April 10, 2025

ISLAND OF PARROTS, PARA, BELEM, BRAZIL

Another reason we got a hotel room in Belem for the night was we wanted to go on Sunrise trip Sunday morning to the Island of the Parrots. A driver picked us up from Hotel at 5 am and took us to a small boat dock, where we met tour guide and boat captain and traveled to Parrot Island. It was about a 30 minute ride thru the harbor and we arrived right when the first rays of morning sun were awakening the 100's of Mangrove Parrots, who live on this island.

OH WHAT A SHOW WE SAW!! The photos don't do justice to the experience. First off, you hear the noise before you see anything. It comes in waves, as 100's of Mangrove Parrots wake up and start squawking. Our guide explained parrots mate for life and the female does the picking. So you see 2 birds flying together as a couple, 3 birds is a female testing out 2  males, and the balance of 4 through 8 size groups are families where the kids are just learning to fly the distance and many times can't make it - so the whole family comes back and they go on to plan B. The morning light is magical! Five of us from ship part took - Silja, Memo, Callie Scott & Myself along with 2 college grads from London.

Below are closeups of Mangrove Parrots from our Amazon visit to tribe and center photo is off guide's website.

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After birds quiet down and morning show is over, we sail back to port, but detour through small tributaries and get to see a number of island cottages and homes.

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2nd YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SAILING THE WORLD

By Pat Patrick • October 1, 2026
WOW!! I can't believe it has been two years of sailing around the World already for me and my fellow shipmates on the Villa Vie Odyssey! We left Belfast, Ireland back on September 30, 2024 and it has been such a great adventure to date! We have been to 201 different ports, some more than once, during those two years, with much more to come!

APOPO, SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

By Pat Patrick • September 29, 2026
Before coming to Cambodia , I sadly have to admit I was unaware of the landmine problems they face. On our first night in Siem Reap, where we hiked up the hill to try and see the sunset views, there was a small band of men playing instruments and our tuk tuk driver explained to me they were victims of landmine explosions who had lost limbs or their sight and were trying to make money via donations to support their families.

Ta Prohm Temple ( AKA Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), CAMBODIA

By Pat Patrick • September 28, 2026
I rallied for our last temple of the morning, because I heard this one was unique and I think it was my favorite. Ta Prohm was built starting in 1186 by King Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and university dedicated to the king's mother. It was left mostly un-restored so that huge banyan and silk cotton trees grow directly over and through the walls. In 2001, the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie was filmed here.