Last Rio Stop

Well, here we are in Rio de Janeiro on Easter Weekend. This is the last stop on this cruise around South America. We are staying at a three star hotel in the Catete District of the city. From the rooftop pool deck we have a great view of the surrounding neighborhood and we can see the Monument on Corcovado Mountain. It is a medium size hotel with a restaurant, a roof top bar and exercise room and a business center with Internet availability. A good place to camp out for a few days to see more of the city.

We decided to take a ride on the subway, or Metro. The cost for a one way ride of any distance on any line is only $2.80 Brazilian Real or about $1.50 US. There are a lot of historic buildings in the Centro area and it was fun to walk around and look at the different types of architecture. The European Influence in the art and architecture of Rio is beautiful.

The next day we took went to the Meseu da Republica that is just down the street from our hotel. The building was constructed in the late 1850’s and was the presidential residence from 1897 to 1954. The Palace is beautiful and the rooms and furnishing all very well maintained. The last Brazilian President to use the Palace as a residence was Getuilio Vargas who served as President for 24 years. He committed suicide in his bedroom in August 1954. The bedroom can be visited and the pajamas he wore and the handgun he used to take his own life are on display.

From the Palace we got back on the Metro and headed to the Carioca Station again where we could walk to the Estacao dos Bondes, the station for a very old street car system that has been in use for more than 100 years. We rode the streetcar up the hills toward the Santa Tereza District. The narrow streets and colorful houses made for a fantastic trip. The view of the city and the Favala, the housing for the poor, along the way was terrific. Part of the ride travels over the Aqueduct that was used a long time ago to bring water from the mountains to the city. The cost for the ride is $1.20

We had lunch at the small restaurant at the station and then walked over to the Cathedral Metropolitana. This huge church, shaped like a cone was built in the early 1960’s and is most unusual in design. As many a 5000 can be seated for a service and more than 15,000 for standing room. It is the most unusual church I have ever seen.

This evening is our last night in Rio, and it is raining cats and dogs, or should I say Cats and Agoutis (small animal that looks like a groundhog, but is smaller and has longer legs). A few days in Buenos Aires a 40 day cruise to eight South American Countries and finally a few days in Rio de Janeiro. Can you think of a better way to see the world?

Río de Janeiro

It's Friday, April 2, 2010, and we arrived in Guanabara Bay just outside of Rio de Janeiro, the last stop on our 40-day adventure to South America. As we look west toward the city we see the mountains poking up and touching the clouds all around Rio. European Explorers first discovered this area on January 1, 1502.

We take a scenic drive through both the old and the new parts of the city as we make our way to Cosme Velho District, which is at the foot of Concovado Mountain. This is the most photographed place in Brazil. Built of white marble, standing 120 feet tall on the top of Concovado is the statue of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms. To reach the monument and see the city from that vantage point we must ride the cogwheel train to the summit. The lines to see the monument are long. The reason is that today is Good Friday. One of the holiest days, in this, the most populous Catholic country in the world.

Sadly the monument is completely covered with scaffolding and special protective covers. Just two weeks ago, for the first time in 70 years, a cleaning and restoration had begun. It is expected that the complete process will take as long as six months. This reminds us of the time we visited Venice and discovered that the front of St. Mark’s Cathedral in St. Mark’s Square was undergoing similar restoration.

After leaving the monument we headed to the Leblon section of the city for a special treat, a traditional Brazilian Churrascaria lunch. In addition to traditional side dishes of rice and vegetables a wide selection of seafood was available today because of Good Friday - filet, roasts, ribs, chicken, sausages, all in unlimited quantities. A fabulous lunch and a great introduction to Brazilian culinary artistry.

We left Leblon and headed toward Sugar Loaf Mountain. Along the way we drove along the beachfront avenue to see the world famous beaches at Copacabana and Ipanema. Beautiful sandy beaches with blue-green water and the walkways are lined with coconut palm trees. Lots of people on the beach because it is a holiday weekend and the weather is fantastic for sun worshipers.

After we arrived at the mountain we boarded the first cable car for a short ride up to Urca Hill, there is a lovely garden up top and the view is terrific. We then boarded the second cable car up to the 1,200 summit of Sugar Loaf Mountain. On the way up we could see mountain climbers working their way up to the summit. The panoramic view of Rio de Janeiro from the top of the mountain is spectacular.

A beautiful introduction to one of the largest and most famous cities in the world and a terrific ending to our big adventure. Back to the U.S. and home, sweet, home.

Racife, Brasil

We arrived early in the morning at the Port of Recife, Brazil. This is the capital city of State of Pernambuco located in the northeastern part of this huge country. Recife is built around three rivers and connected by 49 bridges. The city’s name comes from the recifes (reefs) that line the coast. It is a beautiful day and the temperatures are expected to be in the upper 80’s by noontime. The view of the skyline of the city from the ship as we were arriving is quite impressive. A lot of seaside high rise apartments and condominiums stand like soldiers guarding the city. To the south in what appears to be the older residential part of town stand two very tall towers, just now beginning to be occupied by tenants we were informed.

