Live: Amazon River, Caribbean, Many Pix’s, Terry/Ohio

[jpalbny]

Love Hot Rocks! And they still have the Cline Cashmere - a GSM blend IIRC. Cline is one of our favorite Sonoma wineries, both for their wines and the atmosphere. They grow lots of nice Rhône varietals.

 

Very casual, and amazingly enough, they still offer free wine tasting, as opposed to many others in the area who charge a high tasting fee. We belong to their wine club and get shipments every few months. Ask the sommelier if they have any Cline zinfandel on board...

 

When you drive by the winery, they always have a funny saying on their sign. Once I remember it saying, "Plan for the future. Buy two cases!"

 

Corey Sandler was on our October cruise too. He gets around! Glad you're enjoying his lectures. I found the information to be a little too basic, but they were a good review of stuff we'd already read before the cruise. He shows lots of good pictures, however.

 

Enjoying your journey, even though it looks too hot there! Upstate New York is beautiful today, with a few inches of fresh snow and a bunch of knuckleheads who seemingly have forgotten how to drive in it... :o

Edited January 30, 2015 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

See what you're missing?

 

Edited January 30, 2015 by jpalbny

[upwarduk]

. Wonderfully nice to be outside, very relaxed and informal. This is also called the "Hot Rocks" as the meat or fish are cooked on a super heated lava stone.

 

We've cooked 'Steak -on- the Stone' outside in Madeira.

Once, when we couldn't book an outside table, I tried to order it and was told,'not when you eat inside' (Health & Safety?)

Edited January 30, 2015 by upwarduk

[tripperva]

Last January the Regent Mariner had to bypass Devils Island due to rough seas. Thanks for the excellent coverage of what we missed.

[fairbourne]

Hi Terry

 

The rat like creatures I think are called agoutis and the bird with the red head is definitely a pheasant - I should know as the DH brings home enough of them during the season! I don't care for them myself but they are a favourite game bird eaten by many. To me they're a chicken gone wrong! LOL!

 

Enjoying your photos and stories - I'm not sure if I could visit Devil's island - such awful history. It all looks so innocent now. And again your photos have captured the moment. Thank you.

 

Such great foodie photos - eclair and macaroon sounds delicious! :D

 

JPalbany - sounds like you have the same knuckleheads we have here - you can keep your snow, we've escaped it so far but England has some. They can keep it too! ;):D

[TLCOhio]

That harp player isn't all he seems. He isn't Francisca Vglesia! He is a part of a double act in the UK and his real name is Bobby Ball! Jeff

 

As a follow-up to Jeff's earlier cute post, I had a chance in the Panorama Lounge on board the Silver Cloud this afternoon to talk more with Francisca Vglesia . . . The Real One!! I wanted to show him the pictures that I posted on these boards of him. He loved the pictures and wants me to send copies to him. He gave me his e-mail and I will follow-up.

 

That gave me a chance to talk more with him. He has been based in an area west of London for the past forty years. His wife is English. She is his manager, webmaster, etc. He said that he often mention Bobby Ball when doing programs with audiences of those mostly in or from the UK. He got a great laugh over both Jeff's post, plus the wonderful follow-up by upwarduk. Mr. Vglesia was impressed by all of the research and posting done by upwarduk.

 

One his biggest challenges is moving his large harp around and then rolling the dice when things go through security, airline luggage handling, etc. He rates the U.S. airports to be the toughest with which to deal (and hope for undamaged returns).

 

Appreciate bringing up this little info and my chance to get/share added info. Sunday night he will be another program. It will feature with him performing one of the singers doing a dancing segment that should add to the enjoyment of his show.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Super loved Dubrovnik!!! See more details and lots of great visual samples/examples at this link. Have had over 26,315 views on this posting and appreciate those who have tuned-in and dropped by.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439227

[TLCOhio]

Love Hot Rocks! And they still have the Cline Cashmere - a GSM blend IIRC. Cline is one of our favorite Sonoma wineries, both for their wines and the atmosphere.

Corey Sandler was on our October cruise too. He gets around! Glad you're enjoying his lectures. I found the information to be a little too basic, but they were a good review of stuff we'd already read before the cruise. He shows lots of good pictures, however.

