29th January 2020 The small community of Alter do Chão lies on the banks of the River Tapajós, around twenty miles upstream of Santarém. Until the 18th century, the village was inhabited mostly by the Borari people, who lived primarily by fishing. Today, its 1,298 residents still rely on fishing but have also embraced handicrafts… Continue Reading

28th January 2020 The ship arrived off the coast of the small town of Parintins, situated on the southern bank of the Amazon, just after breakfast. From November to January, the town becomes an island, accessible only by river. We anchored midstream, requiring a 20-minute tender boat ride to the town pier. Parintins is not… Continue Reading

26th January 2020 Our one overnight stay is here in Manaus, the gateway to the Amazon. It serves as the main base for most rainforest expeditions and, in a similar fashion, offers the widest range of tour opportunities for visiting cruise ships. Last night, we could have forgone our evening meal (perish the thought!) and… Continue Reading

26th January 2020 We woke this morning to discover that, in the Brazilian rainforest during the rainy season, it does indeed rain. Spoiled by good weather since entering the Amazon, we had begun to wonder whether my school geography books had got it wrong, or whether global warming was having an effect. As we had… Continue Reading

24th January 2020 We arrived at the tiny fishing village of Boca da Valeria at breakfast time. Situated at the confluence of the Rio da Valeria and the Amazon, midway between Parintins and Santarém, it is a remote and primitive settlement of around 75 souls, descended from intermarriage between Portuguese settlers and local Indigenous people.… Continue Reading

16th January 2020 Six days at sea, traversing the Atlantic from one continent to another, gave us ample time to settle into the ship’s routine: eat, entertain, eat, entertain, eat, entertain, eat, entertain, sleep. A slight adjustment was required on the days we crossed a date line; fortunately, in this direction, it meant gaining an… Continue Reading

15th January 2020 It has been exactly a week since we boarded the Magellan, and in that time, we have got to know our evening dinner companions reasonably well. Unlike the couple we shared a table with on our last cruise, who, as it happens, are also on this one, they have been unfortunate enough… Continue Reading

14th January 2020 We arrived in Funchal, the largest city and capital of Portugal’s Autonomous Region of Madeira, during breakfast. As the Magellan slowly made its way to a secure berth alongside the Aida, the twinkling lights of little settlements dotted along the coast slid by enticingly in the early morning darkness. With two other… Continue Reading

13th January 2020 On the afternoon of our first sea day en route to Leixões, we discovered that our cabin stewardess had removed all the bottles, glasses, and the kettle from the room and neatly arranged them on the floor. Had she simply forgotten to replace them after cleaning the surface they had been resting… Continue Reading

9th January 2020 It has always seemed best to start a New Year as you mean to go on, and this one is no exception. In previous years, too many to count, we have embarked on one travel adventure or another in January. Last year, it was a cruise to Australia via the Panama Canal,… Continue Reading