Around the World. Week 3 Recap

Schedule

• Day 15 / Jan 20: Salvador, Brazil

• Day 16 / Jan 21: At Sea

• Day 17 / Jan 22: Buzios, Brazil

• Day 18 / Jan 23: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Day 19 / Jan 24: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Day 20 / Jan 25: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Day 21 / Jan 26: Ilha Grande, Brazil

Day 15

Today’s excursion was called The Best of Salvador, promising a quick stop at key destinations, including the Lighthouse, Old Town, and two prominent churches. Our meeting time was at 9:15am, so we were loaded onto the buses by 9:30am. I was a bit apprehensive about this tour as I don’t really like being on a bus for very long, but wanted to see the lighthouse. Plus, it included a Brazilian Lunch!

After being loaded onto the bus and starting our journey, our guide started off by describing how South America was initially settled by the Spanish and Portuguese, way back in the 1500s. He explained the initial agreements between the two Kings and how the colonies were established and managed during that time. Additionally, the primary enterprises of the day; one of which was wood (embers for red coloring). The Portuguese word for embers is Brasa, leading to how Brazil got its name.

Upon arrival to the Lighthouse, he very clearly warned us to remove any jewelry as it was well known for muggers to be in this tourist area and also warned of a few other possible issues to be aware of. I appreciated this honestly so we were prepared and not overly trusting as it did seem to be a fairly populated area during day time, which is typically a safer environment. No one on our bus had any issues, but I do credit that to the guide.

The stay at the Lighthouse was fairly short. I wish we had some more time to explore and actually go up into the lighthouse, but alas, there was only time to do a quick lap around the building and get some photos of the structure.

After the lighthouse, we loaded back up and drove up to the Old Town, which is a UNESCO site. (Ref: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/309/) Given this classification, there are some restrictions, but also due to the physical layout, our tour bus could not navigate the streets in that location. Therefore, we were dropped off at one end of the town and ultimately picked up on the other side. In the middle, our guide explained the elevator system (first in South America) that used to be a 2-ton crane back when the city was initially established. He also described an island off the coast that was used as a quarantining island for slave ships when they came over, revealing that they know most of the history there unfortunately due to the number of bones they have unearthed over time. As we were meandering to another spot, in true Brazilian fashion, it started to pour down rain within seconds of the initial droplets. Luckily, they are preparing for Carnival, so there were some tent structures erected that we could take shelter under for the time.

Once the rain cleared, we walked over to the Cathedral Basilica. This was the first church for the settlement and was adorned in gold leaf everywhere! It was so shiny inside! Reminded me of the Crab song from Moana… As I try to recall the stories he shared, I’m struggling to weave them into a cohesive few summary sentences, so instead, I’m just going to jot two bullet points of new things I learned:

• There were benefactors (rich people / sponsors) who paid for the construction and were rewarded with private boxes above the “normal people” like in an opera house.

• Initially, Portugal started moving all the gold they found back in Brazil to Portugal, but when Napoleon started his invasion, they left it where it was, at least for that era.

  
  

From this church, we were led to a shopping area and given free time to shop. My main objectives are Magnets from the stop to decorate my room on board and postcards to send back to my niece and nephews. I’m happy to report that I was success on both accounts! With that said, when buying the magnet, it still surprises me how different the Portuguese language is from both English and Spanish. While I obviously speak fluent English, my Spanish is normally okay enough to communicate while traveling. However, even with both of those, the saleswomen and I still basically communicated by pointing, aka the universal language. Unfortunately, there was no post office in the area though, so I brought the postcards back to the ship, meaning they won’t be sent off until the next port.

After the shopping break, we headed over to the African church. As we had learned at the Cathedral, while slaves were baptized to become Catholic by their owners, they still were not allowed to worship in the Cathedral. Therefore, another church was constructed for the others. Again, I can’t recall all the details, but one interesting thing he explained was the slave owners intentionally bought people from different areas to limit the potential of an uprising, but regardless of where they came from, all used music, specifically drums, during worship of their Deities, and you can still see the drums used in the church we visited.

After the church, we made our way down the cobblestone path to the bus, making our way to the Brazilian Barbecue! I didn’t realize until he started describing the process that we were actually going to what I know as a Brazilian Steakhouse, where they continue to serve meat from skewers until you flip the disc to red.

