Just a little river in Brazil

Further into the Amazon, we began to see why it’s the largest river basin in the world. It is so large you can be on one side of the river and the other side of the river is past the horizon. It is a murky brown colour, except in spots where two of the rivers meet and then you see a clear definition of blue to brown. It is as hot and sweaty as everyone claims it to be. Every night on deck, you can go on a nature walk. Very large and weird-looking bugs end up all over the decks and the deck hands have to hose it off every few hours to rid us of the crunchy critters. Each night there would be a different type of bug or giant moth. It was quite a sight. My least favorite were the cockroach-like ones with pincers. Don’t know what they pince, but I didn’t stay around long enough to find out.

I went for a walk around Santarem, but it was such a hot day and you’d be burnt in minutes. Boca da Valeria was very different. In my opinion, it’s a spot set up for tourists, but there are 15 families that actually live there. It’s a tiny village alongside the river and would be the typical thing you might picture an amazon village to be like. The houses are on stilts for when the water is higher during the wet season and the “dock” (or what passed for a dock) looked like it might collapse at any moment. The ship donated a large globe to the schoolhouse, in return for some “look how giving our company is and how we contribute” pictures with Amazonian children. I, as the Hostess must be included in this sort of thing. So, here are a couple photos with the kids and the school. The kids (as much as I don’t like them usually) are pretty cute and I wouldn’t mind keeping one or two. Of course they would stay in a soundproof room and someone else would have to look after them.

I got to see a Toucan up close; it was their town pet. The toucan did keep me fairly happy though, because it had been weeks since I’ve seen penguins! On our way back, we took the last tender and as we pulled away from the Boca da Valeria’s Maritime Terminal, we lost the Starboard engine in the tender and it sent us spiraling out of control. The tender smashed into the dock, crushing their tiny tire-and-plank floating facility. The children and a couple of drunks from the town seemed to think it was all quite hilarious. We finally stopped spinning and an engineer fixed the engine. Nothing was fixed or offered as far as the dock went though, so I wonder how hilarious that really was in the end.

Quarantine yourself

Well, I missed Salvador because I was in quarantine in my 5 by 6 foot room. Apparently Salvador was great! It was the last day of Carnival and the town was hopping. I don’t think I really had GIS (I think now it must have been some not well-cooked chicken I’d eaten the evening before) from what people tell me of GIS, you think you’re dying. Anyhow, so I was quarantined for 24 hours. It was the most rest I’ve had and will have for the next few months. The next two ports, Fortaleza and Belem were not meant to be either. I ended up getting roped into going to lunch with my boss in a hotel in Fortaleza. In Belem, the gateway from the Ocean to the Amazon, there was yet another medical debark and so I spent my day with the two guests who had to leave. I did ride the tender into Belem with them to have them meet the Port Agent, so I got to have a quick look and then get right back on the tender. It might have been a fun place but I guess I will have to find out for myself another time.

Sometimes we have to celebrate

We will be in port with the Amsterdam in Dubrovnik, Croatia and as the Prinsendam and the Amsterdam are the two most popular ships in the fleet, we’re having a big party on the Amsterdam. If there’s an excuse to throw a party, there will be one the very next day. We had an Ice Party on our way to Antarctica, we had a Carnival themed party during Carnival on our way up the coast of Brazil. We had a Ms. Prinsendam (aka. Men dressing up as women) competition where one “woman” was crowned Ms. Prinsendam and many of my male friends shaved their legs and wore heels and wigs in 95 degree temperatures. I was on the judging panel and got quite a show. If it is someone’s birthday, or if they are leaving, there is always a celebration involving many drinks and perhaps, some darts.

Rio at Carnival, take 2

Since the itinerary has been changed, our ship is in Rio for Carnival 2007. Let’s compare and contrast with the Carnival of 2006.

2006: 8 drunken boys ogling girls on the beach and eating fried cheese.
2007: Dozens of beer-drinking crew members ogling girls on the beach, eating Pao de Queijo.
2006: Sunshine, uncomfortably warm temperatures and mostly naked people on the beach. Also, Jason in a speedo.
2007: Same. Everyone else in a speedo.
2006: Getting mugged on Copacabana beach.
2007: Not yet! Bring it on punks!
2006: Consistent later and later nights full of merriment and street parties.
2007: One very late night full of merry-making and then up 1.5 hours later to work!
2006: Didn’t get to Sugarloaf because of time constraints.
2007: Didn’t get to Sugarloaf because of time constraints. However, we did sail right past it this time!

Steak lovers paradise

I had lunch in Montevideo. Steak is their “big deal” in Argentina and Uruguay. I had chicken.

Buenos Aires, muchas tardes!

I say that because we are four days late to pick up our guests who are embarking and late to disembark the guests that were supposed to get off on the 9th of February. Buenos Aires, from what I can tell is a great city. The guests who spent the four days there should be happy and the guests who got to stay an extra four days on board our ship are also lucky. When we arrived and I picked up the guests in the terminal, you wouldn’t think so. I was immediately shouted at by an irate man, and in my usual calm way just stared at him until he would stop. Instead, another passenger defended me which ended in a screaming match and came close to a fist fight.

