Pole to Pole with Silversea - Buenos Aires to Manaus - Part 1

3/22

Today begins leg 3 of 8.  This leg is 23 days.  We have about double the people we had on the last leg.  We have a huge expedition staff and most are new.  I was so sad to see the others leave, but I think this group is going to be fantastic!  

 

Today was spent in Buenos Aires.  I did a tour called Tunnel and Tango Lesson.  We started in the La Boca neighborhood.  First we passed a "football" stadium that holds 55,000 fans.  The La Boca area is very colorful.  Avril and I found a couple collecting money to help the stray dogs.  (well we hope they were) We met Gringo!  Love his pants!  The other couple is Yvonne and Mark.  Avril, Yvonne and Mark all go off the ship today.

We went to Zanjon de Granados museum.  In 1985 Don Jorge bought a very run down house, 1st photo.  He was thinking to make a restaurant.  One section the floor had collapsed and when they excavated they found tunnels that covered a stream in that area.  The wealthy built the covering over the stream and then mansions were built on top.  Then they were turned into tenement houses.  He is 85 now and still works there every day.  He does not allow pictures down in the actual tunnel because he does not want to ruin the surprise for visitors. 

  

We then walked some and saw very cool street art statues.  The one with the woman sitting with the 3 characters is a famous Argentine cartoon.  Mafalda and her two friends Susanita and Manolo.  There was a line to take the picture.  

Then came a tango lesson.  Claudia and I partnered up so I now know the steps for tango as the male partner.  You can see my "tango face".  Neil our expedition leader had demonstrated how not to smile during the tango.  Avril said I nailed it, I'm not so sure.  The building was beautiful.

We were docked at a very busy port.  They loaded so much today and so quickly since we got in late last night, they couldn't get it all put away.  Some was up on deck 9 when I was out walking.  Tomorrow we will be in Punta Del Este, Uruguay.  I will be doing a bird tour, so we shall see what birds we can find. 

3/23

Beautiful weather in Punta del Este. I watched the pilot ship come in.  This morning my view was like Cleveland, the morning sun and high rises.  The area is a beach area with many on the beach and surfers.  A crazy designed bridge.

I went on a bird walk.  Saw a great variety of birds and some other animals.  I have the birds we saw but need to look up some to confirm type.

Terns

Royal tern

Neotropic cormorant

Terns

Kelp gulls

American oystercatcher

Lesser yellowlegs

Rufous Hornero and it's nest

Cocoi heron and egret

Great grebe

Monk parakeet nest and birds

Turkey vulture

White monjita

Beautiful flowers, a crab, a skydiver, horse, cows, sea lions and being fed by humans, what they call a Brazilian guinea pig, mushrooms growing in a cow patty, the statue on the beach pictured on many sites for the city.

Tomorrow is a sea day!

3/24

Great lectures today.  I enjoyed them all, but one I really liked was Chris's botany talk.  What I found fascinating was that in one 100m x 100m area of forest in the Mata they found 450 tree species.  In the whole UK there are only about 100 species.  

This afternoon I did sit by the pool for about 45 and not it is not a wave pool.  We were just moving a lot, although it didn't feel bad to me.

We arrive at our first stop in Brazil tomorrow.  Our last stop in Brazil will be on April 8th, so we will see a lot of Brazil.

3/25

We are getting ready for our afternoon excursions in Balneario Camboriu.  I am doing a cable car and nature trail.  They told us they call this city the Dubai of Brazil.  I can see why.

While waiting saw two interesting boats.

Did not dress properly.  Dressed for the nature trail, which really wasn't a worry for mosquitos.  Lovely views.  Crazy tall buildings.  Residential.  Our guide said apartments and not really houses in this area by the beach.

Remember a month ago when I said I saw the tallest building in Latin America.  These people disagree.  At least this is the tallest residential building.  

This reminded me of the house elf in Harry Potter.  Kept changing spots in the window.

Nice sunset and city lights

3/26

Today's stop.

My tour was a bus ride to Antonina.  Quite a difference from yesterday's city.  The A was missing from the sign so Joshua and Chris filled in.

  

On the bus Chris told about Cecropia trees.  If you tap on the trunk you will be attacked by ants.  The ants protect the tree and the tree protects the ants.  This is what to avoid.

From there we took a steam train to Morretes.

We saw a Marmoset while the train was stopped  I missed the face but a nice man let me use his and my great tail photo.  

We had lunch and then had a chance to walk around before getting back on the bus.  Still very different from yesterday, but a bit nicer than the first town.  The first photo is where we had lunch.

A very busy port in Paranagua.  Our tugs when we left.

  

3/28

Yesterday we were in Paraty.  Again, a very different city in Brazil than we had been in before.  It and it's surrounding Brazilian Atlantic Forest are protected  UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  I took a jeep tour to waterfalls, a distillery where they make cachaca and we had tastings.  Four from my jeep chose to not go see the bromeliad exhibit and to take a little time to walk around the town of Paraty.  Today we are in Rio de Janeiro.  Need to get photos from other passengers and will post when I get them.

Won't be getting the photos I had hoped right now.  I got back from my Rio tour I had a low grade fever.  Napped.  Fever went up.  I have canceled my snorkeling in the Blue Lagoon in Ilha Grande.  Then we have a sea day.  Hoping to feel better with two days rest.

Before we went out yesterday afternoon we had a lecture on the history of Brazil.

The dock in Paraty had the most beautiful party boats.

  

We then went to the fist waterfall.  Margaret is the other solo traveling going Pole to Pole.