 

upwarduk: We've cooked 'Steak -on- the Stone' outside in Madeira. Once' date=' when we couldn't book an outside table, I tried to order it and was told,'not when you eat inside' (Health & Safety?) [/quote']

 

tripperva: Last January the Regent Mariner had to bypass Devils Island due to rough seas. Thanks for the excellent coverage of what we missed.

 

fairbourne: Hi Terry. The rat like creatures I think are called agoutis and the bird with the red head is definitely a pheasant - I should know as the DH brings home enough of them during the season! I don't care for them myself but they are a favourite game bird eaten by many. To me they're a chicken gone wrong! LOL! Enjoying your photos and stories - I'm not sure if I could visit Devil's island - such awful history. It all looks so innocent now. And again your photos have captured the moment. Such great foodie photos - eclair and macaroon sounds delicious!

 

Appreciate these great follow-up' date=' comments. [b']Fun and interesting! [/b] Keep 'em coming. It adds much to the interactive nature in doing a travel blog.

 

For JP in Albany/NY, loved seeing the snowy, winter scene you shared. That reminds me as to why we are here. To escape the winter cold, ice and snow. Glad that I shared the wine details from last night. Agree, a very good choice to be offered on the ship.

 

Cute, fun comments by upwarduk on 'Steak -on- the Stone' and the need to do such cooking outdoors. Makes sense!

 

On Cory Sandler, it is a super big challenge for all of these speakers about . . . how much "detail" to provide? I've talked with both of the speakers on that "challenge". If you provide too, too much, that will bore some parts of the audience. Yes, Cory does a great job on the visuals, videos. He does cruise work for about six months each year.

 

Great added info/background from fairbourne. Glad for tripperva that my Devil's Island picture helped to fill in a missing "gap" from when your Regent ship missed that stop. Our waters were a little choppy that day, but it worked out fine, including avoiding having rain while there. YES, lots of bad things happened at Devil's Island . . . AND at many other times/places during our world's challenged, twisted history.

 

More later!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed 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 96,236 views for this posting.

[Sunprince]

Hi Terry, Enjoying your posts. especially the pictures. Would you knidly consider posting a photo tour of the Cloud on one of your seas days when you have some time? It would be nice for those of us who have not sailed on the smaller SS ships to have a full tour! Thanks

[Tothesunset]

Hi Terry, Enjoying your posts. especially the pictures. Would you knidly consider posting a photo tour of the Cloud on one of your seas days when you have some time? It would be nice for those of us who have not sailed on the smaller SS ships to have a full tour! Thanks

Seconded.

[RachelG]

The little rat/squirrel creature is indeed an agouti. The are all over the place in Central America.

Cline Zinfandel is one of our favorites so if they have any on board, check it out.

 

jP in Albany, I am really happy I am not there right now.

[TLCOhio]

Hi Terry, Enjoying your posts. especially the pictures. Would you knidly consider posting a photo tour of the Cloud on one of your seas days when you have some time? It would be nice for those of us who have not sailed on the smaller SS ships to have a full tour! Thanks

 

Tothesunset: Seconded.

 

RachelG: The little rat/squirrel creature is indeed an agouti. The are all over the place in Central America. Cline Zinfandel is one of our favorites so if they have any on board' date=' check it out. jP in Albany, I am really happy I am not there right now. [/quote']

 

Great suggestions by our friend from Canada and the seconding. WILL DO!! It will probably be in the Feb. 8-9-10 period when we will have three days that I will be able to do that requested "photo tour" of the Silver Cloud. On my Norway cruise on the Cloud connected below, I have many, many pictures for life on this ship. Much is the same from that period on this ship, but a few things have changed. Appreciate the wonderful idea.

 

This morning as the sun rises in Panorama Lounge, we have three large freighter ships around us. The waters are very calm. We are on the Amazon River right now. Entered it later yesterday afternoon. The waters are very muddy brown. Now we are close enough to see shore. It seems that we are in some type of holding action as we are approaching the "sign in" point.