The day previous, was a very busy one. I was volunteered for a Panoramic Buenos Aires bus tour. This is one which doesn’t stop and is for the guests who have little or no mobility. I think, perhaps it’s also in the Shore Excursions’ form as only suitable for the crabbiest guests on our ship. Oh well, they paid $100 dollars and I slept through half of it for free! One of the shoppies*, Carolina was at the end of her contract and is from Buenos Aires, so after she disembarked a few of us went to her house for Empanadas, Argentinian wine and a beautiful setting. We enjoyed a great afternoon in broken Spanish and English with Carolina’s family and friends.

That evening I was volunteered for a much better tour, one that made up completely for the morning one. We went to El Viejo Almacen for the most beautiful tango show. The performers included: professional tango dancers, two full Argentine tango bands and a folkloric band (pan-flute and all). Free drinks topped off the tour and perhaps made the two OTHER disabled guests hitting each other in the line-up before the show fade away from memory. For those friends who know how I feel about children, know that I do indeed work with them all day long. I think that it’s a little more ridiculous to tell a grown man to stop smacking the lady in front of him and her to stop shouting and budging.

I came back from the tango show around 10:00pm and headed out with the crew for a night on the town. After starting the evening in yet another Irish pub, we ended in the Ricoleta area and danced the night away. Many of the crew members who never get to work with one another, or even see each other, finally had a chance to mingle. All in all, I think I could live in Argentina. It’s a gorgeous city: European architecture, a tonne of green space, clean and diverse.

The Falkland Islands

(Or, if you ask an Argentinian; Islas Malvinas)

Rocks and brush, penguins, wind, hail, rusted military paraphernalia, bad English pub curry, and ugly houses. Guess which was the highlight?

We just keep coming back to the end of the world

We spent another day on rocky seas before docking in Ushuaia for the night. This brings us to the subject of overnights. Overnights are like sunshine and lollipops with penguins sliding down rivers of chocolate while singing. Ok, well they’re pretty great for the most part. After quite the last few days, the crew really needed to have some extra time on land, so having an overnight was just the ticket. We had a nice dinner and evening out at Che Guevara’s restaurante. I was tuckered out so after a drink at the Irish Pub, (for some reason the crew do not seem to branch out as much as they should) I went back to the ship for some much needed z’s. I missed the spectacle of one of the Romanian Casino guys getting drunk and deciding he wanted to swim at the end of the world. He didn’t make a wise choice to jump off the pier between the Carnival Infinity tender and ours, and was promptly fired and sent home.

The ship’s itinerary at this point had to be changed, and Antarctica was taken out. Then it was put back in. Then taken out along with St. Lucia and Grand Turk and our own island which everyone and there dog had already been to; Half Moon Caye was added. Then we lost our overnights in Rio de Janeiro and Manaus. Then the overnights were in again and Recife taken out! The guests thought we were lying to them when we said we didn’t know where we were going. So, the new 2007 Antarctica & South America Grand Voyage Revised, 3rd edition itinerary now looks like:

2/10 Stanley, Falkland Islands (U.K.) or Islas Malvinas (Argentina) depending on who you speak to
2/11 At Sea
2/12 Buenos Aires, Argentina (Overnight
2/13 Buenos Aires, Argentina
2/14 Montevideo, Uruguay
2/15 At Sea
2/16 At Sea
2/17 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Overnight)
2/18 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2/19 At Sea
2/20 Salvador, Brazil
2/21 At Sea
2/22 At Sea
2/23 Fortaleza, Brazil
2/24 At Sea
2/25 Belem, Brazil
2/26 Scenic Cruising the Amazon River & Crossing the Equator
2/27 Santarem, Brazil
2/28 Boca da Valeria, Brazil
3/1 Manaus, Brazil (Overnight)
3/2 Manaus, Brazil
3/3 Parintins, Brazil
3/4 Cruising the Amazon River & Crossing the Equator
3/5 At Sea
3/6 Devil’s Island, French Guiana
3/7 At Sea
3/8 Castries, Saint Lucia
3/9 At Sea
3/10 Grand Turk
3/11 At Sea
3/12 Ft. Lauderdale

Cape Horn Conquers the Prinsendam (we got rocked)