Chaos ensued! While it was a very fun experience, reflection on this event is truly crazy. Somehow, they fit three bus full of us tourists into three very long tables, fairly close together. We all arrived about the same time, meaning everyone hit the salad bars about the same time. I panicked and left the salad bar with a plate full of sushi and one random piece of blue cheese that I wanted to try. After finding my seat again, they had already started serving meat. We didn’t quite hear much of anything given the volume of everyone talking, but later, I found out that the first bits were Chicken Hearts. I actually liked them and am kind of happy to find out later since I’m not sure if I would have tried them if I knew ahead of time. However, the best cut of meat was (I think) Rump Roast. It was still hot and had great flavors! In the end, as many do, I ate waaaaaay to much and after getting back to the ship, intended to shower and nap. [Then again, that’s what I do most afternoons these days…]

But ultimately, I did a load of laundry while running some errands around the ship. As you may have guessed, I did not eat dinner, instead read in the Martini’s lounge until the evening entertainment began.

For the summary of the evening entertainment from the first Segment, you’ll need to read the Segment 1 Recap post to learn more about them.

Day 16

Upon returning to my cabin the night prior, I performed my nightly ritual of Wining Down (glass of red wine, pillow chocolates, and reviewing the next day’s Currents). With this, I found out the big activity for sea day is a Country Fair! Instantly, I thought about my blue polka dot dress with a poofy skirt that I gave away since it didn’t make the packing cut for this trip, but the next thought was about the goofy fake teeth that I received in the Christmas White Elephant gift exchange, which did make the packing cut! (Please don’t ask about my decision making process. It won’t make sense).

As I was very excited to pair my fake teeth with my straw hat, I barely slept, waking up in time to go to the last Solo meetup breakfast for this trip. I assumed I would have been one of the only crazy people ready by 8am, but I was wrong; over a dozen others joined in the event. Those meals are nice because we’re all traveling solo, most of us for the full 6 months and have started forming friendships within the group. One thing I still find interesting is I don’t actually know how to contact any of them outside of the planned events or just wandering the ship. However, because it’s a larger group, I see them regularly throughout the sea days and on excursions.

After the breakfast, I went to another Digital class about Editing photos for Social Media. While I already knew most of what she discussed, there are always tidbits I picked up, including what the difference is between Exposure vs Brightness. I’m planning to go back to meet with Vonna a bit later to talk about making iMovies; outside of a scheduled class so we can be a bit more advanced in our conversation.

Now to the big event of the day: The Country Fair!

On the pool deck, there are a number of enclaves which are normally where you can lounge looking out over the water, while being fully in the shade, but today, each of those was populated by a different department on the ship: housekeeping, maintenance, casino, etc. Each booth had various games or challenges you needed to complete in order to receive a raffle ticket. One of the games was Baggo (aka Cornhole…) and if you got it in, one of the cruise entertainment team was pushed into the pool. Luckily for the assistant cruise director, Robbie, I got close, but couldn’t send him to the depths! During this time, the Vista Orchestra was playing lively music and the pool deck was pretty full of laughter and smiles. I’ve never seen anything like it and think it’s such a great idea! Unfortunately, I did not win anything… And yes, I did wear my fake teeth. Not all the time, but enough to get a few selfies.

Day 17

It rained. Because the weather has been so nice, I have just started assuming that I should dress for warm and sunny days. Today started just as the others, where I donned a sundress, while debating if I should actually wear my swimsuit under since Buzios is known for the beaches. As I was waiting for the non-excursion tender groups to be called, I went up to grab some coffee. Once there, I noticed that many people had on coats. Finally, looking outside, I realized that it was rainy, so I went back to my room to change; disappointed.

Once in town, it continued to drizzle as people hopscotched around puddles, ducking to miss being poked in the eye from someone’s umbrella. I wandered into the shopping areas, purchasing only a magnet to add to my collection and a snorkel set. The snorkel set was not intended to be used to get back to the ship as it was only sprinkling to be sure, but instead to be ready to use at the future tropical ports where the excursion may not offer it like at the St Barts catamaran and swim adventure.

After wandering, primarily to look for photo opportunities, I made my way back to the ship as I debated about eating on shore or just going back to the ship for free food, knowing that I had Jacques reservation tonight.