 

That is Macapá. It is straddling the equator and has a large obelisk-shaped sundial marking the equatorial line. Their sports stadium has seats in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres!! Bet your town does not have such a feature, right? This city is the Amapá state capital on the Rio Amazonas and boasts a large Portuguese-built fort constructed between 1764 and 1782. This city has few land connections to other parts of the country with Amapá's difficult terrain.

 

With the equator running through the middle of the city, residents refer to Macapá as "The capital of the middle of the world."

 

Macapá has a population of 499,166 in its metropolitan area, the third largest in the North Region. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 397,913. Our only reason to stop here is for inspecting the documents for the passengers and crew, picking up a river pilot. We will not get off of the ship or go ashore here.

 

A retired military officer is sitting next to me in the Panorama Lounge at the back, top of the ship. He is sharing that this current "river look" out the ship reminds him of his days in the Mekong River in Vietnam. More pictures later.

 

From the Columbus Dispatch, here is their top headline: "Grab your shovel! Snow is forecast for Sunday into Monday". This story has these details and highlights: "February will come roaring into Columbus as a winter storm that's expected to dump as much as 7 inches of snow starting early Sunday morning. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for central and western Ohio. The system could bring a mix of rain and snow to Columbus, said the National Weather Service."

 

It will be hot and humid here in the Amazon, but that sounds much better than dealing with the snow, ice and cold in the upcoming few days.

 

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 170,341 views.

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

[TLCOhio]

As I have mentioned previously, both of the speakers on the ship have been excellent.

 

Here is more on Dr. Laurel Corona. After growing up in the Oakland, she had an early love for reading. She was an English major at the University of California at Davis. Graduate schooling was at the University of Chicago (MA 1972) and Cal Davis (Ph.D, 1982). Early in her career, she was an instructor and administrator San Diego State and UC/San Diego. Then at San Diego City College, she was a dean and professor of English and Humanities. She began lecturing two years ago for Silversea Cruises, traveling in South America, the Baltics, Panama Canal, Southeast Asia,the Mediterranean, and Transatlantic. She retired in May 2014 for college work and is now focused on future voyages.

 

Below is a picture of her using the large graphics to enhance this sharing of background for history on Brazil and its twisted connections with Portugal. I showed her this picture and she wanted me to send her a copy to make it her key visual image on her Facebook account.

 

EDITED ROUGH NOTES FROM HER PRESENTATIONS:

After Columbus discovered America, that made more intense for the rivalry of Portugal versus Spain. They got the Pope involved and had a 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas to set up a dividing line. Spain thought it would get the whole new world. But it did not work out that way. In the new world, they didn’t find El Dorado, but they found land for agriculture, wood that would be a dye for clothing and paint, etc. That dye was the early export back to Europe. By mid 1600’s, Dutch and French encroachment was going to be happen in parts of Brazil unless the King of Portugal could create permanent settlements in what is Brazil now. One of the early persons from Portugal there was called “Man of Fire” because he had a musket. From Portugal, it was mainly males coming over and there was more of a mixing of the races in Brazil. Portugal and Spain had more of an inter-mixed culture from their historic dealing with Moors and Africans. Portugal was the first to bring in African slave to the Americas in working to grow sugar cane.

 

In 1700’s, it was the start of the "soap opera". There was a weak centralize government in Brazil. They had lots of criminals and Jesuits there. Things were pretty loose and not controlled. Bahia was the first capital. From Portugal, the crazy Queen and King/Prince Regent, etc. had to escape from the main country to fend off/escape Napoleon, etc. The Royal Family went south in Brazil and found Rio, that was not as hot. Rio become the heart of the empire. Rio developed fairly quickly. Pedro did much to push for a Constitutional Monarchy for Brazil.

 

The mastermind of the Brazil independence takes over, then dies and his eight-year-old son, Pedro II, 1825-1891, takes over the country. He was engaged at age 18 to a princess of Sicily. The got married by proxy. It didn’t go well initially. But, Pedro II was more of a professor-type. He was very hard-working, very humble, spoke 14 languages, read lots of newspapers. As the ruler, he had to deal with several revolts attempts, feared slave uprising, etc. Pedro II is view is the key leader who set Brazil on a path to its future at that time.

