Amazon Health/Safety Tips?? Street Food??

[TLCOhio]

We are now at 45 days until we depart Columbus, Ohio, to start our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean adventure on the Silversea Silver Cloud.

 

We will be going up the Amazon about 1000 miles, staying two night on the ship in Manaus, plus stops at and around Santarem, Boca da Valeria, Anavilhanas, Parintins and Alter do Chao. Yesterday's "big thing" was getting my shots for Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A & B and Typhoid. Plus a travel prescription for the pills to take to ward off malaria while in and around these Amazon River/Brazil areas.

 

BUT, on another CC Board, someone mentioned "street food". That brings up some excellent questions and considerations!!! When traveling overseas, I hate to even think of McDonalds and/or any other such boring "formula" food. Yes, want to get the local "flavor and feel". BUT, in talking with the travel health clinic people yesterday, they had some strong, vocal warnings about what we put in your body in certain parts of this unique and varied world.

 

They note on their website: "Raw fruits and veggies? Cook it, boil it, peel it or forget it!" Also: "Unpasteurized milk and dairy products may contain tuberculosis (TB) bacteria". They also detail: "Hepatitis A is a serious viral infection of the liver spread by contaminated food and water. It is common outside the United States and is recommended for travel to Mexico, the Carribean and any destination that has less than optimal sanitation."

 

Clearly on the ship and for most parts of the Caribbean, we are in good shape for them having better health standards and purposes. But, however, for some parts of the Amazon region, could there be questions and/or strong cautions?? This might include watching out on drinks such as one of my favorites being frozen margaritas with salt. BUT, that margarita could be made with local ice, made with local water??!! How good and pure is that water used to make the ice?? Salsa can be wonderful, but how is it made, by whom, with what materials,etc.??

 

The travel health company also offers these cautions: "Malaria, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and yellow fever are all mosquito-bourne. The influenza virus can survive for up to 2 days on hard surfaces such as doorknobs and telephones Beware of bottled water without a seal. The cap should snap when opened, or it could have been refilled with local tap water." Yes, those mosquitos can be pesky and we will bring lots of "Deet" and use it actively while in these Amazon areas.

 

Any other reactions, thoughts, ideas, etc., in order to enjoy street/local foods and drinks, BUT, keep it 100% safe? Fortunately, our cruise line is good about providing sealed water bottles to take when we depart the ship.

 

Other suggestions, cautions, secrets and tips to share for this part of the world??

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 88,252 views for this posting.

[Keith1010]

Terry, we try to limit what we eat in port but when we do we do the following.

 

Only bottled water.

 

No ice. People make the mistake of getting some drink and then having ice with it.

 

Food should be cooked and hot.

 

No salad.

 

No fruit except that with a peel.

 

No buffets. Buffets anywhere can have issues because of issues keeping the food at the proper temperature and how long the food has been sitting out.

 

And absolutely no food on the street.

 

And be selective where you dine.

 

It's never fun being sick but the worse thing is being sick in a foreign country while you are on vacation.

 

Keith

[TLCOhio]

Terry, we try to limit what we eat in port but when we do we do the following.

Only bottled water.

No ice. People make the mistake of getting some drink and then having ice with it.

Food should be cooked and hot.

No salad.

No fruit except that with a peel.

No buffets. Buffets anywhere can have issues because of issues keeping the food at the proper temperature and how long the food has been sitting out.

And absolutely no food on the street.

And be selective where you dine.

It's never fun being sick but the worse thing is being sick in a foreign country while you are on vacation.

Keith

 

Very much appreciate these many and very good suggestions from super expert traveler, Keith. Will share with my wife. She's a RN and gets it. BUT, this listing helps keep these important thoughts front of mind.

 

Keep any and all good suggestions ideas rolling along.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 165,694 views. Appreciate the interest and follow-up questions/comments!!

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[sammiedawg]

We did the Oceania Amazon trip last year, mostly private excursions and only one involved a meal. We had a buffet lunch outside Manaus at a floating restaurant, our guide assured us the food was fine but we avoided salad. We ate broiled chicken, rice and had bottled soda or beer. The cruise lines use this restaurant.

We carried bottled water everywhere. We bought nothing from street vendors, why take a chance. Our tour included a visit to the food markets of Manaus, meats, poultry, seafood fish are displayed in an un air conditioned open market. No one was tempted to eat.

 

I'm sure you have researched the ports but here is what we observed. I will apologize in advance for rambling.

We tendered ashore in Boca de Valeria and the kids are the big thing there. They are so excited to see you and instantly you will have a dozen kids begging to be your guide. It was so rewarding to interact with the children. Most of us had a bag of school supplies to leave at the schoolhouse but I wished I had brought more. We handed out fifty one dollar bills to our new helpers and friends. The ship officers came ashore with pallets of supplies. There was a local eatery near our tender dock and many cruisers bought bottles of beer and soda. Before we walked around with the kids we hired a local to take us on a boat ride, he took us to his home to meet his lovely family. This experience was so humbling, I will never forget it. This port is extremely poor but the people were lovely.

Alto do Cho is another tender port, no tours but we hired a local to give us a boat ride, then we walked into the town. There is a small town center to visit with a few stores and eateries.

Parintins was a nice little city, clean and somewhat modern. There were many waterfront restaurants and I saw cruisers eating and drinking. We saw the Booi Bumba show and walked around, some friends hired a pedicab and loved the drive around town. We found tourist information and used the wifi.

We had a private tour in Santarem that involved a chartered boat and a ride deeper into the flooded river. This was a depressing little city, I would never consider eating here.

 

We had a Brazilian expert on board who has spent much of his adult life in Brazil. He was unequivocal that malaria meds are not needed to cruise the Amazon. There is no risk of malaria in the tourist areas we visited. Malaria exists very very deep in the jungle, tourist don't get withing hundreds of miles of this area. Access to the primary forest is severely restricted to a handful of scientists and physicians who petition the government and go through an exhaustive permit process.

We took yellow fever shots from our travel clinic.

We only met one couple taking malaria meds.

[ski ww]

Thank you for all this good info. We are doing the Amazon in Jan 2016 and have started to do some research on our Ports of Call. Gives us some things to think about.

Allan & Marlane

[TLCOhio]

We did the Oceania Amazon trip last year, mostly private excursions and only one involved a meal. We had a buffet lunch outside Manaus at a floating restaurant, our guide assured us the food was fine but we avoided salad. We ate broiled chicken, rice and had bottled soda or beer. The cruise lines use this restaurant. We carried bottled water everywhere. We bought nothing from street vendors, why take a chance.

 

Appreciate all of these added trip details from sammiedawg. Excellent info and background!!! Am copying and saving to my computer/trip file. It helps build the excitement for our upcoming "adventure". Now only 31 days away from when we depart to Barbados. Keep it coming with any other insights and suggestions to share.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

If Venice is one of your future desires or past favorites, you might look at this earlier posting that I did on the Italy board that shows many options and visual potentials for this city that is so great for "walking around", personally sampling the great history and architecture. This posting is now at 44,507 views and I appreciate those who have dropped by and tuned in.

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226