It was with anticipation and excitement that we woke up this morning, knowing that we were going to disembark the Braemar and foray into the Amazon jungle, where we would be staying overnight in the Amazon Ecopark Lodge. The ship had already docked in Manaus, the capital of Amazonia, and she was not due to…
This morning we woke up at anchor in the town of Parintins, where once again the day was grey and raining. Not to worry though; this morning we were going to visit the Convention Centre to see a scaled-down version of the Parintins Folk Festival, otherwise known as the Festival do Boi-Bumbá. Usually this takes…
This morning we were due to set foot on terra firma; this time in the town of Santarém. We were excited to be in Brazil again; we had first toured around this country 10 years ago and it is so vibrant, colourful and interesting we were glad to be back. The sky was overcast, but it was (obviously!)…
When we got up this morning, we noticed that the Braemar was barely moving and that the water was definitely a light ‘muddy’ colour – we were at the mouth of the Amazon! After breakfast Trevor got his handheld GPS and we went up on deck. Sure enough, the GPS reading showed that we were…
Woke up this morning to grey skies and rain, although it was, of course, still hot and sultry. Went for breakfast in the Palms Café but didn’t sit outside this time. At 10.00am we went along to the Neptune Lounge to listen to a lecture about the Amazon and Manaus, as that was one of the…
Another lazy day at sea today, en route to the mouth of the Amazon. Got up at 6.40am as it was so pleasant to be up early yesterday. We went along to the Palms Café for breakfast again. It was quite full; it’s amazing how many people get up very early even when on holiday….
After waking up several times in the night (we were still on UK time) I lay awake for some time listening to the waves washing against the side of the Braemar before deciding to get up at 6.00am. 🙂 It was so exciting to be at sea, heading south at a rapid pace, and I…
3rd February 2011 – yes, it was time once again to leave the cold, grey, miserable British weather and gallivant off to sunnier climes. This time, we were due to join the Fred Olsen vessel MS Braemar in Bridgetown, Barbados to sail south to the mighty waters of the great Amazon River. We left the house…
Well folks, this is the boring part. We got up early, went up to the Lido Buffet for a good breakfast, left our cabin and went to the Queen’s Room, where we had to wait until we could disembark. After about an hour, our group was called and we left the Queen Elizabeth and made…
Today was the last day of the Maiden Voyage of the Queen Elizabeth. Tomorrow morning we were due to dock back in Southampton before the long coach ride back to the North-East. 🙁 Although it was sunny, the weather was decidedly colder and windier as we got closer to the cold British shores. We didn’t…
