Around the World. Week 4 Wrap Up

Crazy to think that FOUR WEEKS have already passed by. This segment has a LOT of port days as you can see in the Schedule summary. Week 4 starts still in Brazil, but by the end of the week, we’re in Argentina!

Schedule

• Day 22 / January 27: Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil

• Day 23 / January 28: Porto Belo, Brazil

• Day 24 / January 29: At Sea

• Day 25 / January 30: Rio Grande, Brazil

• Day 26 / January 31: Punta Del Este, Uruguay

• Day 27 / February 1: Montevideo, Uruguay

• Day 28 / February 2: Buenos Aires, Argentina

  
  

Day 22

In most of the ports in Brazil, we are warned about petty crime, including pickpocketing and being mugged for showy jewelry. These warnings have made me pretty apprehensive about venturing out on my own. While I did so for just a few hours in Rio, that was just walking by the port. Today, I wanted to go to the Coffee Museum (for obvious reasons), but was not quite confident enough to go on my own. Luckily, some of the other world cruise passengers wanted to check it out, so I was able to share an Uber over to the historic neighborhood. We made it with no issues, but even the Uber driver mentioned to keep our phones out of sight when walking around.

The Coffee Museum was larger than their website lead me to believe. I assumed it would just be a few rooms with a large cafe attached. Instead it was two stories, showcasing the grand chamber room that was used as the coffee exchange back in the day. The flooring of this room was patterned marble and the ceiling was intricate stained glass. Upstairs, they were giving a demonstration of drip coffee with samples! Yumm!

After the museum, the others decided to go to another museum as they were after a Soccer Jersey for a neighbor back home. I kept on towards the Funicular, with a stop at a chocolate shop on the way… The trip up the mountain resulted in spectacular views! We could see the ship from the top, but there was also a terrace that you could see all the other areas of Santos from. There was also a church at the top, with fences adorned with ribbons that I think signify the different saints.

Once back down the hill, I Ubered all by myself back to the ship. While this may sound like a small feat to some, it’s showing my personal growth to being more and more comfortable exploring foreign places.

The evening was full of spa massage, dinner at Red Ginger, and wrapped up with a Blue Horizon party! Yes, I dressed up in blue.

Day 23

Tendering day… That means that we get from the Cruise ship to the smaller lifeboats to take us to shore. However, the seas today were very rough and getting from the ship took a lot longer than anticipated. For example, after getting cleared at 9am, the excursions were supposed to be off the boat by 10am, so I lazily lounged at the pool all morning, anticipating going to shore around 10:30am. When I went to check in and get my ticket to join a tender, I was told that it was a minimum of 25 minute wait, so instead of waiting, I headed back to Baristas to work on getting Week 3 Wrap Up posted. An hour or so later, I decided to go check on the queue as it was already 11:30am. Upon arrival to the theater, where we were to pick up tickets, they were just about to a tender and then open up for anyone else who wanted to go, but I got there just in time for the crew member to ask if I wanted to join the departing tender. I jumped at the chance, literally almost ran over another lady on the stairs, and was headed to the gangway to join the boat. Once in line, you could easily understand why disembarkation was taking so long. The waves were constantly pumping the tenders higher and lower than the docking platform, resulting in each passenger needing to be helped from one to the other to ensure no one got injured in the process. But alas, we were finally on our way to shore!

Arriving around noon (it was about a 20 min ride to the dock), I decided to call an Uber to take me to the lunch spot as it was about a 30 minute walk. However, the system wasn’t finding a driver very quickly and even if it had, the nearest driver was 10 minutes out. With a 10 minute drive after that, I decided to walk after all. This was not a great idea. While the first bit was nice to walk along the shoreline with a decent breeze keeping me cool, once I diverted to the city streets, I lost the breeze and the sun was blasting at full power. The final half mile was rough, but I did eventually get to the restaurant.

