Two Great Continents & Western Europe Waterways - V327A

Manaus is a main port on the banks of the Negro River 1450 km inland in the heart of the Amazon rain forest, and is the main transport hub for the entire upper Amazon Basin. It also attracts crowds of tourists who find a variety of land and boat trips into the jungle. Wildlife is plentiful, even within the city, and it is home to the Pied Tamarin, one of Brazil's most endangered primates. Tour boats take visitors to see the point where the black waters of the Rio Negro meet the Solimoes River's brown waters and then flow next to each other without mixing for nine kilometres. Read more about Manaus, Brazil

Parintins is a major river port with a population of 114,000, situated on Tupinambarana Island amid the largest archipelago of the mid-Amazon. It is one of the most isolated medium-sized cities in the world, and is accessible only by air or boat. The community can trace its history back through two centuries and still proudly celebrates its traditional Indian culture. The town is famous for its annual ‘Boi Bumba Festival’, a fantasy derived by the mixture of Indian and European cultures that revolve around a bull, and is a very well-known world class event. Read more about Parintins, Brazil

Parintins is a major river port with a population of 114,000, situated on Tupinambarana Island amid the largest archipelago of the mid-Amazon. It is one of the most isolated medium-sized cities in the world, and is accessible only by air or boat. The community can trace its history back through two centuries and still proudly celebrates its traditional Indian culture. The town is famous for its annual ‘Boi Bumba Festival’, a fantasy derived by the mixture of Indian and European cultures that revolve around a bull, and is a very well-known world class event. Read more about Parintins, Brazil

Santarem in Brazil, some 800 km up the Amazon, is located on the southern bank of the clear emerald blue waters of the Tapajos River, a tributary of the Amazon. Not far from here these waters encounter the muddy waters of the magnificent Amazon River. A natural phenomenon, the two rivers flow side by side and are known as the ‘meeting of the waters’. The city has a bustling harbour full of riverboats and ancient dugout canoes. Read more about Santarem, Brazil

Santa Cruz de Tenerife (commonly known as Santa Cruz) is the capital the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. The port is of great importance and is the communications hub between Europe, Africa, and the Americas, with cruise ships arriving from many nations. Not surprisingly, the city has a real cosmopolitan mix due to immigrants from Latin America, Africa and Western Europe. Santa Cruz is the second largest city of the European Union outside of Europe, and is also the capital of the island of Tenerife. Read more about Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

Macapa, Brazil, is a river port and capital of the territory of Amapa, lying on the northernmost and largest arm of the Amazon River delta, opposite the Marajo archipelago. The city lies exactly on the Equator, and the football stadium is the only one in the world where each half of the field is located in opposite hemispheres. Macapa retains some of the history of the region in its monuments. One of these is Sao Jose Fort, at the entrance to the city. Read more about Macapa, Brazil

Devil’s Island (14ha), along with Île Royale (28ha) and Saint-Joseph Island (20ha), form the Salvation’s Islands, lying 13km NE off the coast of French Guinana in the Atlantic Ocean. The islands were part of the penal colony of Cayenne from 1852 to 1953, that also included mainland sites. Most of the 80,000 prisoners never returned to metropolitan France, dying from tropical diseases and brutal conditions. Devil's island, Île du Diable, housed no more than 12 persons in moderate freedom due to the difficulty of escape. Read more about Devil's Island, French Guiana

Santiago is the largest of the ten volcanic islands of Cape Verde archipelago in the central Atlantic Ocean. It is located 570 kilometres off the coast of West Africa (and the city of Dakar in Senegal). The highest point is Pico da Antónia at 1394m. Historically it featured in the transcontinental slave trade, was captured by Francis Drake, attacked by French pirates, and colonised by the Portuguese. Read more about Santiago, Cabo Verde

Santiago is the largest of the ten volcanic islands of Cape Verde archipelago in the central Atlantic Ocean. It is located 570 kilometres off the coast of West Africa (and the city of Dakar in Senegal). The highest point is Pico da Antónia at 1394m. Historically it featured in the transcontinental slave trade, was captured by Francis Drake, attacked by French pirates, and colonised by the Portuguese. Read more about Santiago, Cabo Verde

Las Palmas, the ninth largest city of Spain, is situated on one of the smaller islands of the Canary Islands that are located just off the NW coast of mainland Africa. About twenty percent of all inhabitants of the entire group of islands live in this city. It is set in magnificent scenery of two bays and their beautiful beaches. Be sure to explore the important historical and cultural heritage found mainly in the district of Vegueta, where Christopher Columbus visited in 1492, and that has resulted in its being declared a World Heritage Site. Read more about Las Palmas, Spain

Africa’s second largest city and Morocco’s largest city and chief port, Casablanca (Portuguese for ‘white house’), is located on the Atlantic Ocean in the west of the country. The city has passed through Arab, Portuguese, Dutch and French control, and the famous 1942 film Casablanca reflects its colonial status in the 1940s. Today it is the largest city of the Maghreb (Barbary Coast), land of the Berbers and Moors. It is a major port (one of the largest artificial ports in the world), financial centre, and now tourist destination. Read more about Casablanca, Morocco

Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, lies in the western Iberian Peninsula aside the Atlantic Ocean and the Tagus River. As one of the oldest cities in the world, it is rich in Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, Modern and Post-Modern constructions. The city is also crossed by historical boulevards and monuments along the main thoroughfares. The Lisbon Coast hosts some fine sandy beaches at Cascais and Estoril and fishing villages like Sesimbra. Read more about Lisbon, Portugal

Cherbourg is a coast town of Normandy, France, on the English Channel. Of special note is that Cherbourg was the first stop of the Titanic after leaving England. Also of note are the massive man-made sea walls and the ever-busy piers. While many passengers visit the Normandy beaches, the Saire Valley, Cap de la Hague, or Mont Saint Michel from Cherbourg, a 15 minute walk or short ride in a shuttle bus takes visitors to the township that is best known for its aquarium, parks and museums. Read more about Cherbourg, France

The port city of Zeebrugge is a harbour town at the western end of the Belgian coast and a subdivision of the city of Bruges - one of the best preserved cities in Europe - for which it is the modern port. The new port has reinvigorated the city as an art and tourist centre for northern Europe. Upon visiting Bruges you will immediately notice that this city has always carefully cherished its architectural and artistic treasures from the past, but what makes Bruges so unique though is the way it deals with this past today. There is something for everybody. Read more about Zeebrugge, Belgium

Greenwich Pier on the River Thames in the London borough of Greenwich, UK, is upstream from the London Barrage, and downstream from the heart of London. The name says you are within walking distance of the historic Royal Observatory, Greenwich (now a museum), marking zero degrees longitude, where you can be photographed with one foot in the Eastern hemisphere and one foot in the Western hemisphere. View historic astronomic and navigational tools vital to Britain’s ships since 1675, railways since 1847, and the Prime Meridian since 1884. Greenwich Mean Time is now superseded by Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Read more about Greenwich, Great Britain