 

He had to deal with Brazil being very, very large with a sparse population, especially in its interior. Cities in those days were very spread out. Pedtro II pushed to end slavery. He did a partial end to it over time. Then his daughter got it done while traveling in Europe. Fascinating and interesting history and background for this country. As I recall my schooling, we heard nothing much on Brazil and/or Portugal. Glad to shape up more of that learning as we prepare for our visits here.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. We are now at 193,486 views for this live/blog re-cap. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

Here is Dr. Laurel Corona doing one of her presentations. This included much on the connections between Portugal and Brazil, how the royal families had their "soap opera" twists, etc.:

 

[Elginjock]

Thank you Terry for your fantastic photographs and informative narrative.

 

Just booked Cloud for South Africa Feb 2016 and Wind for Med Aug 2015 first time on them both.

 

Cold wet and windy here in the north of Scotland I can feel the warmth from your photographs!!

 

Donna

[TLCOhio]

Thank you Terry for your fantastic photographs and informative narrative. Just booked Cloud for South Africa Feb 2016 and Wind for Med Aug 2015 first time on them both. Cold wet and windy here in the north of Scotland I can feel the warmth from your photographs!! Donna

 

Appreciate these kind comments from our Scotland visitor to these postings. Glad that I am bringing "warmth" to the colder climates. We are considering an early Feb. 2016 Silver Cloud sailing for South Africa. Maybe, we can hook up at that time.

 

This morning the temperature were around 78F, but the humidity was at 98%. Really steamed up my camera lenses. Now, I have figured out how to deal with the conditions on the glass. Just finished a more presentation by Cory Sandler on Manaus. Very interesting. More on that later. Below are a couple of the early morning pictures.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Here are two of the early morning views for the Amazon River while our ship is going through the “customs” and legal processes. The pilot for this river is now on board. Ready to start sailing on the Amazon River. :

 

 

[Elginjock]

Hi Terry, we are on 22nd Feb sailing as we have a few days pre cruise and Shamwari Game Reserve post cruise.

 

It would indeed be lovely to meet you and your better half.

 

Donna

[TLCOhio]

Hi Terry, we are on 22nd Feb sailing as we have a few days pre cruise and Shamwari Game Reserve post cruise. It would indeed be lovely to meet you and your better half. Donna

 

Appreciate, Donna, this update on your early 2016 South Africa sailing plans. We are probably focused on one of the earlier options with Silversea for that month. But, we will see what works out.

 

Below is a nice little "photo journalism essay" on our activities earlier this morning. First time that we have ever done one of these such cruise ship "shows" while crossing the Equator. Let me know if you liked the costumes and how it was staged. Not exactly Broadway or the West End, but for the middle of the Amazon River, it worked well.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed 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 96,349 views for this posting.

 

 

This morning on the main pool deck, there was an important “Crossing of the Equator Ceremony” with the real King Neptune and his complete court there to perform and "honor" us. As the King, he was played by Cruise Director Allen KingD was offering up his usual fun, corny humor. Lots of “prisoners” from the ship, both passengers and crew, had to be given a “trial” before their punishment could be determined. The offenses? Things like calling the front desk because you thought that your room safe was a microwave and complaining that it did not work correctly. Lots of funny items!! Some got punished by being tossed in the pool. A few escaped any serious fates. It was fun and very interesting. As you can see the costumes were cute! As they say in America, “A good time was had by all.” In the last picture, my wife and I are shown with some of the women "stars" from this show. Great costumes! Like?:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[patnlcc]

Terry, we have been lucky enough to enjoy two of these ceremonies. One on a Cape Town/Las Palmas and the second on the Amazon. Loads of fun and all credit to the staff who go the extra mile to make it very entertaining.

[Silver Spectre]

More great photo's Terry! Good to see that Alan King's socks are clearly visible.

[Nigella]

Very much enjoying your posts, and especially your photos, Terry.

I'm envious of your skill at taking great photos of plated food, which can be difficult to photograph successfully.

[TLCOhio]

Very much enjoying your posts, and especially your photos, Terry. I'm envious of your skill at taking great photos of plated food, which can be difficult to photograph successfully.

 

Terry, we have been lucky enough to enjoy two of these ceremonies. One on a Cape Town/Las Palmas and the second on the Amazon. Loads of fun and all credit to the staff who go the extra mile to make it very entertaining.