I’m not sure I’ve explained yet that Brazil’s national language is Portuguese. Spanish and Portuguese are not the same. Brazilian’s do not necessarily learn Spanish or English and I do not know Portuguese. This makes conversations at local restaurants very interesting as I try to communicate, asking questions about how to be seated, how to order, how to pay, etc. It also doesn’t help that my Spanish is very very rusty and I can only say basic phrases, while understanding slightly more complex statements. With all that said, I successfully navigated the dining experience, while still not 100% certain as to what I ate, but it was delicious! I was craving some good sushi and this was the place that was highest rated in the area. It was definitely worth the walk, but once I finished my meal (and successfully paid the bill), I got an Uber back to the pier.

Once back, I decided to go check out the Supermarket to see if there were any snacks or items that interested me. While I didn’t find anything there, next door was a shop with a sign that indicated it was a wine store. As I entered, I was surprised that the store clerk spoke perfect English. It’s weird to say, but I still felt that I needed to speak Spanish… Laughing at myself, it was much easier to communicate once I switched back to English. Language is weird.

Back on the ship, I went to the pool as it was very hot at this location, but the breeze was nice to cool off with. I chatted with a fellow passenger for a bit before he needed to get ready for a pre-dinner cocktail party. I decided to get changed for an early buffet dinner since I didn’t have any reservations that night, thinking I’d just grab something quick and go to the piano bar to read before the evening show. About 3 hours later, the crew was trying to clean up around us. While looking for an initial table to dine at,  I found a couple that I’ve been meaning to dine with, so we chatted for a few hours and as I was leaving, got into another conversation with another couple that I had met the day prior. Needless to say, I ended up missing most of the evening performance. Following the performance, I had been invited to a cocktail party in one of the penthouses.

The penthouse is huge! I didn’t explore the place on my own, but it reminded me of a suite at an extended stay hotel, where there’s a separate sitting room from the bedroom, a dry bar, plenty of cupboard spaces and a guest bathroom in the sitting room area. I had met the hosts at the pre-embarkation dinner. They invited another couple that I met at one of the first cocktail parties and their neighbors, so we ended up being a party of 7 for the evening. Sometime after midnight, I made my way back to my cabin and slept until 10 am…

Day 24

It was a sea day so I dyed my hair. Seems dramatic, but really, I’m not ready to embrace the grays just yet. To be honest, I was not quite sure how the process would work on the ship and initially all the products and equipment required landed on the maybe pile when I was packing back in December. They made the final cut, so the process began! It’s a fairly straightforward sequence of events, where after you mix the color, you literally paint the product into your hair, starting at the root and drawing it down only an inch or two. You part another section and repeat until you get down one side of your scalp. Then you comb it all through to blend with the existing color. I also tend to paint in a few strands along the length of my hair to make it all look a bit more natural. Then I continue the other side of my head. Once done, let the waiting begin. Actually, I use the processing time to clean all the brushes and mixing cups. After about 30 minutes, it’s ready to be washed out. Now, I’ve been doing this for many many years at this point, but each time, I’m always concerned that it will turn orange! Luckily, it did not and I’m back to being 30 years old again (for the 10th year in a row…)

For dinner, I went to the French restaurant on ship, called Jacques. When I checked in, they asked if I was okay dining alone, which I readily accepted as that typically means that I don’t need to repeat my story about where I’m from and why I’m on a 6-month cruise. As I’m seated, I noticed that the other LeAnne is sitting by herself at another table. I asked the host to check if she preferred my company for dinner or to continue to eat alone. The other LeAnne and I are a lot of like, especially when it comes to just wanting some alone time, and I assumed she would not want to share a table with one other person, thinking the same thing as I did - having to repeat my life story for the umpteenth time. I watched as the host walked over to her table and like perfect synchrony people continued to block her view of me, so as predicted, she declined the company. As the host walked back to tell me the news, the crowds parted and she saw that it was me. Chasing after the host, she took back her initial response, and invited me to join. We ended up having a very nice meal and chatted about topics that were not about where we were from or how we ended up on the 6-month cruise.

