March 31, 2025
MANAUS, BRAZIL
Sunday March 16, 2025 ten of us flew from Recife to Fortaleza then onto Manaus, Brazil. It took roughly 6 hours with layover time. In Manaus it turned out that we had all booked the same hotel - so our van driver, who was part of the services of 8 of ours tour, took us all to the St Paul Hotel. Above was in Lobby at checkin - then we all met shortly after to walk and get dinner and see their famous Opera House. We ate at the Opera House Restaurant right across the street from the park and the most known building in Manaus. In above L to R - Gary, Callie, Scott, Me, Christy, Anna, Sara,Cherie, Jimbo and Bob. Gary & Christy going on a fancier boat next day.
I got to go Sailing Again! We were supposed to head to the COOK ISLANDS after the lovely Rangiroa and the Tuamotu Archipelago, but due to stormy weather there, with all unprotected tender ports, they made the decision to head us southwest, back to the protected port in Papeeta (Tahiti). We got lucky and Holly ( pictured below) found us a sailboat available for charter.
Since Janette Emerich is generous enough to share her drone photos with all of us on board the Ship, I have to share them with you all. This beauty is why I said we felt like we were in a screen saver the whole day in Rangiroa! I love the height perspective in the photos it really captures so much more. Blue Lagoon below:
The water in Rangiroa is so spectacular, I wanted to spend more time drift snorkeling and checking out the area called " The Aquarium ". So today I went back out for a 3 hour session to do 3 drift passes in Tiputa pass and then spent an hour in an area with wonderful healthy corals and tons of fish, earning it the nickname " The Aquarium ".