 

More great photo's Terry! Good to see that Alan King's socks are clearly visible.

 

Lots to update this morning, but so little time as we arrive shortly in the town of Santarem. More details below. Plus, lots of added pictures to share later.

 

POWER OUTAGE: Early this morning for about an hour from 1:30 to 2:30 am, the power was out on the Silver Cloud, a/c off, ship stopped, etc. My wife woke me about 1:41 am as I was snoring. When the power went off, my CPAP was not working. Fortunately, we had a flash-light along with us, plus the light on cell phone, if needed. Called to reception and they could only say it was "technical difficulties". Hope to find out more today. According to one of the staff members who has been on the ship for the past seven months, this is the first time this had happened during his period on the Silver Cloud.

 

We will meet up with Amazon guide Gil Serique who grew up in Santarem, but lives in Alter do Chao. Considering two main private options with him, but we are promised a number of species of birds, plus a guarantee to see three-toed sloths. We want to see more of the countryside, potential national forest area, etc.

 

Santarem is just 2.5 degrees south of the equator. It is located at the joining of the River Tapajos and the Amazon, offering chances to see the “Wedding of the Waters”. This is where the clear, dark Tapajos meets the muddy, ochre Amazon. Due to their different densities, they flow alongside each other for quite some distance, between the same banks. The town is located 450 miles interior from the Atlantic Ocean and its economy is based on agriculture, cattle and mining. Santarem is a busy port for the trade flowing up and down the Amazon between the Atlantic and the inland forests. Local markets are available to explore in the town.

 

First settled by Jesuits in 1661 and then one of the next big arrivals consisted of a group of Confederate refugees. They came to Santarém after the American Civil War in the hope of creating a new slaving state. Santarem quickly became a focus of American interest during the rubber boom of the early twentieth century. In the 1920s, during the rubber boom, Henry Ford spent $80 million to establish "Fordlandia" as an enormous rubber plantation for the production of automobile tires. The project ended in disaster when many of his workers died from malaria and Ford realized that there were too many obstacles to overcome. Today, it is the third largest city on the Amazon after Manaus and Belém.

 

Good above comments and observations. On doing plated food pictures, it usually requires taking several pictures by available light and with a flash. Then it takes some effort on my MacBook Pro laptop to figure out what might work, fine-tune the images and "help" the picture to look better or decent. But, the biggest secret is to only show the "good one". Don't share those too light or too dark, nor blurred.

 

Great eye by Silver Spectre to notice Allen's socks in those various pictures posted. Many super experienced travelers have noted that yesterday's "Crossing of the Equator" ceremony was the best version of that in which they had observed.

 

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 170,445 views.

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

Edited February 1, 2015 by TLCOhio

[TLCOhio]

Our port arrival this morning has been delayed due to the middle of the night stoppage. The Captain explained it as "technical" issue. They wanted to make sure that everything was 100% before continuing forward. He says all is fine. Arrive in this port around 10:30 am, not the original 8 am as schedule.

 

Lots of Amazon River pictures below. More to come later and as we progress along what is called the "World's Greatest River".

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed 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 96,438 views for this posting.

 

 

Here are some varied sights from our sailing inward along the Amazon River yesterday. This includes a period when the brown waters got very choppy and super dramatic. Also, some interesting "rainbow action"!! The last picture has me (via a shadow) on the right part of the image as I used a wide-angle lens to show the ship in the context of the river, sky, rainbow, etc.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

More ship photo highlights and fun.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

From last night's music program in the theater, here are two of the singers. She is from Paraguay and he is from Italy. They are married. She did a unique dance number with a Champagne bottle on her head to music from her native land.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a view from the back of ship as passengers observe the coastal, wooded sights along the Amazon River.:

 

 

 

Below is the morning sunrise from the back of the Panorama Lounge area.:

 

[TLCOhio]

The music program was early evening last night before dinner. Then to the Italian place. Did we like it? See more below, including the dessert of "Delizia al Limone". Lots of very good lemon flavors and textures. Fun night!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 2011 cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. We are now at 193,522 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