Day 25

We spent today in Rio Grande, Brazil; our last Brazilian port. It was an old fishing port and while not required to tender into the port, we did have to be shuttle bused from the ship to the fish market since the port was still mostly commercial with significant semi-truck traffic and hard hat areas. Also, Ubers were not allowed to enter the port area; only Taxis. I learned all this after I had gotten ready to dash to the town in hopes of catching some early morning fishing action on camera. As I descended down the gangway to start towards town, I was warmly welcomed by local dancers and musicians, so I stuck around for a bit to watch their production. As I did, one of the local guides approached me and we chatted, which is when I learned about how I was going to be able to get to the market, including that the first shuttle didn’t leave until 8am. As it was only going on 7:30am, I had to decide about risking a Taxi on my own, going back on the ship, or just hanging out for a half hour. You may guess that I just waited and while I waited, I was asked to be interviewed for a local TV station! I never saw the final cut, but hopefully I represented myself and the cruise well!

Finally, the shuttle was departing. We drove along the port road, where you could see remnants of a rich past, such as stained glass and intricate architecture, which had dilapidated over the years. Reaching the market, we got off the coach and started exploring. It was a very quiet city to start as it seemed the stores and restaurants were not quite ready to open yet. I wandered over to a little bay that Google Maps suggested might have Sea Lions and did not see any, but there were some fun white birds that were hovering around the fishermen, waiting for the fish guts to be discarded.

Following a few photo ops, I started wandering towards a church that I saw on the ride in. It was gothic style with two towers projecting far into the skies. Needless to say, I got lost or distracted and it took me over an hour to find the church, but along the way, I went shoe shopping! Only to realize that my giant American feet will not successfully find dressy brown sandals with under a 2-inch block heel in this specific town. Bummer, but then I saw some fun dresses and forgot about the shoe size problem.

Eventually, I found the church and a chocolate shop. Debating about walking a bit off the beaten path for a restaurant that I found online, I decided not to make the trek for two reasons - the first was the population seemed to dwindle the further I got from the fish market and by that point there had been a few situations where I found myself walking alone on a deserted street with bicyclists following slowly behind me. With all senses on alert, my feet took me back to the starting point. As I’ve been collecting magnets from each stop, I ventured into a souvenir shop to collect my prize at that point. Upon arrival into a very small space, there was already a couple trying to purchase their keepsakes. Unfortunately, the couple seemed to only speak Chinese with some English, the elderly shopkeeper only spoke Portuguese, and his daughter only spoke Portuguese with some Spanish. Enter me - who speaks English and some Spanish (the final link!). For the next ten minutes, all had a “telephone-like” conversation from English to Spanish to Portuguese and back in order to determine that the two coffee mugs costs about $15 US dollars and that the couple wanted to buy them. Success! I bought my magnet and a bottle of wine.

The line to get back on the ship was about a half hour long when I got there and about an hour long when I got on the bus as it seemed everyone was ready to return to the ship in time for lunch.

That evening, I had a reservation at Toscana, the Italian restaurant on ship with a Sharing table, where I proceeded to repeat my story about where I’m from and why I’m on a 6-month cruise.

Day 26

Punta del Este, Uruguay! We’ve entered a new country for the first time in over two weeks. It was odd to get a text welcoming me to the area with my cell service limits for the region.

Today’s adventure was a scheduled excursion with the ship - a journey to a local Winery, lead by the on-board Culinary Center Chef. As you may recall, I took a cooking class earlier in the trip, during which the Chef made the time very entertaining and educational. The excursion was the same approach. He, along with our guides, ensured everyone understood what we were seeing and tasting as we worked our way through five wine tastings and a lot of meat!

We started the excursion in the Culinary Center to be briefed on what the day would entail, but also to be served an early morning cocktail of Italian Prosecco and a liquor that I can’t recall the name - something about oranges. This approach set the tone for the day, structured and fun - my favorite style. As this was another tendering port, we were guided to the ferry to make our way to the city. Upon arrival, we  were shepherded to the awaiting bus, upon which we were driven through the peninsula portion of the city, where our guide explained that houses and structures were limited on the height that they could be build due to a lighthouse that had been active in the area. From there, we worked our way along the coast to the famous Hand statue, where we were able to get off the bus for some photo ops. Since we seemed to be the first group there, photograph editing was made easy since I didn’t need to spend time erasing people from the photos… After the Hand, we worked our way to another photo stop and finally, arrived at the winery.

