Animal, Nature, and Travel: Celebrity Eclipse cruise

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Crossing the Equator on a Cruise Ship

This shows off my certificate proving I crossed the Equator on a cruise ship. This also includes some ocean and sunset views near that date.

I crossed the Equator on the Celebrity Eclipse on Dec. 1, 2018

Starting November 23 and ending December 23, 2018, I embarked on an extraordinary adventure.

The adventure began with a TransAtlantic flight from the Huntsville International Airport in Alabama and ended with me landing in Barcelona, Spain on Thanksgiving Day in 2018. Of course, Spain does not celebrate that holiday. Lol! So, my hotel dinner was pasta followed by a night of sleep attempting to get over feeling jetlagged.

On November 23, 2018, I took a taxi to the cruise port. I did my best not to gasp as the taxi driver whipped through traffic. What was my destination? I was going to take two back-to-back cruises that would take me to some extraordinary places.

The cruise ship was called the Celebrity Eclipse. Knowing that I was going to see glaciers and other amazing sights, I booked a cabin with a balcony. Thankfully, my travel agent helped me find a very economical way to do this. I found a cheap flight to Barcelona. The part that was not so economical was the flight home from Buenos Aires, South America. That part really hurt the pocketbook. Sigh!

The first cruise was 16 nights long. Here is the itinerary:

Nov 23 – Board ship in Barcelona, Spain
Nov. 24 – Cartagena, Spain
Nov. 25 – Day at Sea
Nov. 26 – Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain
Nov. 27 – Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
Nov. 28 to Dec. 4 – Cross the Atlantic Ocean
Dec. 5 – Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, South America
Dec. 6 – Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil, South America
Dec. 7 – Day at Sea
Dec. 8 – Day at Sea
Dec. 9 – Arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America

The second cruise was 14 nights long. Here is that itinerary:

Dec. 9 – Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America
Dec. 10 – Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America
Dec. 11 – Punta Del Este, Uruguay, South America
Dec. 12 – Day at Sea Dec. 13 – Puerto Madryn, Argentina, South America
Dec. 14 – Day at Sea
Dec. 15 – Cruise past Cape Horn, Chile, South America
Dec. 16 – Ushuaia, Argentina, South America
Dec. 17 – Cruise past Strait of Magellan, Chile, South America
Dec. 18 – Punta Arenas, Chile, South America
Dec. 19 – Day at Sea
Dec. 20 – Day at Sea
Dec. 21 – Day at Sea
Dec. 22 – Montevideo, Uruguay, South America
Dec. 23 – Return to Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America. Fly home
Dec. 24 – Reach Huntsville International Airport in Alabama at 2:24 PM extremely jet-lagged

Some of the places I visited will be topics for future blogs. I also plan to write some children’s books about some of the animals I saw.

The topic for this blog was the TransAtlantic crossing that included crossing the Equator on December 1, 2018. Here is what my certificate looked like. By the way, my married name is Deborah Dunn Moore. I do my writing and storytelling under my maiden name of Debbie Dunn. Naturally, when I travel, they have to use the name on my passport.

The Only Day I Saw Sargassum was the Day Before Crossing the Equator

If you have been following my blog from the beginning, you will be aware that catching sight of Sargassum is one of my favorite pastimes. That is because it is an animal habitat for over 130 critters that include sea turtle youngsters and a strange frog-fish called Sargassum fish.

So, every day on this cruise, I would stand out on my cabin balcony or peek out the window in hopes of seeing that golden-brown seaweed. Oddly enough, the only day on the entire 30-night cruise that I saw Sargassum was the day before we crossed the Equator.

So, here are two pictures of two of the Sargassum rafts I saw on November 30, 2018.

Pretty Sunset on December 2, 2018

Here is a pretty sunset I saw the day after crossing the Equator.

Ocean Views on December 4, 2018

I did not take any photos on December 3rd. Here are four photos of the beautiful blue water of the ocean taken on December 4, 2018.

We Visited Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on December 5, 2018

Beginning with a sunrise picture, here are four views of the port in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, South America. We stopped at this port on December 5, 2018.

I actually took a tour to see the extraordinary Christ the Redeemer statue in this city. I will include a link to that blog at the end of this article in case you missed it.

December 6-7, 2018

On December 6, 2018, we stopped at Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil. Given all the talk of pickpockets in Brazil, I decided to cancel the beach tour that I had originally signed up for. When I heard my tablemate that night complaining about the lackluster tour she took in that city, I kind of congratulated myself for making that decision. Plus, it was rainy and overcast the entire day.

The next day, December 7th, was a Day at Sea. It was back to being sunny again. Here is the one picture I took of the pretty blue water.

Muddy Ocean Water the Day Before Reaching Buenos Aires, Argentina

I was kind of shocked when I viewed the ocean water the day before we were to reach Buenos Aires, Argentina. The water was quite muddy-looking. The date was December 8th.

Here are four shots of the water we saw throughout the day.

Beautiful Sunsets in Buenos Aires, Argentina

On December 9, 2018, the water was back to being pretty again.

This was the in-between day for both cruises. Many passengers exited the ship that morning. The November 23rd to December 9th Spain to South America cruise had ended. I was one of a little over 300 passengers that were scheduled to take the next cruise, as well.