After the initial er, excitement?, Stephen was taken to the infirmary and told it was likely his knee was shattered. I had to collect myself and get back to work as we still had a Cooking Demonstration to do. Everything on the ship had been cancelled in terms of events: the shops were closed due to every bottle of liquor falling off the shelves and smashing all over the store, shelving units completely turned over etc., and yet the room with hot pans and oven tops that can burn you was to stay open? These people don’t mess around when it comes to food. We know the guests won’t miss a meal, or a chance to sample something cooked in front of them. Our guest Chef, Dean Corbett was quite seasick and I hoped just the psychological reasons for giving him a dose of sea-calm would be enough to get him through the demo. I hoped it wouldn’t kick in until afterward, thus making him sleepy. Other than everything on the ship sliding back and forth and a few broken dishes – no-one was harmed during the demo and people even showed up! Dean retired to his cabin (as had most sea-sick pax) and Peter, Mike, Lisa, Dave and Chris went up to the Lido for lunch. The lido, on most ships is at the top of the ship, deck 11 for our ship and so that means you feel the motion of the ocean a little more than if you happened to be on deck 4 or 5 amidships.
We were really being thrown around and our trays and drinks were sliding from one side of our large table to the other, I kept sliding away from our table and back. It was sort of fun. I was looking outside at the massive waves when I realized that a wave was about eye-level to us on deck 11. We were pushed one way, our trays and chairs suddenly sliding as well as all the guests and food preparations on the counters. Then, violently we were rocked the other way. Mike, Chris and I were thrown backward off our chairs and slid all the way through the doors of the lido, through the elevator bank and to the other side. Meanwhile, people and chairs were falling (we had listed so badly, there was no gravity but to hold onto a railing) rapid-fire from the lido and we had to find a safe spot to dodge them. Given the average age of the passengers of the ship (70) we knew we were in trouble. Sander, the dining room manager was shouting at everyone to sit down and hold on. Stupid people trying to make it back to their partners/friends did not listen and therefore slipped easily and further injured themselves. There was broken glass, porcelain, food, chairs and various people strewn about. Medical Triage was setup where the four-piece strings orchestra usually plays, and the crew began a long day of reclaiming the ship. However, because of the many injuries – further medical care was needed for many passengers and crew members. The captain made the decision to turn the ship around, (back through the storm) and return to Ushuaia.

The worst day since the power outtage on the Ryndam

It is well known that the water where the Pacific and Atlantic meet at the tip of South America is a rough patch of the great seas on a good day. That being said, the 2007 Grand South America and Antarctica Voyage on the ms Prinsendam did not meet Cape Horn on a good day. We were told during the evening, after leaving the end of the world (Tierra del Fuego or Ushuaia as it were) that we would have rough seas just before reaching Cape Horn, beginning around 5:00am. There were rumours of a possible 30 foot swell. I spent my time reassuring guests it would be fine and 30 foot swell is very normal. Cape Horn is just notorious for bad weather and waves.

That night (last night, really….it all seems so long ago now) the Steiners (Spa girls) put on an “Ice” party as Ushuaia is the last stop before 6 days in Antarctica. People dressed in white, silver, white and silver, and some in black for “Black Ice” strutted into the beautifully decorated Officers Bar. The girls had really done a great job decorating using silver foil to cover all the walls and surfaces and the engineers showed up as the Prinsendam Bobsled team in their jumpsuits. We all had a great time, and then realized we were to wake up at 6:00am for on-deck socializing around Cape Horn.

Team breakfast at our entertainment staff table took place and we commenced “socializing” indoors near windows as the guests were to chicken to go outside. It turned out they were right to be so. Lisa, Doug, Steve and I decided we’d like some good photos of the huge waves and swell crashing into the ship. We went out on the Deck 7 Promenade (walk-around) and immediately were almost taken down by the high wind. After a few cold and wet moments outside, we thought we’d head back in, but much to the chagrin of the doors, we were not to come inside. The next option was to walk around the bow and go in the door at the front of the ship. As we hurried along the deck (the weather had taken a turn for the worse) and made it to the front, the ship suddenly turned and listed. The list of the ship, combined with the wind direction changing threw us all to the deck and suddenly I was sliding full speed ahead down the deck toward the railing on the other side. Lisa managed to catch a handrail as well as Doug. Stephen was not so lucky however. He had already made his way to the stairs by the time the turn occurred. He was knocked onto the stairs and had smashed his knee into the railing. I couldn’t let go of the railing as we were all about to be blown off the deck, so I let the wind push me toward him and after a close look at his knee, we realized this was very serious. Steve went into shock and the others went for help (they had to form a human chain to get from one side to the door) as I bundled him in clothes because he was freezing and his body had completely gone into shock by now. 20 minutes later we had to dragged him indoors so we could safely put him into a stretcher because it was so dangerous on deck that it blew Silver the doctor over.

Long story, but it is still very vivid in my mind. Steve is the lead male singer in the Prinsendam Cast. All HAL ships have a production cast of 7-11 people (depending on the size of the ship) who all dance and usually there are 2 male and 2 female singers. The lead male and female are the M1 and F1, the second are M2 and F2. The Prinsendam is special as they all sing (6 out of 7 people) except one. They put on Broadway/Las Vegas style musicals with dance numbers. This means that with Steven’s broken knee, it may have a huge effect on his career. This was only 7:45am and the day got much worse.

(To be continued…)