At the winery, we were given a tour to better understand the land and weather patterns that enabled this specific plot to produce many different types of wines. I would give you a number, but honestly, I forgot. It was somewhere around 7-9 different grapes of both white and red variety. What I do remember is this is unique for a property of that size, but due to the chemical make-up of the soil, the rock types, the temperatures and salt-carrying winds, the diversity is supported at that specific location.

Back at the restaurant portion of the winery, the chefs who had a special name, that again, I forgot, gave us an introduction to how meat is prepared using a cage like structure and grate system to hang different types and cuts of meat to smoke and grill. What was most interesting to me with this system is how far the rib cuts were from the heat, but were still being almost dry aged until they were moved directly to the grates to finish cooking through.

After the demonstration, we were seated to begin the wine tastings. I’m not going to pretend to be able to describe each of the wine’s color, smell, tastes, etc.. I can tell you that we were able to try a very special wine that was prepared from the grapes harvested after a fire on the property, which they properly labeled, “Fire Wine.” While I couldn’t taste a smokey flavor that I was expecting, it did have a different finish than other red wines; slightly more bitter to me. We ended up trying two whites and three reds, including the Fire Wine. For food, we were served a coleslaw, that was really delicious. I almost asked for the recipe, but then remember that I won’t be cooking for another year and would likely lose it before I got the chance to replicate it. We also tried the sausage, bacon, ribs, roast, russet potatoes and sweet potatoes that were caramelized on the grill. All of this was followed by a Dulce de Leche Crepe. Oh man, was I ever full and ready for a nap!

We returned to the ship after the winery and while I didn’t nap, I was able to get all the photos edited and posted before getting back on board. This is huge for me because if I wait to try to upload anything on the ship, it takes over an hour to post the video recaps. And the winery reposted my Reel! That was a nice surprise to be featured like that!

You may think that after the wine and the meal, I fell asleep only to wake up the following day, but you’d be surprisingly wrong! The weather at this stop turned out to be perfect temperature to sit out on my balcony and read the rest of the day and into the night. As the moon rose over the ocean, it created a dramatic effect anytime it went behind the clouds, so in addition to reading, I spent some time trying to get a few decent shots as we sailed our way down the coast.

Day 27

A few years ago, two friends and I went on an Antarctica Cruise, which also stopped in Montevideo, Uruguay, and we had walked the city at that time. I had debated about doing an excursion in this stop for a while, but ultimately decided it might be good to go with a guide to find local cuisine. I thought I had signed up for another Chef Led tour through the city markets, but I had gotten that confused. The excursion was through city markets, but not Chef Led.

The good thing about this port is that we didn’t have to tender or take shuttles. Right off the ship, we boarded our coach and headed off to the first market. Since it was Sunday, a lot of the normal shops were closed, but the flea markets and farmers markets in the streets were in full swing! Our first stop was at the largest of the city markets that seemed to span about 6-8 blocks down the street. The vendors were diverse in their offerings, including fruits & vegetables, toys, antiques, clothing, meats & cheeses, every day products like cleaners and toilet paper, books, and the list goes on. The guide led us along the street, stopping regularly to explain the different products. One thing that I noticed were all the signs that suggested if the vendor accepted credit card or only cash. It was helpful for me to know which I could even shop from since I definitely didn’t plan ahead for this excursion and didn’t have any of the local currency with me.

From the flea market, we went to the Agricultural Market, which was indoor and open year round. Here I was able to borrow $20 US dollars from another passenger and exchange it for Uruguayan currency. While I didn’t end up spending any of the cash on this day, we’ll actually be back in Uruguay in the next segment, after spending the two days in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When we come back, I plan to spend more time at the Port Market since the last time we were here, it was also Sunday as not many of the vendors were open.

