Manaus, Brazil - Day Two

Today is Monday the 14th of March and we docked here in Manaus overnight.  Today we do not have any tours planned so we went up to the pool and swam for one hour.  Then to breakfast in Lat Veranda.  We were some of the last ones to eat.  Most of the people are taking a tour today.

We worked on the crossword puzzles and then left the cabin so they could clean it.  We then decided to take a walk into the city.  They run a shuttle from the ship to the terminal building but then you have to walk.  We went to the market but it was not what we expected.  After walking around there we decided to try and find an area of this city with high end shops.  They do not exist.  At least we never found any.  The weather was hot and humid so we were soaked and decided to head back to the ship.

So now a little history of Manaus…The history of the European colonization of Manaus began in 1499 with the Spanish discovery of the mouth of the Amazon River.  The Spanish then continued to colonize the region north of Brazil.  Development continued in 1668-169 with the building of the Fort of Sao Jose da Barra do Rio Negro by Portugal in order to ensure its predominance in the region, especially  against the Dutch, at that tinge headquartered in what is today Suriname.  The fort was constructed in rock and clay with four cannon guarding the curtains.  It continued to function for more than 100 years.    Next to the fort there were many indigenous mestizos, who helped in its construction and began to live in the vicinity.

The population grew so much that in 1695, the missionaries built a nearby chapel dedicated as Nossa Senhora da Conceical, who at the time became the patron saint of the city. On October 24 of 1848, the city was renamed City of Barra do Rio Negro.  On September 4 of 1856 the governor Herculano Ferreira Pena finally gave it the name Manaus.

We have decided that this will probably be our last trip to this part of the world.  We pretty much have seen what there is to see.

And today we placed third in trivia.  That was a real surprise.  Only got 8 correct but the winning team only had 10 correct.   Some of these questions are tough.  For example, what year did the term United Kingdom first get used?  Who knew.  Or who cares.

Dinner in Compass Rose with cocktails before in Mariner Lounge.

Docked beside us today was the Seaborne Quest.  We have sailed with Seaborne twice.  We like them too.