Chapel, an elaborate chapel used by the land barons.  We toured more around Recife and then headed back to the ship.

Another catholic church in Recife, Brazil - they are catholic but they don't practice

A religious display

The pope and his servants!

The monastery

Beautiful paintings on the walls in the monastery

A tomb inside the church

The altar

Recife is the 5^th largest city in Brazil and is spread out with high rises all along the coast. 

Tim and I had lunch upstairs on the pool deck and then relaxed for the afternoon.  He worked out again as he has started training for his Mt Kilimanjaro climb.  We had a late afternoon coffee and watched as we sailed out of Recife about 4 pm.  We have over 1,000 miles to travel to get to our next stop.  I didn’t realize how far north the Amazon was in Brazil.  We are looking forward to our Amazon adventure.

We went to Observation at 7 and listened to the piano player entertain.  I Gusti and Alexander took care of us.  While there we got to talk to entertainers Mikah and Poppy.  We enjoyed our talk with them.

About 8 we went to Sette Mari for dinner and got on the list to wait for a table.  It was about a 30 minute wait and we waited in Observation.  They called us for our table and we got a table by the window but it was all dark outside.  We skipped the appetizers and had mostly main course.  It was delicious.

We went to the cabin after dinner and went to bed.  A fun day in Brazil.  We skipped the show as it was a violinist.

Friday December 25, 2015 – Christmas Day – At Sea

Merry Christmas from Brazil

We got up about 8:30. Tim went for his “mountain walk” on the treadmill with his boots.  He’s started training for his Mt. Kilimanjaro climb.  I had coffee and then went to the Enrichment Lecture at 10:30.  It was interesting.

We relaxed in the room for a while and then went to the pool for the International BBQ lunch which was good.

We read and explored the ship until 2:45 and went to hear the PhD talk about NASA exploration in the afternoon Enrichment Lecture.  After we had coffee and Tim went to the gym while I did email.

At 6 we had the Ship Block Party where everyone on the hallway goes out to meet each other.  It’s a great way to meet other passengers. 

We went to the Compass Rose for dinner – a traditional Christmas turkey dinner!  The Jean Anne Ryan Dancers performed at 9:45 and it was a Broadway show we had seen before but enjoyable again.  A full house.  We've started the tradition of sitting up front to support the cast.  We are liking that and they are too.

We went to the Navigator Lounge and had a nightcap and then went to bed.  Tomorrow we have our first excursion of the cruise in Recife, Brazil

Thursday December 24, 2015 - At Sea

I awoke about 8:15 and thought it was noon!  My watch had stopped at midnight so I was really confused.  We got dressed and Tim went to the gym and I went to get coffee and some muesli.  It was good.  At 10 am I went to the theatre to listen to the Enrichment Lecture on the Amazon.  It was great.

I returned to the cabin about 11 am and met up with Tim.  He decided to do lunch with me so we headed to the buffet – it was too hot outside, I thought.

We had a good lunch and then read on the balcony until 2 pm  We went to the next Enrichment Lecture at 2:30 and that was interesting.  It was about the attack forces during World War II…..Interesting stuff.

We had coffee and then relaxed on our balcony reading and Tim meditating.  We got dressed at 6 for the Captain’s Reception.  We went to the reception and saw Gemma and had a glass of champagne.  We had to leave early, at 6:30, for our reservation at Signatures at 6:30.

It was a great dinner at Signatures.  We started with champagne, Tim had fois gras and I had crab and avocado salad.  Tim had lamb shops and I had veal medallions.  Delicious.

We relaxed in the room for a while after dinner and then went to the Christmas Show at 9:45.

The very elaborate Christmas Show aboard The Regent Mariner

Christmas Show - Jamie and Gemma singing

The singers and dancers doing the 12 Days of Christmas.  They were excellent

The finale - we were right up front

We met Barbie and Ed, and John and Janet for the show.  It was a great production although we threatened Jaime that we were bringing him songbooks with the words from O’ Little Town of Bethlehem this year!  Next year we’ll bring numbered flash cards so Jamie can count from 1 to 12 on the Twelve Days of Christmas!

We left the show about 10:45 and headed to Horizons for a night cap.  There was a band playing and people were dancing.  We went to the cabin and bed about 11:30  A good first day on Regent Mariner.

Wednesday December 23, 2015 – Rio de Janeiro Departure North to the Amazon

We woke up about 6:30 and put our bags in the hall for pickup. We showered and dressed and went for a light breakfast on the ground floor.  We both had just a light breakfast after the large dinner last night.

We hung out in the room and went to the lobby to meet the group at 11 am.  There are 180 people staying at the Sheraton Resort but we are on one of the first buses to the ship.

We met the group in the lobby with our carry-on luggage, loaded up and headed to the Regent Mariner.  It took us about 45 minutes to get to the ship through Rio.  There is always lots of traffic in Rio.

They are rebuilding the port of Rio so our bus parked in a warehouse and we had to walk and walk and walk and walk.  Check-in on the port was easy and swift.  We got on the ship and went to the theatre.  We waited in line and our friend Gemma checked us in.  So good to see her again.  The cabins weren’t ready yet, so we went for lunch up on the pool deck. 

We relaxed in one of the lounges and they announced that the cabins were ready about 2 pm.  Our cabin was smaller than we had hoped, but we’ll make do.  The balcony is really small, as in Oceania small, but we have a walk-in closet and a larger bathroom with tub/shower combo.

We unpacked and then went exploring on the ship.  The layout is similar in many ways to Voyager so that makes it easier.

We returned to the cabin about 4:30 and our cabin steward Aldren was there to meet us.  There is a life boat drill at 5:30.  We went to that but the Captain decided that we didn’t need to go outside to the life boats since it was so hot.  We lucked out.

We enjoyed the "sail away" as we sailed out of Rio.

Gingerbread houses throughout the ship for Christmas

Beautiful holiday displays

The sail away out of Rio de Janeiro

The waterfront in Rio

Sugarloaf on the right as we sailed out of Rio

Christ the Redeemer looming over Rio

Last look at Sugarloaf as we sailed out of Rio

We returned to the cabin after sail away and dressed for dinner.  We have 7 pm reservations at Prime 7 with a sharing table.  We got there at 7 and met Hillary and Mark from Indiana.  The other couple cancelled as they were jet lagged.  We had a good dinner and conversation with Hillary and Mark.

We left about 9:30 and went to the lounge to listen to the pianist who plays with the orchestra.  He was really good.

We headed to the cabin about 11 and went right to sleep.  It was a long day and we are still not over the jet lag.