Day 108: Belem, Brazil

Tuesday April 23, 2013

Last year we visited Belem, which is the 11th largest Brazilian city, and did a tour of the river on which it is located which is one of the many tributaries of the Amazon River.  We had not been impressed with Belem, so  Barry elected to stay aboard the ship as did Mal.  Karen had arranged a van, so Max, Leslie, Karen,Tom and Steve went to the city, which is about an hour and twenty minutes from the ship's pier.  I am very glad we did this, because I had a better impression than I did last year. 

First of all security is extremely heavy here, with military police in full regalia, at our pier, guarding the entry and our ship's personnel.  We also saw plenty of police on the streets throughout the day, and at one point the police told Tom to put away his iPad, and Max to hide her camera.  Other than that we felt safe, but one is always vigilant.  

To put the context of where we were I am going to quote the ship's description of the Amazon River because, until you visit here, it is difficult to appreciate the size of this mighty river. 

" The Amazon is a gigantic system of rivers and forests, covering almost half of Brazil and extending into neighbouring countries.  The wide stretch of river, known as Rio Amazonas, runs between the cities of Manaus and Belem, though the various rivers that join to form it provide a navigable route for ocean-going vessels to the other side of the South American continent.  The forest still keeps many of its secrets; to this day, major tributaries of the Amazon are unexplored.  Of the estimated 15,000 species of Amazon creatures, thousands of birds, and fish and hundreds of mammals have not been classified.  A cursory sampling of known animal species found in the forest - some common, some rare, some virtually extinct - includes jaguars, tapirs, peccaries, spider monkeys, sloths, armadillos, caimans, alligators, river dolphins, boa constrictors and anacondas.   Forest birds include toucans, parrots, macaws, hummingbirds and gaviao (birds of prey). and insect life is well represented, with over 1800 species of butterflies and more than 200 species of mosquito.  Fish such as piranha, tucunare, piraracu, anuana, piraibba and poraque (electric eel) abound in such amazing diversity of species that biologists are unable to identify much of the catch found in Belem's markets.  Don't expect to meet remote Indian tribes or dozens of free-ranging  beasts though , because in both cases contact has been synonymous with destruction and both have sensibly fled from accessible areas. "

The humidity here is such that your own perspiration quite literally is running down your back like a river all the time, and your hair is wet with the slightest exertion.  For those of us walking, 4 hours left us all drained.  However what an interesting 4 hours we spent walking through the markets.  I didn't have a camera as we were nervous of theft, but Maxine did take the photos we are posting today.  

We saw fruit that we had never seen, fish,  beautiful vegetables, and cages and cages of live ducks, macaws, bunnies, guinea pigs, chickens, chicks, budgies, and geese.   The goods were not a high quality and for a bunch of experienced world shoppers, it is rare that someone doesn't buy something, but all that tempted us were soccer shirts.  Soccer of course is a national Brazilian passion and there were many many stalls of soccer gear.  One of the most interesting shops was the medicinal herbal shop.  Many of our modern medicines are derived from Amazon plants and here, there were great bunches of dried herbs and huge baskets of them.  The smells were also wonderful.  There were also spice sellers but none that had our needed vacuum packed packages. 

The big find for me was Chinese laundry bags which are giant plastic plaid bags with zippers that I can use to put our various purchases in for the trip home in our car!  

We visited the main cathedral, which is stunning inside. 

Thanks to Tom and Steve for these Belem pictures.

 

Belem itself is a mix of immense poverty, with lots of slums, but situated side by side with new mega developments with 40 story condo buildings that would look at home in LA. or Miami.  We saw several gated communities, and some large new shopping centres, and noted that all the new developments have razor wire, or other security features as crime is rampant here and the divide between the very wealthy and the very poor is great.  Brazil is slowly pulling itself into the modern world, and frankly there are more cranes here than we see in North America.   

The heat is so tremendous, and life must be extremely hard for the poor because of it, as the transportation is by bus in the vastly populated city. 

One last note, Belem is 80 miles up the river from the ocean, and we would pass out of the river at 1 a.m. on Wednesday, and 12 hours later, by 1 pm. on Wednesday the Atlantic Ocean was still brown with the silt of this mighty river that colours the Atlantic mud brown sea for over 200 miles, with its nutrients.  Until you see it you can not imagine!

Day 110: Devil's Island, French Guiana

Thursday, April 25th, 2013

Just when you think it can't get any hotter, it does.  We had absolutely no expectations for this island and were pleasantly surprised as the history which is dark and intriguing of these three tiny islands gave us a lot to think about. These tiny islands, were used as a notorious French penal colony until 1952.  Opened by Napoleon in 1852, it became one of the most infamous prisons in history.  The inmates ran the gamut from political prisoners to thieves and murderers.  The harsh conditions and rampant spread of disease guaranteed that more than 50,000 of the 80,000 prisoners were never seen again.  The remote location, rocky coastline and treacherous shark filled waters made escape virtually impossible.  in 1938 France stopped sending prisoners here, and closed it in 1952.  Papillion, a best-selling book by ex-Devel's Island convict Henri Charriere tells of his numerous alleged escape attempts.  The movie stars Steve McQueen and was shown this evening, but I skipped out to catch up on this blog. 