We began our tour of the city by driving over a number of bridges. The rivers are tidal and the tide was out, thus exposing a lot of mud islands in the rivers. We saw fishermen with nets wading in the water setting and gathering their nets, hoping to catch some small fish. Years ago the rivers were navigable and were used by boats to ship sugar cane to Europe and North America. The continued deforestation in the interior of the country, caused a significant increase in silt being sent down river, thus making them too shallow for large boats. The expense of dredging was said to be too high, so now all the old sugar warehouses lie abandoned along the waterway. A major project is expected to begin next year to tear down the old buildings and start to rebuild luxury homes with a view of the rivers.

Our first stop was the Golden Chapel that is part of the Convent and Church of St. Anthony. It is beautifully maintained and our guide told us that there are hundreds of pounds of gold leaf covering wood and plaster in the Chapel. The artwork would rival any that I have seen in Venice or Rome. The sacristy was open to us and contains beautifully finished furniture that is used for the priest’s vestments.

We then headed to Olinda, which is at the top of the hill overlooking the harbor and the city. Olinda is very old and is where the first settlement was established. The streets are very steep and narrow and paved with cobblestones. The town is very well maintained and the buildings very colorful. Evidently many artists have moved into Olinda and converted many of the former residences into art studios and shops. We were treated to an ice-cold fresh coconut, cut open and given a straw to drink the “coconut water,” a tropical treat to say the least.

We then had a tour of the Alto de Se Cathedral, a very old and beautifully maintained church. All white and dark wood, a very simple building that has an incredible view of the city from the side courtyard. This is definitely a city worth more time in the future.

Spanish:

Llegamos temprano en la mañana en el puerto de Recife, Brasil. Esta es la ciudad capital del Estado de Pernambuco situada en la parte noreste de este enorme país. Recife está construido alrededor de tres ríos y conectadas por 49 puentes. El nombre de la ciudad proviene de la Recifes (arrecifes) que bordean la costa. Es un hermoso día y las temperaturas se espera que estén en la parte superior de los 80 por medio día. La vista del skyline de la ciudad desde el barco a medida que iban llegando es bastante impresionante. Una gran cantidad de apartamentos de gran altura junto al mar y condominios de pie como soldados que custodiaban la ciudad. Hacia el sur en lo que parece ser la parte más antigua residencial de la ciudad se levantan dos torres muy altas, sólo ahora comienzan a ser ocupadas por inquilinos se nos informó.

Comenzamos nuestro recorrido por la ciudad al pasarle por encima una serie de puentes. Los ríos son de marea y la marea estaba baja, lo que expone una gran cantidad de islas de barro en los ríos. Vimos los pescadores con redes de caminar en el agua establecimiento y recogiendo sus redes, con la esperanza de pescar algunos peces pequeños. Hace años, los ríos eran navegables y son utilizados por los barcos para enviar la caña de azúcar a Europa y América del Norte. La deforestación continúa en el interior del país, provocó un aumento significativo de sedimentos de ser enviado río abajo, lo que los hace demasiado poco profundo para barcos grandes. El costo de dragado se decía que era demasiado alto, así que ahora todos los almacenes de azúcar de edad se encuentran abandonados a lo largo de la vía acuática. Un importante proyecto se espera que comience el próximo año para derribar los edificios antiguos y empezar a reconstruir las casas de lujo con vistas de los ríos.

Nuestra primera parada fue en la Capilla de Oro que forma parte del Convento e Iglesia de San Antonio. Está muy bien mantenido y nuestro guía nos dijo que hay cientos de kilos de hoja de oro cubierta de madera y yeso en la Capilla. La obra de arte que cualquier rival que he visto en Venecia o Roma. La sacristía estaba abierta para nosotros y contiene bellamente acabados de muebles que se utiliza para la vestimenta del sacerdote.

A continuación, se dirigió a Olinda, que está en la cima de la colina con vistas al puerto y la ciudad. Olinda es muy antigua y es donde el primer asentamiento fue establecido. Las calles son muy empinadas y estrechas y empedradas con adoquines. La ciudad está muy bien mantenido y los coloridos edificios muy. Es evidente que muchos artistas se han mudado a Olinda y convirtió a muchos de las antiguas residencias en estudios de arte y tiendas. Nos trataron de un coco fresco helado, corte y teniendo en cuenta una paja para beber el agua "coco", el dulce tropicales por decir lo menos.

