Day 14 - 12/03 - Parintins, Brazil

Today's blog has four distinct themes. And they all made for a very memorable day.

I love the smell of Diesel in the Morning

The Volendam sailed overnight down river and pivoted 180° and assumed a position in the middle of the river facing upstream where the thrusters and drive screws aided by GPS kept it in position all day off the little town on Parintins. The river is a muddy brown color with lots of vegetation debris floating down the river at about 7 knots to unknown destinations.

We didn't have specific plans other than to walk around the town. So we took our time to get ready and have a good breakfast. We made our way up to the Ocean Bar on deck 5 to get released to a tender. Just as we arrived, the 4 & 5 Star group was released and we made our way down to the tender platform where we saw that our tender vessel would be one of the local double deck river boats. We boarded it and climbed the steep stairs to the upper deck.

 One could walk right up to the wheelhouse with words 'Commando' above the open door and there I could see that the Captain's first mate was a little yorkie. But the exhaust smell was really strong. The Captain skillfully guided the ancient craft to a parking spot alongside a small barge that served as a dock and next to a similar type boat that was loading passengers for what looked like an extended trip as hammocks were in full operation. Those passengers climbed a steep gangplank with some balancing heavy loads.

We walked up the steep ramp and were right in the middle of town activity. A group of students engaged us to practice their English which was fun. We toured a local store before walking up and shopping along a shopping street towards the Cathedral. The Cathedral de Nuestra Señora del Carmen was plain with a number of paintings including the Last Supper. It's the tallest building in town. We met friends there as we decided to walk up to the stadium (Bumbodromo) where the Boi Bumba festival is held at the end of June each year.  

Busted

At the stadium there were many 3D pictures that promoted the festival. We decided to walk around the stadium noting it was closed until 3pm. As we came around the corner we noted the gate was open and HAL tour groups were entering and leaving. So we wandered in like we owned the place and past the bored security guard. We then walked up the ramp system to the becmxt to top floor where we saw an open door. This door led to a suite and an opening outside where we could survey the entire grounds. The stadium is shaped in the form of a bull's head.

We then left that area when a security guard approached us and pointed to his watch which indicated to us it was time to leave. So we accompanied him to an elevator which whisked us down to the ground floor where we wandered out like we were part of the HAL tour group that was leaving. Our friends were going to the special performance of the Boi Bumba at the convention center so we parted ways. We ran into another couple who wanted to know where the convention center was and we pointed them in the correct direction. At that point we decided we would try for standby seats.

STANDBY MODE

We frequently fly standby so the concept is very personal for us. We made our way to the convention center and checked in with the HAL Shore Excursion representative. She indicated we were number 3 & 4 to inquire about standby seats and that we would have to wait for an hour until 1:45pm before she could commit to selling us seats. Just after 1:45pm she announced that all in the standby line could get in. So we signed our bill, and went on it and found 2 seats together in the back. No seat is a bad seat in this venue.

The performance was a loud and energetic presentation of colorfully costumed dancers and giant mythical creatures celebrating the 16th century fable of a resurrected ox. If you want more details, I'll let Google and Youtube be your friend. We highly recommend it if you are ever here on a HAL cruise. But book it in advance and not do it standby style unless you are not of the faint of heart.

Simply Pink

After the show we wandered our way back to the tender dock and watched the tendering process from an elevated patio area which by the way had NO railings. I spotted some pink dolphins just beyond the floating gas station. When one of the large local ferry boats started accepting HAL passengers, we made our way to it and once again sat on the upper deck in the back. There I spotted more pink dolphins and the crowd went wild. Pretty soon were seeing them appear in a wide area behind the boat and offshore a bit. It was quite a treat.  Theycare really hard to photograph as they spend little time on the surface.

Back on board, cooling showers were the first order of the day, and then I watched the tender retrieval and rotation of the ship to begin our down river sail. Included in that was a spectacular sunset. I rejoined Angela in the LIDO where we ate dinner before enjoying a terrific performance by Duo Yalba, a duet performing music on all sorts of instruments. They were really good And quite energetic.  

Tomorrow we have a full day tour scheduled in Alter do Chão. Stay tuned.