 

We went to a Cachaca distillery for a tasting and shopping.

Then to another waterfall that was like a natural waterslide over rock.  Leafcutter ants on the move.  I've enjoyed meeting Marcus and Ron from Palm Springs that have been on since we went to South Georgia.  Leah got on in Buenos Aires.  Also, met a friend that loved belly rubs!

The 4 of us chose to skip the display of bromelia and went back to walk around the very colorful Paraty.  At high tide with a full moon the streets by the coast fill with water.

  

Because I was in Rio 10 years ago when I visited our former exchange student in Belem (I will see them on the 7th) I chose to visit the favela's.  Some scenery on our Jeep tour getting to the favelas.  It was a rainy day and Sugarloaf mountain was in a cloud.

Basically the favela is a slum.  In Rio there are about 1,000 favelas with about 20% of the population living there.  We went to Rocinha.  The electrical lines are crazy.  

  

We went to a capoeira demonstration.  A combination of martial arts, dance and music.  This gentleman has been running his center for 42 years.  He helps young people make better choices.  Selfies with the 4 young people that put on the show.

More time around the favelas.  A stop at a school for at risk children.  (no photos allowed)

We drove past Copacabana Beach on the way back to the ship.

3/29

A quiet day of a nap, lectures on the tv and room service.  The first lecture was on sea turtles, which was very interesting.  Especially, seeing the loggerheads in South Carolina.  The second was on colorful animals.  I did see this bird from my cabin.  A brown booby.  

3/30

Feeling much better today.  Should be able to do my excursion tomorrow at Porto Seguro. Lots of masked boobys flying very close to the ship.  

I am loving watching these masked booby birds today.  They have been with us for hours and I can see the ship turning up fish that they are diving for.  They come so close.  I feel like I could reach out and touch them.

I feel better so put on a mask and went to the Easter egg decorating. 

My egg

Athenie's eggs!!!

A brown booby joined the masked ones. Wrong!  Thanks to Lin and Grant, others on Pole to Pole, this is a juvenile masked booby. 

3/31

Today we are in hot, sunny Porto Seguro.  The first land the Portuguese explorer Pedro Cabral found in Brazil. 

  

We went to the Pataxo Indigenous Reserve.  It was founded in 1998 by 3 sisters.  It is now a preserved area of 827 hectares with about 100 people in 35 families.  Tourism is how they make money.  Brazil has almost 1.7 million indigenous people, equivalent to .83% of the population.  In this tribe the men need to provide an animal to get married to show they can feed the family.  They also need to carry a tree trunk to show he can carry his bride.  They get married young.  This gentleman married at 18 to a girl 13.  They have 4 children.  His beading is of his favorite football (soccer) team.  He said they paint their faces every day even if no tourists.  They go to the grocery store dressed this way, although we did see younger people driving cars and in the water in non tribal clothes.

Lizard, brazilwood tree, frog, flower, termite mound in tree. 

Entrance and more of the tribe.  Our first guide checking his make up.

  

  

  

If I was married my face painting would have had straight lines. 

We were able to sample fish, potato with cassava, and a drink to help blood sugar.

They had a small museum and these are photos of the 3 sisters, one of who spoke with us and a photo of the chief.  He was in his 20s when he became chief.

We partook in a tribal dance.

Greg, one of our leaders, asked me not to pet the dogs.  They could be rabid.  Too late.  These two and I were already friends. 

4/1

Last night one of our choices was deviled eggs.  Really cute deviled eggs!  Then we had our Death by Chocolate night and Easter trivia.  

First some disturbing news from yesterday.  When we were coming back one bus had gotten stuck in sand.  Another bus burned out it's engine trying to pull it out.  Most were able to divide between 2 buses.  4 passengers and some expedition staff had to wait for another vehicle.  While waiting they saw tribe members we had seen now dressed in western clothing and driving out of the reservation.  We are sad they didn't just replicate their past and admit it.  We hope the girls do not get married at 13.  

Today we are in Ilheus.  I took an excursion to the Atlantic Forest and Biosphere Reserve.  Views from the ship this morning and woman greeting us going through the terminal.

  

  

At the project they are working on replanting the Mata Atlantica with native species. These gentlemen are very invested in making the forest what it was.  We were able to plant a seed for a jatobo tree.  We hiked in and saw different trees.  Looked for sloths that live there but did not see any.

   

  

    

 

We then had lunch at one of the beach places.  I chose the fried fish and it was delicious.  Others had crab and those that didn't want seafood had a nice meat dish.  

  

We saw some great birds today, but I didn't have my best camera.

Peach fronted parakeet

Masked water-tyrant

Rufous hornero and babies!!!

4/2

Sea day!  Was walking 3 miles on deck 9 and saw this gorgeous cloud formation.

This morning there were some dolphins.  Didn't get great pictures, but interesting how it looked under the water.  Need to find out the kind, possibly bottlenose.  A lot of flying fish.  A masked booby with one it caught.

I started playing trivia on the Puerto Williams to Buenos Aires leg.  You earn points to buy exciting things like key chains!  🤣 They also have golf, which I had never played until today.  Three holes.  One down the theatre stairs into the hole.  One long into a hole.  One around a corner into a spiral to a hole.  I had beginners luck.  Got a hole in one on the 1st and 3rd.  A 5 on the second, but won!  Got 25 points for winning and the 2 holes in one.  They are like gold!  Trivia at 5:30 so more chance for those points for my key chain.  😁

This segment is getting a little long.  I am going to start a new page for tomorrow until the end of this leg.