Caribbean Islands

The Viking Sea stopped at Barbados, St Lucia and Antigua before ending our cruise at Old San Juan Port in Puerto Rico.  

We loved St Lucia, which is still part of the British Commonwealth.  We embarked on a coastal cruise to the Pitons and later took a land tour along winding roads with breathtaking views.  I had always wanted to visit this island after a co-worker recommended it as his favorite place in the world, and it certainly lived up to expectations!

Sunrise Arrival in St Lucia

Pitons

The one-day land and sea tour of Antigua was fantastic.  We also got some snorkeling in!  

English Harbor, Antigua

Nelson's Dockyard

Puerto Rico Countryside

On the last day of our cruise, I toured Old San Juan, while Richard revisited his younger years with horseback riding through the scenic countryside.  We love Viking cruises and look forward to the next one!

Richard enjoyed riding Bruno, a great little horse!

Salvation Islands

 March 21 -  Iles du Salut 

For my birthday, our ship anchored in a French area called Iles du Salut, French Guiana.  While it looks gorgeous, it has a dark history.  In 1852 it became a penal colony for notorious criminals.  Today, there are remains of the prison, guillotine, hospital, church, and other buildings.  We took an interesting small hike to burn off the calories of the yummy Viking food.  We saw monkeys along the way and beautiful palms trees and flowers in bloom.  We were glad we took the first boat out because the heat and humidity were intense. Check out the map of the island below and the pretty church.

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Royal Island

Devils Island

Devils Island

Alfred Dreyfus

Leaving Iles de Salut

Down the Amazon on Viking Sea

March 16 - Viking Sea departed Manaus in the late afternoon headed down he Amazon for Parintins, a small city on an island in the Amazon. We anchored off  the next morning and used the tender to go ashore. No roads lead to the island; the only way in or out is by boat or plane. 

Nevertheless, tens of thousands of visitors flock to the island to attend the Parintins Folk Festival, held annually in June.  It is called BUMBA.  We were treated to a highly energetic mini version of the festival.  It was St. Patrick's Day and we posed in our green shirts.

After the show, we walked a few blocks up to the church only to find it locked. 

March 18 - Santarem 

Santarem

Soybeans

Santarem lies at the confluence of the muddy Amazon and the black water of the Rio Tapajos. Richard elected a hike in the rain forest and Joanne decided to go Piranha fishing. Her fellow boat passengers caught small piranha (see its teeth in the picture below), some large catfish and crabs. Following her fishing expedition, she was able to enjoy the free tour of the city and ecological park.

We toured an ecological area and sampled many native fruits and Brazil nuts. 

We were able to tour this historic Catholic church.

Only Bird I Saw - From the Bus Window

Soy Fields Replace the Rain Forest

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Rubber Tree (Left)  and Brazil Nuts (Right)

Dense Forest Line the Amazon Mile after Mile

Cooking Class on the Viking Sea

Not Far from the Mouth of the Amazon

First Bird We Have Seen on the River

Amazon - Manaus

March 14,  Manaus , Brazil - The port teems with activity as we slowly pass warehouses full of produce and men laboring to load and unload trucks on the bumper to bumper road along the Rio Negro. Trans-shipping  to and from river boats plying the Amazon and its tributaries makes for a very busy morning. We were surprised this city of 2 million is located 950 miles inland from the river delta, about in the middle of the Amazon.  We are traveling on the Viking "Sea."

We are here for an "Amazon Safari", a ride on the rivers with a dozen or so other  tourists.

River Boats, Port Manaus 

Flying from Fort Lauderdale via a long layover in Bogata, Columbia we arrived 3 AM in Manaus and checked into the Intercity Hotel for a few hours sleep before our tour. We booked our transfers and the tour from ED Transporte E Turismo for a very reasonable cost.  The service has a desk in the hotel lobby. 

Flight to Manaus

While ramps allow trucks to access many of the floating piers, goods move up and down the stairs to reach this one. We went down to board our tour boat. 

  

Stevedores carried all sorts of goods down the pier. Even a new mattress and box springs passed by as we waited for our Amazon Safari departure. 

Joanne at the Meeting of the Waters

The dark water of the Rio Negro joins the muddy Amazon but flows side by side for several miles before rivers' waters finally mix.  See the Google Earth photo below.

Meeting of the Waters

After hanging around the Meeting of the Waters for photo ops,  we continued on to our pink dolphin encounter just off the Rio Negro. Richard elected to "swim" with the  dolphins; Joanne declined.  The Amazon water temperature was 85 degrees, the same temp as the air!

Pink Dolphins

Between the Rivers

Following the 

Tour Boat, Fenders & Lunch

Into the Rain Forest - Parque Ecological Januari

Capuchin? Monkeys

These monkeys were intent on watching us walk by on the board walk. I suppose we were their entertainment for the afternoon.

Water Lilly - Vitoria Amazonia

 

The end of the board walk offered views of  water lilies that can grow to ten feet in diameter; we couldn't tell just how big these were from the board walk. We also saw the "Mother of Life", the Sumauma, tree (no photograph).  

  

Looking Back Towards the Rio Negro and Manaus

Indigenous People Entertain the Tourists 

No Roads Out Here

Back at the hotel we had dinner and then breakfast with a swarm of fellow Viking passengers newly arrived and waiting to board the Viking Sea.  

After settling in on the Viking Sea the next day, we boarded a river boat that took us back across the Rio Negro in the evening where we boarded small boats to search for Caimans at night.  We were instructed to look for their red eyes when the flashlight shines on them.

Expecting disease-carrying mosquitoes, we were vaccinated for yellow fever, swallowed a daily dose of malaria pills, applied high strength repellent and brought along our fly nets.  We saw not even one mosquito during the entire trip!

We poked our nose in the reeds along the shore searching with flash lights for little Caimans. After about 1/2 hour we finally found one. This is a baby who won't grow to man eating size. The very dangerous black caiman however grows to seven - fourteen feet in length. 

March 16,  Manaus Tour - We boarded a bus for the "Viking Included" tour of Manaus.

The Teatro Amazonas, completed in 1896 lies alongside the Sao Sebastiao Square. The wavy paving represents the meeting of the waters. The  Monument to the Opening of the Ports stands in the center of square.