It was so humid that all of us looked like we had stepped out of a shower while we were ashore.  It was a tender port.  The 45 minute walk around the largest island was so interesting and we were saved by the massive jungle overgrowth that shaded the path around the island.  Two species of monkeys delighted us as we climbed up the gentle sloped trail, past the Cemetery des Enfants (children of the service people).  Prisoners were not buried, just tossed into the sea.  We also saw a small rodent called a XXXX.  

The crumbling prison is haunting.  One cannot visit and not be mindful of all the terrors that were visited upon the hapless people sent here.  The prison could house 2000 men at a time, and the cells were horribly small, and impossibly claustrophobic.  The supervisors lived in cement homes across from the prison, and the Jesuits worked here for many years attending to the prisoners.  

Today there is a hotel just down from the prison, and we bought a beer which tasted like heaven.  Outside we saw iguanas, peacocks, hummingbirds, and giant macaws, all indigenous to this area.  In the lagoons were several large catamarans from the mainland as it is now a tourist destination, although one can still not swim in these waters.  

We were back on the ship, soaking wet by 12:30.  

One of the highlights of the world cruise is the "swap and shop" which happened on the back of the Lido Deck today where people sell all the things they don't want to take home.  It was a feeding frenzy.  Max and I just sat and watched in amazement. 

We were delayed leaving the port by several hours as the hydraulic lifts on the aft tender area malfunctioned and repairs had to be undertaken.  We had a sparkling dinner conversation, and most of the table went to the movie.  

Tomorrow we are at sea with a busy agenda. 

Day 109: At Sea in the Atlantic Ocean

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

After personal training and spinning, during which I perspired as if I as still in Belem, because the humidity was pervading the ship still, I tackled some packing for about 4 hours.  You might think I made a huge dent, but we have to do the old spreadsheet thing of itemizing those things we are shipping and those things we bought, so the chickens have come home to roost for me.  Even so I felt relief at finally making some headway, especially now that I have my Chinese laundry bags!!  

This evening was a formal which began with a cocktail party for the  Mariner's Appreciation Day.  Barry and I received silver HAL medallions and were called up, along with hundreds of others to have our pictures taken with the Captain, our friend Jonathan, for our over 300 days sailed.  There were plenty of others who were honoured with over 700 days sailed.   It was a nice evening, and we elected to go to the Piano Bar instead of the show, where Debbie Bacon entertained us with piano, saxophone and singing featuring the music of Henry Mancini. Debbie is very talented and has a large following on the ship.

Day 107: At Sea in the Atlantic Ocean

Monday April 22, 2013

I have begun to be consumed with figuring out when we will do all our packing, and how we will fit it all into the bags we have. Last year, we had a full week at sea, prior to disembarkation, as we left Europe and crossed the Atlantic. This year, our last week is broken up by 3 ports of call and FedEx doesn't come aboard until St. Lucia. I spent a couple of hours doing some packing, and otherwise our usual gym and walking activities took up the rest of the day.

Day 106: Fortaleza, Brazil

Sunday April 21st, 2013

Fortaleza looks like a mirage of tall white buildings rising from the blue sea, and a place that you should visit.  Like most South American cities that we have visited, the beauty of the mirage is an illusion.  Maxine, Mal, Barry and I hopped on the complimentary shuttle bus into town, at 8 am knowing that the markets would be closed at noon.  It was already steamy hot, as we drove along the road beside the beach that seems to be a prerequisite of any city on this continent.  It was deserted at this hour, but we noticed how clean and wide it was, much like Copacabana in Rio.  Later in the day, after we returned to the ship, we could see that this same beach was covered in bodies, for Brazilians like to live outdoors, and they like their beaches.  A fellow passenger that spins with me every day, told me that she felt completely overdressed on the beach, in her tankini, for all the women had 3 small triangles covering the essentials and that was all, regardless of their age, or size, or shape. 

The shuttle dropped us at a market in an old prison, but we promptly walked 4 blocks to the big central local market, which was a hive of business, with ladies selling their handmade wares.  Inside the market were 3 stories reachable by ramp or elevator with an elevator lady, who must have been dying in the heat.  Every small stall either sold the famous laces, children's clothing, spices, linens, leather goods or carvings.  The Portuguese influence is obvious, as all the linens are handmade beautiful items either with intricate lacework, or elaborate cutwork.  A woman was hard at work weaving lace borders with shuttles that she manually wove in and out. The leather shoes and bags were very expensive, although we have been spoiled by our Asian markets. 

 

We had had enough of the heat and the sameness by noon, and we headed back to the ship, this time in a cab.  The city itself was poor, with little to redeem it.  Maybe we just don't have an affinity for South America.  Our hearts went out to the people who seem to be hard working, polite, and patient with those of us who had difficulty communicating as they don't speak English and we do not speak Portuguese.  

