Jay’s Internet Log

Throughout last night and today, Pacific Princess has remained quietly alongside her berth in Manaus. This evening, when all passengers and crew have been confirmed on board, we will slip our mooring lines, thrust off the berth, and manoeuvre clear of the dock. We will then pass Ilha Marapata on our port side and then turn to port, heading out into the River Amazon, on our way to Parintins.

Today was an interesting day. The four of us were scheduled to take a tour of the famous Opera House, but during breakfast, Dad didn’t feel well and he and Mom stayed on board. I was upset because I knew that Dad really wanted to see the Opera House, as he had visited it previously in 1963. Heather and I took the bus ride to it and were amazed at how beautiful this building was. It is nestled in the middle of the city, and stands out among the other architecture which is mostly drab and plain. The Opera House was built during the height of the rubber boom, and once it was completed, the rubber boom had ended, so it never really got much use. The different pieces of it; flooring, chandelliers, bricks, etc, were all imported from different European countries, and it is obvious when walking around. In one room, they required us to wear little booties over our shoes due to the fragile wood flooring. Downstairs they had a replica of the Opera House made out of Legos. We really enjoyed that! We then boarded our bus and drove to the Military Zoo. This is a training grounds for the Elite Military of Amazonas, and we were told that the military officers do not like their pictures taken. I found this out first-hand while trying to catch them on video! We saw Anacondas, different types of monkeys, the largest rodent in the world, Caymans and Alligators, and some really cool looking large cats. It was here where it started downpouring on us so we took refuge in a roofed-in snack bar for about 15 minutes. Once we could get to the bus, we left and went to a small native indian museum where we saw pottery and jewelry that the natives made. This tour took about 5 hours and was fun and informational. After lunch, Heather, Mom, and I walked into Manaus to see the market. We had been hearing firecrackers going off all day because it is New Year’s Eve, and when we got into the middle of everything, they were going off all around us. Watching us walk around in this crowd must have been entertaining because we stuck out like sore thumbs around the people who live here year-round, 3 degrees south of the Equator! For dinner I had Sirloin Steak and Pheasant, and Heather had four Lobster tails. Tonight there are parties all around the ship to welcome in 2012, and we are looking forward to attending.