Today we
toured the city with two principle stops.
The first was the waterfront markets, beginning with the fish market.
From there we
went to the Mercado Central (central market), designed by Gustave Eiffel (as in Tower),
along the way passing various stores that catered to the needs of the
waterfront across the street.
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| Manaus version of West Marine |
I will confess that by this point in the trip I am a bit burned out on
touring mercado centrals. They are
interesting and I love the activity and associated energy within them, but part
of me is glad that this is the last one this trip.
We got back on the bus and were driven past several prominent points in
the city. All were on the other side of the bus from our seats and there were no photo ops
stops.
We next disembarked the bus at the opera house. It was built by the rubber barons to
demonstrate their taste and refinement in the midst of the Amazon jungle. What they built was impressive.
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Why is
everyone staring up?
|
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| To see the ceiling painted to depict looking up from the base of the Eiffel Tower |
Although not on the tour, our guide told Pam & me we could scoot over to
look at St. Sebastian Church on the adjacent corner of St. Sebastian Square to
the opera house.
At the end of the tour, we debated whether to take the shuttle back to the
pier entrance and go for a walk or return aboard VEENDAM. Not liking the looks of the clouds, we opted
for the latter. Good choice! Within minutes, it was pouring rain, and
continued to do so for some time. This
was no passing shower.
The sky was dark and overcast as we departed and still occasionally spitting
rain. As we pulled away, we took one
last look at the Metropolitan Cathedral and behind it the dome of the Opera
House.
We passed through the Meeting of the
Waters (Rio Negro and Amazon). Cloud cover and the approaching night made it hard to see, so we did not invest much effort
in doing so.
VEENDAM now has 4 knots of current to accelerate our trip downriver.
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