Our luggage has now gone to the airport and we are almost ready to say goodbye to our home for the last 20 days, the MS Amsterdam, whose staff is eager to get us off the ship, to make room for new passengers arriving to follow the same voyage we are leaving.
Our disembarkation time is 9:30, so we have time for our last breakfast and to say goodbye to some of the wonderful friends we made along the way. We scanned our pictures and room card one last time as we left the ship.
Tom was taken in the wheelchair and carried down the gangway, and then one of the crew took us to our bus that was quite a distance away. There was quite a bit of confusion as some people where staying over in Rio, some going to a hospitality suite at the Transcontinental Hotel,, because of late flight. Ours doesn't leave until 10:15pm. I made sure they had a reserved wheelchair to meet the bus when we arrived at the Hotel.
When we first arrived, a bunch of these loungers where already grabbed by the first bus load. We where about the 2ND bus to arrive and only had the chairs at tables to sit at. Beside us sat this woman who had fallen in the bathroom on the ship and had possibly cracked ribs. She was a very vocal person and the type who is forward enough to get what she wants. So, she went out to see the manager and requested 3 more lounges brought down from the pool area for her, Tom and luckily me!! When they arrived with the loungers, everyone ran for them, but this lady put her hand up like she had a huge stop sign in her hand and told everyone she had requested them and they where for us!!
Now we are on our bus heading to the airport in Rio. Hopefully the wheelchair as requested will be there for Tom.
HEADING HOME AT LAST
We arrived at extremely busy airport in Rio!! Very crowded, and again the warnings to be very careful and watch for pickpockets and keep your belongings close to you. Also, we where warned that every kind of crook hangs out at busy tourist places, especially the airport. Also, told that men in suits, looking very much the well groomed business man, may sympathetically ask if you need any help and where advise to NOT to accept their help, or you may be directed into some corner and robbed. Sounds like I'm being over cautious here, but it did happen!!! Three men, who I noticed first, where looking us over, and then approached us and asked if we needed help. Just then the PUSHER (guy who takes people in wheelchairs and helps through the airport) arrived. He just gave them a look like "shove off" and away we went through bag check in, ahead of the lines in customs, and all the way to our gate and first on the airplane!! They where wonderful and so much help and this happened for us all the way home to Vancouver.
We flew from Rio to Miami to Texas, where we had to have some de-icing done on the planes, and then our last leg to Vancouver.
It looks what Heaven is suppose to look like....or is it?
Yes....that's Vancouver! Yeah!!! Home!!
TOTAL MILAGE THIS VOYAGE (NOT COUNTING FLYING FROM VANCOUVER TO TORONTO AND TORONTO TO SANTIAGO, CHILE
Santiago to Puerto Montt.................................635 NM
Puerto Montte to Punta Arenas .......................1078 NM
Punta Arenas to Ushuaia...................................279NM
Stanley to Buenos Aires...................................1155NM
Buenos Aires to Montevideo................................143NM
Montevideo to Rio de janeiro.............................1031NM
Total distance ..............................................6413 NM
1 Nautical Mile =1.15 Statute Miles =1.85 Kilometers.
Fuel Consumptions: Diesel Generators..120 tons/day (32,000 gallons)
Water Production
Potable Water Production: 1,400 tons/day (370,000 gallons)
Potable Water Consumption 600 tons/day (160,000 gallons)
THE END!
Hi Linda-
ReplyDeleteThank you for this wonderful blog. My husband and I are going on this cruise in 1 month and we found your blog to be very insightful!
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and now we are even more excited for our upcoming trip.
Best Wishes,
Gene and Mary