Rare Btimmer Posted December 3, 2023 Author #251 Share Posted December 3, 2023 Today in our short stop at Parintins, Angela and I walked out to the Boi Bumba Drome and viewed the old floats stored nearby and then made it back in time to see the Festival show which was quite good once again. Rain was in the forecast, and a monsoon hit as the shoreside tender was unloading at the ship. Below are some pictures from today. 11 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riversedge Posted December 3, 2023 #252 Share Posted December 3, 2023 Great pictures. Love following along. I’m curious how this Grand compares to a regular Antarctica voyage that HAL runs from Santiago to Buenos Aries. We were on the 2020 Grand SA/Antarctica voyage and it was amazing day after day with decorations, gifts, special speakers, cocktail parties, dinner with officers, etc. But that was before Covid. We are afraid we might be disappointed with onboard experiences if we were to do it again on a non-Grand voyage. I know Antarctica is a special experience at any time but I need to convince my husband. And maybe the Grand experience has not gotten back to pre-covid offerings. Thanks for your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 3, 2023 Author #253 Share Posted December 3, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Riversedge said: Great pictures. Love following along. I’m curious how this Grand compares to a regular Antarctica voyage that HAL runs from Santiago to Buenos Aries. We were on the 2020 Grand SA/Antarctica voyage and it was amazing day after day with decorations, gifts, special speakers, cocktail parties, dinner with officers, etc. But that was before Covid. We are afraid we might be disappointed with onboard experiences if we were to do it again on a non-Grand voyage. I know Antarctica is a special experience at any time but I need to convince my husband. And maybe the Grand experience has not gotten back to pre-covid offerings. Thanks for your thoughts. We did the regular Antarctica voyage 7 years ago and this Grand is many notches above it with a few different ports, upgraded menus, special events, speakers, and entertainment. I'll let you know about the current "regular" Antarctica voyage in a month when we board the Oosterdam in Chile and repeat the voyage to Buenos Aires. Edited December 3, 2023 by Btimmer 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 4, 2023 Author #254 Share Posted December 4, 2023 Yes, ships get stuck on sandbars in the Amazon. We just passed by this empty cargo ship. 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 5, 2023 Author #255 Share Posted December 5, 2023 Today in Manaus we did a terrific Swim with the Dolphins, Indigenous Village visit, Lunch on a floating Restaurant, fishing for pirarucu, and visiting the meeting of the brown Amazon and the black Rio Negro. And I'm batting two for two in the boat problem department. Our Zaandam #1 boat' propellor struck some rocks and we lost driving power. It took a bit for the captain and his first mate to get it fixed. On our last Amazon River excursion 4 years ago, we ran out of gas in the dark. I wonder why nobody wants to do excursions with me? The salad part of the lunch buffet It's not a good sign when the tools are spread on the deck. 8 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 6, 2023 Author #256 Share Posted December 6, 2023 Tonight was the Orange Party. Lots of Orange was on display. The bridge over the Rio Negros was brilliantly on display. 9 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenliner Posted December 6, 2023 #257 Share Posted December 6, 2023 (edited) Thanks for putting smiles on our faces! Nice picture of the bridge on the Rio Negros! Edited December 6, 2023 by Lenliner Keyboarding Error! >_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 0106 Posted December 7, 2023 #258 Share Posted December 7, 2023 I appreciate this live thread. I have also been following your blog in preparation for my cruise departing January 29. Last night we received an itinerary change; Punta del Estes has been dropped, Castro Isla Chiloe has been added. In addition to rescheduling 5 private tours, I am now looking for a private tour company for Castro. Who did you use? TYIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarchbb Posted December 7, 2023 #259 Share Posted December 7, 2023 9 minutes ago, 0106 said: I appreciate this live thread. I have also been following your blog in preparation for my cruise departing January 29. Last night we received an itinerary change; Punta del Estes has been dropped, Castro Isla Chiloe has been added. In addition to rescheduling 5 private tours, I am now looking for a private tour company for Castro. Who did you use? TYIA https://turismopangue.cl/ Coastal Towns Tour @0106, this was the tour company used for Castro. I hope @Btimmer or @xjust4fun will let you know their personal opinion as although I organized the tour with this company, I had to cancel the cruise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 7, 2023 Author #260 Share Posted December 7, 2023 2 hours ago, monarchbb said: https://turismopangue.cl/ Coastal Towns Tour @0106, this was the tour company used for Castro. I hope @Btimmer or @xjust4fun will let you know their personal opinion as although I organized the tour with this company, I had to cancel the cruise. Look up my blog post for Castro. We did the Coastal Towns tour and it was wonderful! Terrific bird watching. https://timmer2023gsa.blogspot.com 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 10, 2023 Author #261 Share Posted December 10, 2023 (edited) Today we visited Devil's Island (think Pappion) which is a former French Penal Colony. Today, however, we focussed on flora and fauna sightings. Here are a few pictures including some non flora and fauna. Agouti (large rodent) Edited December 10, 2023 by Btimmer 8 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 14, 2023 Author #262 Share Posted December 14, 2023 It's been a busy few days with 3 ports in a row and two more to go. All is found I. My blog at https://timmer2023gsa.blogspot.com. Below are a few pictures from today. We took the shuttle to town and walked to the botanical garden and then hiked up the mountain to the two viewpoints. Unfortunately our onboard time was 1:30pm. 7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 16, 2023 Author #263 Share Posted December 16, 2023 A happy crew ready to serve cheese at the sailaway party from San Juan, Puerto Rico which is our last port before FLL. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 19, 2023 Author #264 Share Posted December 19, 2023 we've arrived in Fort Lauderdale along with the Celebrity Equinox. Angela's brand new commemorative duffel was totally destroyed between the ship and our pick up point. Totally destroyed! We're off on a land sea tour before flying home this evening. 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted December 20, 2023 #265 Share Posted December 20, 2023 16 hours ago, Btimmer said: Totally destroyed! I sure hope you didn't lose anything from the bag! I can't imagine what had to be done to it to rip it to shreds like that!! Anyway, welcome back and now you can start preparing for the redo portion!! I just love your posts and blog. Thank you! ~Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 20, 2023 Author #266 Share Posted December 20, 2023 9 minutes ago, oakridger said: I sure hope you didn't lose anything from the bag! I can't imagine what had to be done to it to rip it to shreds like that!! Anyway, welcome back and now you can start preparing for the redo portion!! I just love your posts and blog. Thank you! ~Nancy I'm guessing a forklift gouged it. Thanks for following along. We're headed back in a couple of weeks to repeat the Antarctica portion. I'll do another blog and Almost Live thread. 4 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riversedge Posted December 20, 2023 #267 Share Posted December 20, 2023 13 hours ago, Btimmer said: I'm guessing a forklift gouged it. Thanks for following along. We're headed back in a couple of weeks to repeat the Antarctica portion. I'll do another blog and Almost Live thread. Thanks you for doing this. I’m looking forward to hearing how your experience compares to the Grand you just finished. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WriterOnDeck Posted December 21, 2023 #268 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Sorry to hear about the duffel damage! Mine came through fine, but I did have it full to hold its shape. I do find that helps with soft duffels. Earlier this year Luggage Forward ruined the wheels on one of my good bags. I sent it to my sister's house at the end of the world cruise, but I returned two months later to discover it. It's a bummer! Have fun on the repeat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 21, 2023 Author #269 Share Posted December 21, 2023 2 hours ago, WriterOnDeck said: Sorry to hear about the duffel damage! Mine came through fine, but I did have it full to hold its shape. I do find that helps with soft duffels. Earlier this year Luggage Forward ruined the wheels on one of my good bags. I sent it to my sister's house at the end of the world cruise, but I returned two months later to discover it. It's a bummer! Have fun on the repeat! Last year on our Boston RT Iceland voyage, HAL destroyed a wheel on Angela's luggage on the return leg. it's a whirlwind of activity to depart in two weeks. Have a Merry Christmas. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosaic Posted December 21, 2023 #270 Share Posted December 21, 2023 If I may ask a couple quick questions. 1. How was the internet while in the Amazon area? 2. Do mosquitos show up on outside decks in the Amazon? We will be on the Zaandam in the Amazon in two months! Thanks for all your posts...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Btimmer Posted December 21, 2023 Author #271 Share Posted December 21, 2023 52 minutes ago, Mosaic said: If I may ask a couple quick questions. 1. How was the internet while in the Amazon area? 2. Do mosquitos show up on outside decks in the Amazon? We will be on the Zaandam in the Amazon in two months! Thanks for all your posts...... The internet was rock solid virtually everywhere. On board the ship, the WiFi quality can vary. Our WiFi in cabin 1818 was quite good. Mosquitoes were a non issue. I did have bug spray and used it a few times. Also we weee never asked for yellow fever vaccination information at any time. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted December 22, 2023 #272 Share Posted December 22, 2023 Welcome home! Thanks for sharing the great adventure! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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