On a significant note, my phone has started syncing to iCloud so some of the photos are now showing up on my laptop. We’re not yet at a point to call it a success as there are still quite a few photos lost in cyber-land. I’m extra hopeful though that with three days in Rio, all the things will sync and I’ll be able to sort and organize all the photos and videos from the first three weeks! (Post edit note - my photos are still not synced to iCloud, even after Rio…)

Day 18 - 20

We had two overnight stays in Rio de Janeiro, which ended up being lucky since it rained days 1 and 2. Therefore, on Day 18, I chose to catch up on journaling and creating a Segment 1 recap video and post. On Day 18, we also had our first of three exclusive events for the Around the World passengers, which was hosted at the Roxy Dinner show. We had the whole place to ourselves! They served us dinner before the show started. I had tuna tartar and filet mignon. Both tasted amazing, but since the food on the ship is always phenomenal, I’m finding it more and more difficult to suggest the Off Ship food exceeds expectations. I know, rough life… The show itself was a story telling of the different regions of Brazil, through song and dance. There seemed to be about 40 different dancers and quite a few singers that lead us through that journey. They were all very high energy and the costumes were so colorful.

Because we had two overnights in Rio, one segment ended on Day 19 while the next segment started. I found this unique for the passengers getting off and getting on as we arrived at the port, but they stayed on the ship for another night. Alternatively, they embarked for their segment, only to stay in port for another day. I guess I’m just used to panicking to ensure that I get to the ship on time for embarkation day because there’s a chance it could leave me behind! For these new passengers, if they missed their time, the ship was still in port for another 24 hours. The new segment is only from Rio to Buenos Aires (10 days), so there are quite a few younger groups that got on. I assume that’s due to the duration of this segment.

The sun finally came out on Day 20! Which was amazing luck for me as that was the day of my Rio tour. Originally, I had booked the tour on Day 18, but with the Roxy Dinner show, it got moved to Day 20. With the clouds cleared, we were able to see the whole city from the Christ the Redeemer statue platform. From that viewpoint, the expansiveness of the city is awe-inspiring! You’re also able to get an understanding of why Rio is known for its beaches as everywhere you look, there is sandy shores and beautiful teal-blue water. After the statue, we went over to Sugar Loaf mountain, at which we took two cable cars to get to the top. While I am normally an easy-going, level-headed individual, it was at this stop that my patience was running short. From the early morning start (6:45am) to the crowds at the Redeemer to the slow moving lines to the heat of the day to not having lunch until 1pm, I’m sorry to say, I was getting Hangry and Crabby. Thankfully, our final stop was the Brazilian Barbecue restaurant where it was all you can eat meat again! And boy did I eat all of the meats! Compared to the one at Salvador, this one had better steaks and I remembered not to fill up on salads to start.

Once back at the ship, I showered, ran errands on the Ship, which is still funny to say while on vacation, and got ready for the Captain’s cocktail party!

Day 21

Today was my absolute favorite day to date on this trip. Actually, it may have been my absolute favorite day for a few years or maybe as long as I can remember. To make the point, even a few other passengers commented about how I didn’t stop smiling all day long. What made it so great, you may be wondering. I honestly can’t pinpoint it, but we started the day sailing over to the Blue Lagoon to go snorkeling. The water was perfect temperature, but there were few tropical fishes to be seen. Although, I did see some very densely populated schools of little fish. After some time, I realized how far I had drifted from the boat and had to swim against the current to get back to safety. It was a pretty tough swim with the salt water continually going into my mouth since I couldn’t quite figure out how to propel myself through the water while effectively breathing through the snorkel. Once back on the schooner, I remembered that there was a water slide off the back, so I convinced one of the other ladies to go with me! The slide was so exhilarating, but the swim back to the ladder was exhausting. Plus I managed to scratch the top of my foot climbing back on board, resulting in a first aid moment. Therefore, I did not go sliding again on this trip. After that stop, we sailed over to another beach area where there were no fish, but nice beach to swim in. Upon returning to the pier, the guides told us about a beach near by with some of the ruins from when the island was a prison area, so I decided to go check it out. Before starting down that path though, I found some Acai Juice. As I bopped along the path, sipping my juice through a straw, a feeling of joy and contentment settled within me as I realized that I had found some sort of peace that I haven’t felt in a very long time.

After my walk, I thought it was about to storm, so I made my way back to the ship, where I napped by the pool as I waited for the Photo Recap video to upload.

Week 3 Wrap Up

To summarize the week, Brazil, being such a massive country, has shown all the different environments from the rainforest in Belem to the city of Rio to the tropical paradises of Ilha Grande and Buzios. Even with that, we still have THREE MORE stops in Brazil!

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