Manaus, Brazil

Valentine's Day Feb. 14, '10

Manaus is one of the largest cities in Brazil and until recently could only be reached by boat or plane. There are roads that connect with the rest of Brazil now but they are often closed in the rainy season.

Our ship is the Royal Princess, 355 cabins, 11 decks. A smaller cruise ship that is just right for the Amazon River.

Doug and I decide to take an excursion called Meeting of the Waters. This is where the brown Rio Solimoes meets the black Rio Negro and what a sight it is. The trip was combined with a journey to Lake January to see the meter-wide Victoria Regia water lilies. The water levels of the rivers can change up to 40 feet between the rainy and dry seasons. Homes are built on stilts or on balsa wood that float with the levels.

Back on board the ship sails at 7:30 p.m. Dinner the first night is open seating and we will meet our table mates tomorrow evening. Learn that of the 615 people on board almost 200 are doing what is known as a back-to-back, meaning they have been on board two weeks already and doing the return to Ft Lauderdale. Realize after dinner that with so little sleep the past two nights we are too tired to go to the welcome show that night. Couple glasses of wine, the rocking of the ship and we will sleep without stirring until the morning.