One highlight of the day is that I finally got to try Mate! It’s a specialty in South America that is really cultural caffeine drink in that it’s a tradition to share your Mate with friends and family thought the day. It’s similar to loose tea leaves poured into a particular hollowed out gourd or wooden cup with hot water poured at a 45 degree angle on only some of the tea leaves. This is left to steep for a bit. The straw used is also made specifically for this drink in that it has a strainer at one end to restrict any of the tea leaves from coming up it. Why was I lookin forward to trying this particular drink you may ask. Well, I wasn’t able to try it when we were in Argentina a few years back. Then I met someone in Toronto area who had the gear, but moved before he had a chance to share. So third time is the charm! And I checked that curiosity box. In the end, it really did taste like Green Tea, but I was happy to have learned more about the preparation and tradition behind the beverage.

Day 28

I started the day with a plan and then quickly changed the plan once I got to the port terminal. The original plan was to take the free shuttle offered by Oceania to the center of town, wander around, maybe shop, grab some lunch, check out the cemetery and come back to finish my Week 4 Wrap Up journal.

However, when I got to the cruise terminal, there was a booth offering a Hop On Hop Off Bus that included a stop at the Cemetery. Deciding that was a much better way to spend my day, I booked the ticket and headed off. This bus is a double decker with the upper deck being open aired and since it was early, the air temperature was quite pleasant, so they kept the roof retracted. Few items of note - (1) The roof would have been helpful to block passing branches and (2) it was very hard to take any quality photos from a moving vehicle.

The bus had an audio tour available as we traveled, using a headphone system to plug into whatever channel that played a language that you understood. The narrator described the buildings as we passed them and any significant facts about the area. Do you think I can recall any of the details? Nope. I swear I was listening, but apparently forgot to tell my brain to hit record.

One stop that I got off had outlet stores. Still on a mission to find those dressy brown sandals with under a 2-inch block heal. No luck here. While these stores seemed to have my size, they didn’t have any fitting my requirements. Oh well. I’ll continue to wear my brown hiking sandals in the meantime with fancy dresses. Hopefully they won’t kick me out of the specialty restaurants with them on.

Another stop I got off at was at the Cemetery. As mentioned that was on my initial list of things to check out in this city since we missed getting there last trip. Turns out, it’s a brick-walled in area where you have to get to the only opening, which turned out to be on the complete other side than where I arrived from. On my way to find how to get in, there was another mall! I went in looking for the perfect shoes… and again, no luck. Back to searching for the cemetery entrance. I found it! And you had to pay to get in. Please don’t ask me how much, because it was like 22,000 pesos and I forgot how to do math since getting on the ship.

Now this cemetery is very special. Not only is it the final resting place for some famous Argentineans, including Evita (don’t cry for her…), but each of the crypts were designed specifically for those resting indefinitely there. Some crypts resemble miniature Greek temples, complete with dramatic columns that look ready to host philosophical debates; others lean into Gothic flair, sporting spires and stained glass as if auditioning for a vampire’s weekend getaway. A few even look like ornate dollhouses—charming, slightly over-the-top, and clearly designed by someone who wanted to make a statement for eternity. While most of the crypts were still in decent condition, others had broken glass, allowing plants and spiders to move in. From what I could tell, it was not haunted, but it was day time. A cat did cross my path at one point, but it wasn’t a black cat, so I think I escaped without any curses or evil spirit attached! Time will tell…

The rest of the day was spent on the bus or wandering a stop, eventually getting back on the ship for a quick dip in the pool since the temperature had risen from quite pleasant to dehydratingly hot.

At the moment, it’s after 9pm here on the ship as I finish writing this week’s wrap up. Others are discussing going out to see a Tango show or go for a nightcap at the city clubs. I just had pizza and am considering going to bed early. And you thought this trip was going to be go-go-go all the time! To make sure you fully understand that it’s not all luxury, I may also do a load of laundry in the morning, but I’ll still leave making my bed to the cabin stewards!

Until next week…