For dinner, we did the Italian speciality location again. The first night we tried there was good, but not great. Maybe we picked the wrong items. BUT, last night was super. We did the "family style" mix of three courses that included an excellent pork item with beans. Round two was some super risotto. And, the wines were excellent. The white wine was from near Venice. The red from the southern part of Italy. Very enjoyable experience that worked well. Met and talked with a nice couple from England near Manchester who have a summer home in southern France.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we dropped by the Panorama Lounge for "Name that Tune". The Cruise Director and the piano player there are both excellent and made this a fun activity. People really get into these things and take it very seriously.:

 

[TLCOhio]

It's early morning on the Amazon River as we sailed west-bound on our way to Manaus. Today's stop is Boca de Valeria at the entrance to the Valeria Channel (boca meaning mouth). This channel leads to Lake Valeria, which marks the border between the States of Amazonas and Pará. While the ship is at anchor in this "village-type" setting, a colorful picture is expected to unfold as canoes with the local population come out to meet the ship.

 

Yesterday? What a day!! Great experiences in Santarem where the dark gray River Tapajos joins the brown Amazon Amazon. It is called the "Meeting of the Waters" and it is amazing to see how long these two types of waters stay distinct.

 

BUT, the super great highlight was meeting up with Amazon guide Gil Serique, a real local who knows the region and has a super love for life, sharing, etc. We wanted to see more of the countryside and a national forest area south of the town, but given the distances and shortened time period here, we focused on the natural and very back-water regions. You will see the "photo proof" during the next few posts. Did we like our day with Gil? YES!!!

 

SUPER-BOWL?: Did we get to see this big game between New England and Seattle live on the ship? No! Don't know if Silversea was too cheap or the NFL was charging too much for live telecast rights. BUT, I had my trusty iPhone during dinner and the evening show to get live scoring updates and share those details with friends from the Philadelphia area. Lots of excitement! No scoring in the first quarter. Tied 14-14 at half-time. Then, Seattle goes ahead 24-14 in the fourth quarter. We got back to our room and through the web and NFL.com, we were able to get live streaming via the ship’s Internet connection. Wow! Great thriller! Especially with the wild finish in the last three minutes of the game. Today, the game will be shown on the ship. BUT, our sampling was both live AND FUN, especially while sailing along the world's greatest river. Wonderful way to finish the day and evening.

 

This live/blog is now over 3,600 views and I appreciate those who have dropped, posted comments, questions, etc. DON'T BE SHY!! Let me know any info needs, suggestions, ideas!

 

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 170,597 views.

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

 

 

These first few visuals give you a sample of the "Meeting of the Waters" that we observed here yesterday. Plus, samples for how this amazing river is their "Interstate highway" for transporting various goods, supplies, etc.. And, how people can get around, stay connected. You can initially see the view as our ship was docking, what was nearby, including a large Cargill soy bean processing and loading operation. These various samples of the "river action" were amazingly fun and exciting. Much more to come!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a Sunday and most stores, etc., were closed in the town. We went by their large Catholic church with its distinctive blue towers and saw people having their services at that late morning time. Our first stop was the water-side market area. Lots of fish and other colorful samples for local life here. You can see a few samples below, including the famed local piranha fish that had been stuffed for tourist sales. Still had their threatening teeth.:

 

 

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

For this day visit and adventure, I ended up shooting 384 pictures. Busy day!!! So much a fun challenge to narrow down for only the best of the best in posting just 30 different pictures here to give a reasonable sampling of what we experienced. Hope you enjoy this sharing.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 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 96,554 views for this posting.

 

 

As we approached the local fish market, here are some of the two-level boats commonly used on the Amazon River for transpiration, tourism tours, etc. :

 

 

 

From the fish market area, we got great view of the “action show” featuring the pink dolphins that are famous in this region. Very cute and active!!:

 

 

 

Now it is time to go to our boat and head into the back-water Amazon regions in search of nature, wildlife, unique scenery, etc. Our boat was fairly small, but with a powerful engine and covered to shade us from the harsh sun. Gil was on the look-out for birds, unique views and nature action. Our driver got us through very shallow and challenging areas. We also saw a number of housing structures, etc. Like the iguana shown on the tree branch below? My Nikon D7100 did well, helped by using a 55-300mm Nikkor lense.: