Gene and Jan's Long Trip Too

The local Cariocas call Rio de Janeiro their Cidade Maravilhosa  (Mareolous City) and it is easy to understand why: the beaches, lively music, stately colonial architecture rubbing shoulders with gleaming skyscrapers and much more! Unfortunately we only had 24 hours to enjoy it. During our late afternoon sail in, the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain welcomed us as we entered the harbor.  The high humidity limited visibility, but straining our eyes we could make out the "Christ the Redeemer" statue on the distant peak to the right of Sugarloaf. Thursday morning we headed for Sugarloaf and the cable car that would take us to the summit 1,300 feet above sea level.  The sky was threatening rain, but we are travelers (not tourists) and can handle a little adversity. The trip to the summit requires riding on two cable cars: the first one travels from ground level to the peak of Urca Hill about half way up; the second one completes the journey. On Urca Hill p...

After 6 days at sea, the passengers and crew were ecstatic to be on land!  It was hot, but no one was complaining as we began our day in Salvador de Bahia.  Founded by the Portuguese in 1549 as Brazil's first capital, it is the country´s 3rd largest city with a population of over 3 million.   Note: My laptop computer died and I am now using a Brazilian model Chromebook to publish this blog.  The keyboard has a lot of strange symbols and I am without my photo editing software, but the blog will continue.   A sharp escarpment separates the lower and upper city.  Linking the two is the 279-foot-high Lacerda elevator originally built in the 1873.  Below is the beautiful All Saints Bay. On the upper part of old town we visited the square in front of the historic governor's residence  where slaves and prisoners were punished in full view of the approving governor.    Salvador was one of the first slave ports  ...

During our second day in Manaus we chose to enjoy the remoteness of the region rather than visit the hustle and bustle of this city of 2 million people.  Only accessible by boat or air, the region is so isolated, the unique culture of the native Brazilian tribes has been largely preserved. We boarded small boats and headed for the remote backwaters of the river.  This being the dry season, the lush green shoreline will soon be under 20 feet of water when the rainy season arrives in December. We passed a village consisting of about 2-dozen homes.  During the rainy season their floors are just inches above the water line.  Most are fishermen and take their daily catch to the fish market in Manaus.  Many also hunt to provide meat for their family.  Children attend school  using "school boats" for transportation to the city. Nearby, three men loaded their boat with watermelons to sell at the city's farmers market.  Their 2-hour trip ...

Located 1,000 miles upriver from the Atlantic, Manaus with a population of more than 2 million, is the most populous city in the Amazon basin.  The city's growth resulted from its natural rubber production between 1900 and 1940.  During that era all rubber was produced from the sap of "rubber" trees native to the region.  Today, rubber is synthetically made from petroleum.  As we approached Manaus, the Rio Negro bridge came into view.  More than 2-miles long, it is the only bridge between here and the Atlantic Ocean 1,000 miles to the east.  Manaus is located on the Rio Negro just upriver from the point where it joins the Amazon.  Completed in 2011, the bridge connects Manaus to the small town of Iranduba (pop. 42,000).  With no connecting roads to either of  the two cities, it is either a political boondoggle or will open up the Amazon basin to rapid growth further endangering the rainforest. During the afternoon, Gene joined a t...

Nearly 700 miles up the Amazon River, we arrived at Perintins, a town of 80,000 residents.  Without industry or agriculture, it serves as a waypoint for people as they journey up and down the river.  Located on Tupinambarana, once a single island but currently split into four by the natural forces of the Amazon, this sleepy town is best known for its Boi Bumbá festival.  Perintins is not a deep water port, so the Viking Sun anchored in the center of the river and we tendered ashore.  This is the end of their dry season and the river is 9 feet lower than it will be in a few months.  The rainforest typically receives 10 feet of rain annually.   I t was Saturday morning and the local people were out in force to greet the arriving gringos.  The English spoken here was quite limited, probably due to fewer American tourists visiting here than along the coast. Even at 10 AM, it was a sweltering day outside. Luckily our tour was to view a s...