Gym's Ramblings: Winter 2022 - The Amazon Expedition

Miami Beach from the Royal Palms Hotel

November 14, 2022

Gym and his dear wife are currently staging in Miami. They are about to embark on a naval campaign to claim the Amazon Basin from the Brazilians and install the Yanomami tribes back as the true owners of much of northern Brazil. The plan is to sail, as expeditiously as possible from Florida across the Caribbean and then into the mouth of the Amazon, before the folks in Brasilia know what is going on. From there, Gym will renew the Yanomami confederation as he steams up the mighty river and avoids malaria, yellow fever and the cronies of Jair Bolsonaro...

Just kidding!

Over the next few weeks though, Gym and his better half are going to sail up the Amazon in one of the smaller Oceania cruise ships and Gym does hope to get a good feel for the most powerful river in the world. The area about to be explored is still the most biodiverse ecosystem on any continent.

However, before we begin talking about the cruise, let's dwell on Miami for a few paragraphs. Sure, it's Republican in Florida and yes, caucasian Canucks are a little exposed down here, having no guns and limited Spanish language skills. Gym loves this place though, it has great fishing, a winning NFL team and tacos that are to-die-for, on every second block. The weather is great too. Let's face it, Miami is the only subtropical city in the continental USA.

Speaking of weather though, there was a little bit of a hiccup on this trip. Gym had a great autumn in Calgary. There was no snow right up until the end of October. Then just before they flew south, winter hit with a vengeance. It got cold and it snowed heavily! Gym was smug though, as he, his lovely bride and their son, were booked on Air Canada escape from the frigid conditions in Calgary. They didn't realize though that a hurricane was forming off the Bahamas that would impact the start of their stay on South Beach.

Gym has been close to two hurricanes now. They were both named Nicole which is also the name of Gym's and Mrs. Gym's daughter. Was this a coincidence or some sort of witchcraft? Fortunately, Nicole Two came ashore well up the Florida peninsula and just gave Miami a glancing blow. In 2016, the travellers sailed through Nicole One's tail near Bermuda.

The day our travellers arrived, it started raining and it was wet for most of three days. The storm surge on Miami beach was very noticeable and no one was allowed to go swimming. Eventually, the sun came out and the Gym family was blessed with several days of pool time and walks on the beach. They went fishing, saw the Miami Dolphins beat the Cleveland Browns and ate at some great restaurants.

Gym Jr. flew home today and his parents have one more night in the Royal Palm Hotel before they board the MS Insignia for the Amazon Expedition.

Stay tuned!