South America/Amazon/Antarctica Jan 2011

This is the trip we took this year but in the reverse order and we didn't hit the Caribbean islands listed but did hit Barbados.  The cruise was a 66 day cruise around South America with Holland America cruise lines.  We departed Ft. Lauderdale Jan 5, 2011 and returned through the Panama Canal on March 12.

The Amazan was amazing to see how people travel several days up and down the river in boats where they hang up hammocks to sleep in overnight. 

We stopped in Boca da Valeria which proved to be much fun.  When we landed on the shore from the tender, June and I were besieged by 4 young girls age 9-11 who insisted on holding our hands as we walked through their village.  We saw where three of them lived and have pictures of the stilted houses without windows or doors.  


 We had one of the brothers run us up another little river to another village where one of the girls lived.  Since most of the people on the cruise were well over 60, the girls enjoyed having June run and skip with them.  On our way back to the canoe, June and the girls were crossing a bridge when a beautiful Macaw flew in and landed on the railing right next to them which startled everyone.

We enjoyed the amount of time we spent in Brazil.  I especially appreciated the beaches and shows we were able to go and see. 

Going into Antarctica was also exciting as we were able to see many penguins like below and the icebergs which where larger than 4 square blocks.

We did do a river rafting trip in Puerto Mott, Chile that was a blast.  So looking forward to the Grand Canyon rafting coming up. 

Didn't participate in the crossing the equater ceremony since we both did that on our World Cruise in 2009, and you can see from the picture why.

We also took canoes to a Panamanian village where the natives put on a performance as well as fed us fried fish and planton which we both liked. 

Any additional information on the trip can be found below.  It shows the iternerary in reverse to what we did and the shore excursions can be looked up on Holland America website for additional details.

Excursions taken on the cruise

Jan 05, 2011		Parati, Brazil	Paraty by 4x4: Cachaca & Gold Trail	Review
Jan 05, 2011	Grand Voyages	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Tango: A Night of Passion & Desire	Review
Jan 05, 2011	Grand Voyages	Salvador da Bahia, Brazil	Salvador: A City of Contrasts	Review
Jan 05, 2011	Grand Voyages	Fortaleza, Brazil	Cumbuco Beach & Buggy Ride	Review
Jan 05, 2011	Grand Voyages	Manaus, Brazil	Cruise thru the Amazon Rain Forest day2	Review
Jan 05, 2011	Grand Voyages	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Conoisseur Lead to Argentine Wines	Review
Jan 05, 2011	Caribbean	Bridgetown, Barbados	Green Monkey Eco-Tour	Review
Jan 05, 2011	Grand Voyages	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Christ Redeemer & Extravaganza - day 1	Review
Jan 05, 2011	Grand Voyages	Parintins, Brazil	The Boi Bumba Festival Show	Review
Jan 05, 2011	Grand Voyages	Montevideo, Uruguay	A Taste of Montevideo	Review
Jan 05, 2011	Grand Voyages	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	A Night Out in Rio - day 1	Review
Jan 05, 2011	South America	Alter Do Chao, Brazil	Eco Walk through Santa Lucia Arbore	Review
Jan 05, 2011	Grand Voyages	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Buenos Aires Bike Experience - day