Days 103, 104, 105: At Sea in the Atlantic Ocean

Thursday April 18th, Friday April 19th, and Saturday April 20th, 2013

Hot and humid weather has returned as we sail toward the equator once again, towards Brazil where we will have two ports of call: Fortaleza and Belem.  We have really been enjoying the current speaker Howard Walker, who is a retired U.S. Ambassador and has given 5 excellent lectures.  He is witty, informative, and so knowledgeable about world affairs, and has taught us all about the role of an Ambassador, what the hot buttons will be going forward, which countries will be leading the solutions, and how they will try and solve the complex issues that this planet faces.  

I am nearing the end of a knitting project I have had on the go as well, in spite of the fact that I rarely get a chance to knit.  I feel like Madam Lafarge from Tale of Two Cities as I sit knitting in all the lectures.  The Linus Project ladies have made over 180 blankets this cruise.  

On Thursday evening we were invited to join Sandy and Grace, Jonathan and Karen at the Pinnacle to celebrate Grace's birthday, which was actually the same day as mine, and this was the only day that we could get a table.  They were on the cruise last year as well, and live in Los Angeles.  Sandy has a cane collection that numbers over 2500 and he collects them at every port of call.  We had a great evening sharing lots of travel stories and getting to know them better.  It was really nice to eat at the late sitting too, which meant that we had a leisurely time on the Lower Promenade before dinner, just enjoying the beautiful evening light. 

Friday's highlight was the last Formal Ball, which was held at 10 pm. in the Queen's Lounge, with a Carnival theme.  The hardest part was staying awake between the time we finished dinner at 7 pm. and the start of the dance, but Max, Mal, Barry and I managed to laugh our way through the 3 hours in the Ocean Bar, watching the dance hosts dance with all the single ladies.  Karen and Jonathan kicked off the event with a dance, and we stayed till 11:30, enjoying the party, which is also attended by lots of the crew who like to dress up for the  evening too. 

Saturday's main event was the Indonesian Crew Party.  I must say that I am not sure what kind of vacation one could have where the staff would spend 3 weeks, rehearsing on their off hours which is from midnight till 2 or 3 in the morning, to put on a fantastic hour long show of singing, dancing and music showcasing their country.  The Queen's Lounge literally didn't have any seats left a good 30 minutes prior to showtime, and we were all sitting or standing in awkward spots, to see this popular show in the afternoon.  One of our dining room stewards, Eko had a stage hand role, and Ellie, our smiling fantastic server in the Lido had a fantastic part in a complicated performance of synchronized hand movements and music. 

 

I am really in panic mode about packing as the reality of what lies ahead has sunk in, and I started to put things in suitcases after the show.  The only problem is that the cabin will now be even smaller for the last 10 days as we start the difficult task of fitting all the new purchases into new bags, and the things we brought into the 5 bags we brought, and figure out where to stack them once they are out from under our beds.  It hit me today that in the last year we have lived on this ship for 8 months - isn't that ridiculous?  Time to get back to our home, our family, and our friends.  We are all dreading the fact that we will have to get groceries, cook, clean and do laundry, so spoiled are we after 4 months of pampered living.  

Tomorrow we arrive in Fortaleza, where the temperature will be about 90F, and we are only there till 3 pm, because we have to sail at a high clip to get from there to Belem on time.  Not much to do there but go to the markets, which are only open till noon, so we will see what we can squeeze in at this port.  I must confess my heart is now not so much on the ports of call, as much as it is on the getting off the ship, and picking up our life.  

We have also been glued to the TV on the horror that unfolded in Boston, and in Texas this past week, and since we were out of satellite range for a few days, we were only able to get Fox News.  This terrorism, has been the topic of many lectures on our ship this past few months, and it is the opinion of several of the experts we have heard from, that this will be a central part of our world, and that it will likely replace wars between nations.  I can't bare to think of that.  

Day 101: At Sea in the Atlantic Ocean

Tuesday April 16th, 2013

As we sail north towards the equator it is beginning to be hotter and more humid every day. The big surprise was hot cool South African countries were at this time of year. I skipped my exercise classes because I didn't sleep well - too busy worrying how we are going to get all the stuff we've bought off the ship. Bulky times like cases of wine which we will either consume before we leave or pay duty on, are my worst concern, and I am not having buyers remorse about the quantities we bought. The thing is when you are faced with $7 - $15 prices on superior wines it is too tempting, and especially after sampling 7 or 8 of them before lunch!!

We were all wondering about the entertainment, which was billed as "Marrionettes" with a superb review by the Las Angeles Times. This act turned out to be one of the most creative, unique and entertaining acts we have seen. This man, whose name escapes me, is a genius and he takes 400 hours to hand craft the body and clothes of his dolls, and they do unbelievably nuanced performances to music that had the entire theatre on its feet. There you go again - if you make assumptions before you see for yourself, you can miss out on things that are so worthwhile.