Quiz: name the five largest islands in the Caribbean. The mouth of the Amazon River is around 250 miles (400 km) wide as it empties into the ocean, dumping 20% of the world's fresh water. Last year's South America Grand Voyage stopped in Manaus, which is some 1000 miles (1600 km) upriver, and I think … Continue reading Two Weeks Left Tidbits

Yesterday we turned the corner around Brazil, changing our heading from Northeast to hard Northwest. We were told that we were now closer to Africa than we were to Peru. This part of South America is wide... Pop quiz - which three South American countries do the equator go thru? No peeking, answer below. Fortaleza, … Continue reading Fortaleza

Not every port is amazing. There's your foreshadowing... Recife, pronounced "hee-seef", is one of those cities whose building design kind of shows you how their glory days were 40-to-60 years ago. Most paint is peeling. There is the hot-and-muggy smudge (fungus?) on all the walls. It does has a nice beach, with an 8km boardwalk. … Continue reading Recife

Sorry for the lack of information. I fell sick, but more about that after today's post. We docked in Salvador at 1:00pm and were leaving later that night, so that did not leave much time. However, one of the excursions were different that the normal highlights - "Percussion Workshop". Ok, I'll bite. Every region of … Continue reading Bahia Drums

No, that's not a typo. Things I've learned about the carnival parade in Rio: Sambadrome (image from Rio.com) This is not a street parade; it is hosted in a dedicated 90,000-person stadium This is a competition between the different "Samba Schools" - there is promotion and relegation like sports leagues Each school parades from one … Continue reading Carnaval