Dec 29

We docked at Santarem at 7:00am and all aboard was at 12:30pm, so there wasn't time to enjoy the town which was a shuttle bus ride away since nothing opened until around 10:00.  There is a fantastic fish restaurant in the center of town, but not enough time to get a lunch.  We went to the handicraft booths on the pier and used up the last of our Brazilian money since this is our final Brazil port.  At lunch the huge Pirarucu fish bought in the Manaus fish market was displayed and fillets of it were cooked on the grill.  It's a delicious tasting fish.  At 2:00pm our friend Cheryl Sprague gave a presentation titled "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, A Journey From Darkness To Triumph."  Following that was a champagne tasting with a lot of information about the processes of making champagne and how the different tastes are achieved.  The 2 singers from the cast put on a cabaret after dinner.