2/21/2008 Manaus, Day II

From: Sherman Rootberg
Date: Thu, Feb 21, 2008 at 9:34 PM
Subject: Thursday, February 21, 2008

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Manaus, Day II

We got up bright and early this morning and then went back to sleep because we had no reason to be up bright and early. We did finally manage to make it out of bed and we went down for breakfast. The plan for today was to take a little look at Manaus. We had not been here for eight years and we could see the entire dock area was completely changed.

It required a shuttle to get out of the dock area. H. Stern and another jeweler were providing free trips to their stores. Both were about half an hour away in a nice section of town. Both were also in the same nice hotel. We had already taken Stern’s free ride in Rio so we decided to give the other guy the honor of hauling our rear ends across town, for free, this time.

This other guy is Amsterdam Sauer. That takes a lot of typing, so I will refer to them as AS from now on. Just to be nice, I am not using the full name or its abbreviation. The full name is Amsterdam Sauer Stores. I am sure you can figure out what that abbreviation is.

At the bottom of the gang plank there was a van waiting. Actually several from different stores and for different tours. That van took us only as far as the port terminal. We had to walk a distance through this building. It contained some small stores and restaurants. We saw little or no customs or security. Once out the building we had to walk quite a distance and climb up then down the ramps of a very long high bridge. By the time we made it to the bottom we were very warm. It was mostly sunny today and of course hot. By this time we had lost the other couple on the van and there was only one new couple traveling with us in this second van. It at least had reasonable air conditioning. It was a KIA so I am sure you have an idea how well it rode. There was just ourselves, the other couple, the driver and a guide. This van hardly had the power to carry us let alone a full load.

We had opted to just go directly to the Tropical Hotel where the store was located. We could have had most any kind of tour we wished, but this was all of the town we wished to see. We had to go by whatever few points of interest there were anyhow. We did drive by the old opera house. I had no wish to see the interior again. It was nothing special. Never mind. Bobbi says it was very special. It was beautiful, I guess. The town had changed quite a bit in eight years. We could not recognize most of it.

The nice area of town contained some very nice houses and many nice high rise condos. Everything was located near and overlooking a very clean section of the Rio Negro. There were large clean sand beaches and many parks. Everything was very green and well landscaped. We were told this area was safe for swimming. The water was warm and the piranha did not go into this acid water. They can swim in it. I think I will take a pass. The ship is also docked in the Rio Negro. You should see some of the things we see poking their heads out of the water.

Yesterday we walked out on our balcony just in time to see this weird pink think come to the surface and hang around for awhile. It looked to be about three feet long. About the front third of its length was a very narrow mouth filled with upper and lower nasty looking teeth. It did not spout or breathe air and it had a regular fish tail. It was too small to be a pink dolphin. Those we have seen before. A pink dolphin would never be alone. We also saw this huge black fish come to the surface. I don’t know if it was friendly or not and I have no desire to test it. Later last night we saw a film where a guy caught one of these things using a bow and arrow with a rope attached. After he shot the arrow through the fish, it towed him and his boat all over the place. When it was finally pulled out you could see it was much larger then the man. Besides the Cayman, and those things, who knows what else is in there. I have read stuff about some really nasty parasite thingies that travel up urine tracts and we just read about another that goes into your ears and nose and eats everything it can on the way out across the inside of your head. A lot of babies are lost to these parasites due to washing them in these waters. Miami Beach and the Caribbean keeps looking better and better, thank you.

The ride had shown us just what we wanted to see and now we ended up a nice hotel with very pretty grounds. There was a whole court yard like a small strip mall at the entrance to the hotel. As we were told, there was a Stern store a short way inside and just around the corner was AS.

As long as we were there we did go to the AS store. They offered drinks and we looked around. They had black sapphire watches but not the same styles as Stern. We liked the Stern watches much better and we didn’t even ask a price on theirs. What they did have was a lot more modern design in their jewelry then Stern. Stern is well known and very highly over priced but also very frumpy and old fashioned.

Back before we started and again when we visited Stern in Rio, Bobbi had said that she had all the jewelry she needed and didn’t want anything. I was a bit skeptical but she stood by it when I kind of hinted a little while at Stern’s. At that time I was just testing and was ready for a full retreat should she have been even slightly interested in anything. So now I was really brave. I had this guy bringing me out all kinds of gorgeous stuff. $40,000. That was cute. How about that one? $70,000? Yeah, that’s nice. Then I started looking at stuff a person might really buy if they were dumb enough. I don’t know one from another but there are some of these blue stones that I really like the looks of. There are many different kinds and I don’t know one from the other and when told, I don’t remember for two minutes. I don’t care if they are really just high priced glass, but if they are the right shade of blue and the right cut and placed in very yellow gold settings, I think they are the prettiest.

Sitting in a box, with a lot of other things we were being shown, was a smallish pair of rectangular cut earrings. They were each just a little larger then two carat diamonds would be. Stupid, stupid, stupid. How can I be so dumb. I have been married for almost 45 years and I guess I will never learn. Never even ask or look or go anywhere near jewelry. You can never tell when they will turn on you, no matter what they say or promise.

Free ride? In a pigs eye. Free tour? Free tour my AS. I could have hired the most expensive limo, guides and lodging for the entire stay and got a lot of change back. So I guess you have figured out, I am now the proud owner of these really pretty earrings. They are made for pierced ears. Mine are not. I guess I need a couple of more holes put in my head.

We did walk around the stores at the front of the hotel. Most were upscale and some even the same as those back home. One even had mounted piranha. Tons of them and no more money then ones I had bought on the beach.

As we were asking to get transportation back to the ship, we were asked how we liked the mini zoo. Zoo? What zoo. Sure enough, just out the rear of the large lobby was a very nice little zoo. First we saw a small Jaguar. I don’t think she was full grown. She had been rescued from the wild as a very small kitten and raised by people. When you came near her cage she would sit at the front. She would make little licking gestures just like my dog does when you pet him. She would also roll over on her back obviously wanting to be pet. Her fur was thick and beautiful. I want her. She was obviously very well fed and taken care of. There was also an Ocelot, some monkeys, parrots, and some other birds. It was very well kept up and the animals and cages were very clean. There was also a nice kiddy park with very nice equipment.

When we finally did get ready to go back there was a full van of people waiting. Don’t ask me why, but the guide says to me I could get in the front. He will sit in the back. He had no idea who bought what and at least one guy did buy some stuff. I guess someone had told him too, how important I am. Some old witch in the back kept complaining that her husband should have been in the front. She only shut up when I turned around and gave her one of those evil eye looks I learned from Bobbi.

We had a another real good and interesting day, but now I won’t have cab fare to get home when we get back to Florida.