Columbus Cruise Review

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Time Zone: GMT - 3 (GMT - 2 from third Sunday in October to third Saturday in March).

Currency: Real (R$) = 100 centavos.

Language: Portuguese; Spanish, English, Italian, French and German are also spoken in tourist areas.

Sightseeing: The exotic city of Manaus is the capital of the state of Amazonas. It is surrounded by jungle and connected to the sea by a 1600-kilometre (1000-mile) stretch of the Amazon River. It contains the Teatro Amazonas (Amazonas Theatre), built in 1896 in the Italian Renaissance style, with its majestic neo-classical façade, a number of fine restaurants and hotels and a free-trade zone which is excellent for cheap shopping.

Shopping: Special purchases include gems (particularly emeralds), jewellery (particularly silver), permissible antiques, leather or snakeskin goods.

Eating Out: Pato no tucupi (duck in rich wild green herb sauce) and tacacá (thick yellow soup with shrimps and garlic).