By lunchtime and throughout the afternoon, hundreds of passengers boarded the ship for the December 9 to December 23rd South American cruise.

Given that we were going to still be in Buenos Aires the next day, I decided to remain on the ship. That night, I enjoyed some of the prettiest sunsets I had ever seen. A couple of the shots reminded me of the beautiful color schemes featured on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. So far, I have only seen this ceiling via pictures and documentaries. Perhaps someday, I can go to Rome and see it in person.

So here are five shots of the lovely sunsets as seen on December 9, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina in South America.

Link to other Blog about Seeing the Christ the Redeemer Statue

This is the link to the other blog I wrote about seeing the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. It will open up in a new window. I’ve also included links to the two blogs about Sargassum, in case you would like to read them, as well.

Visiting Christ the Redeemer Statue was Highlight of my Trip to Brazil

Mystery: What was that Golden-Brown Seaweed?

Some Fascinating Facts about Sargassum

Amazon Link to all children’s books by Debbie Dunn

Here is the link to the author’s page on Amazon of all paperback and kindle books by Debbie Dunn.. It will open up in a new window.

Author’s Page on Amazon.com

Monday, January 28, 2019

Visiting Christ the Redeemer Statue was Highlight of my Trip to Brazil

Visiting the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio De Janeiro was the highlight of my trip to Brazil. This tour was part of my South American cruise.

Amazing Tour to See Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Have you ever been to Brazil? Or, perhaps you watched the 2016 Summer Olympics that took place in Rio De Janeiro. If so, I imagine you probably viewed footage of the incomparable Christ the Redeemer statue that sits atop the mountain called Mount Corcovado.

As part of a Celebrity Eclipse cruise I took late in 2018, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil was one of the ports we visited.

I decided to take a tour called “Corcovado and a View of Rio’s Beaches.” The description of this tour was as follows: “Board a rustic cogwheel railway and rumble up the steep slope to the summit of Corcovado Mountain, home to Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue.” The tour was to last 4 ½ hours altogether.

The tour entailed the following:

Exit the cruise ship and board a shuttle that would take you to the cruise port building.

Walk through the building and enter the outskirts of Rio De Janeiro.

Find the bus station and meet the tour guide.

Ride the bus past many sights until we reached the bottom of the Corcovado Mountain.

Take a walking tour while attempting to avoid many locals attempting to sell their wares.

Board an aerial train. The views from the train windows were quite lovely.

Once arrived near the top of the mountain, there were two options to see the statue. For the hardier folk, you could choose to walk up over 200 steps to reach the bottom of this statue. I gratefully chose the easier route. This included an elevator ride followed by a series of escalator rides. After all, it was quite hot on that day since December is the beginning of Brazil’s summer season.

There were well over a hundred people staring up at the Jesus statue. People were taking pictures of it, of others standing below it, and taking selfies. There were even a few brave souls lying on the ground so they could take pictures of this statue from what must have been an interesting perspective.

For grins and giggles, here is my attempt at taking one of my first-ever selfies with the statue in the background.

For your enjoyment, check out some of the incredible vistas you could see from that height.

When our time was up, we met the guide for our return trip down the mountain via that train ride. This was followed by walking through town to reach the bus stop.

Aboard the bus, the tour guide pointed out three of the most popular beaches in Rio De Janeiro. We even got to see some amazing sand sculptures featuring Christ Jesus. For your viewing pleasure, I included the sculpture I found to be quite spectacular. I would like to commend the amazing talents of this unknown artist.

During the bus tour, I was able to catch a far-off view of the Christ the Redeemer statue. Given that the statue is reported to be 98-feet tall sitting atop a mountain that is 2,320 feet tall, that was rather easy to do. That evening after dinner, I was able to stand out on my cruise cabin balcony and photograph the statue from a distance. It was quite meaningful to me to personally experience this metaphor that came to my mind: Christ Jesus is a stunning light shining out of the darkness.

A Little Touch of Fear Factor

Sadly, there was a little touch of fear factor on this trip. The shore excursion people warned us about the dangers of visiting this port. We were told to not wear jewelry and to beware of those who would steal our purses or belongings. The personnel at the Guest Relations desk even told me that should I bring my fancy Nikon camera, there was a risk that it could literally be ripped from my neck.

As a result, I only brought my cell phone and a very well hidden twenty dollar bill to use in case of emergencies. I kept my cell phone underneath my shirt. I only pulled it out long enough to take pictures and then hid it away again. The only thing else I brought was a water bottle in a little carrier.

All these warnings had some people so frightened that they cancelled their tours. I must admit that I initially had an adrenaline rush of “fear factor” going on until I reached the safety of the bus. I think if I ever return to Rio De Janeiro, I would not feel as frightened or intimidated. But it was rather unsettling and rather ironic to think that I might be facing danger in order to view the statue of Jesus up close.

I must say that during all the other countries I visited in South America, I felt quite safe to bring my Nikon camera along. It was only in Brazil that the ship crew warned us to be extra vigilant. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to personally experience the Christ the Redeemer statue. If I ever return to Rio De Janeiro, I would even like to take that tour again.