Luego tuvimos una gira por el Alto de la Catedral de Se, un muy antiguo y bellamente mantenido iglesia. Toda la madera blanca y oscura, un edificio muy sencillo que tiene una vista única de la ciudad desde el patio lateral. Esto es definitivamente una ciudad vale la pena el tiempo más en el futuro.

Fortaleza, Brasil

We are experiencing Palm Sunday in a very Roman Catholic Fortaleza, Brazil. We arrived at about 8:00 a.m. at this Northeastern Brazilian city of 2 million. Fortaleza called the “City of Light," claims that the sun shines on it 2,800 hours per year. Unfortunately we cannot count ourselves among those hours today. It is very cloudy and we had a few showers just as the Sunset Seas was getting to the dock. The city originally sprang up around a Dutch Fortress built in 1649. After the Portuguese defeated the Dutch, the small settlement was renamed Fortaleza Nossa Senhora de Assuncao (Fortress of Our Lady of the Assumption). Today, it is the capital of the Brazilian State of Ceara and is the country’s fifth largest city.

Our tour began at about 9:00 a.m. and because it is Sunday, traffic was minimal. Our first site was the Teatro Jose de Alencar, named in honor of the 19th Century novelist and poet. A beautiful old structure of wrought iron and wood,it is the heart and soul of the theater community in Fortaleza and is very well maintained. Our next stop was at the neo-Gothic Cathedral, a bold structure that is anything but beautiful on the exterior. It has the appearance of an unwashed, stained sandstone church. Crowds of people were participating in the Mass when we arrived and a sort of quirky fruit drink truck with a band on the roof was waiting outside the cathedral for some event that most likely was going to take place following the Mass.

Along the way to the next stop we had the chance to see much more of Fortaleza. The tall residential apartment complexes are all on the leeward side of town facing the ocean. The smaller buildings, housing older residential buildings and businesses are on the windward side of the city. We were told that this was by design so as not to block the constant breezes to the older side of the city with the new and very modern high rise part of the city where most of the middle class people live.

We arrived at The Emcentur Tourist Center, the city’s flourishing handcraft market, which is housed within a former prison. It was hard to imagine that we were walking through the cellblock of a century old prison that has been converted into a beautiful marketing area. We headed back to the ship taking the coast road and had the chance to see the Sunday bathers bobbing in the warm South Atlantic waters at Iracema Beach. Continuing along we passed the fishing village that was packed with small flat bottom boats that were being made ready for tomorrow’s work.


Spanish:

Estamos viviendo en un Domingo de Ramos muy Fortaleza Católica Romana, Brasil. Llegamos a las 8:00 de la mañana en esta ciudad del noreste brasileño, de 2 millones de dólares. Fortaleza llamada la "Ciudad de la Luz", afirma que el sol brilla en ella 2.800 horas al año. Lamentablemente no podemos contar entre esas horas de hoy. Es muy tarde y tuvimos algunas lluvias al igual que los mares del atardecer estaba llegando a la muelle. La ciudad originalmente surgió en torno a una fortaleza construida en 1649 neerlandesa. Después de los portugueses derrotaron a los neerlandeses, el pequeño pueblo pasó a llamarse Fortaleza Nossa Senhora de Assunção (Fortaleza de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción). Hoy en día, es la capital de la Estado brasileño de Ceará y es quinta ciudad más grande del país.

Nuestro recorrido comenzó alrededor de las 9:00 de la mañana y por ser domingo, el tráfico era mínimo. Nuestro primer sitio fue el Teatro José de Alencar, nombrado en honor de la 19 ª siglo novelista y poeta. Una hermosa y antigua estructura de hierro forjado y madera, es el corazón y el alma de la comunidad teatral en Fortaleza y está muy bien mantenido. Nuestra siguiente parada fue en la Catedral neo-gótica, una estructura audaz que es todo menos bonita en el exterior. Tiene el aspecto de una iglesia sin lavar, piedra arenisca de colores. Multitudes de personas participaban en la misa cuando llegamos y una especie de camión peculiar bebida de fruta con una banda en el techo estaba esperando fuera de la catedral para algún evento que lo más probable iba a tener lugar tras la misa

En el camino hasta la siguiente parada tuvimos la oportunidad de ver mucho más de Fortaleza. Los complejos residenciales de apartamentos de altura están todos en el lado de sotavento de la ciudad frente al mar. Los edificios más pequeños, la vivienda construcciones antiguas y las empresas están en el lado de barlovento de la ciudad. Se nos dijo que esto era una característica del diseño a fin de no bloquear la brisa constante para el lado mayor de la ciudad con la parte nueva y moderna lugar muy alto de la ciudad donde la mayoría de la gente de clase media en vivo.

Diablos isla de brasil (Devil's Island)

Today we are on Devil’s Island, French Guyana. Our arrival at this port of call has been delayed by more than two hours. We have had heavy seas and strong headwinds since leaving Grenada. The temperature is warm and there are some intermittent showers, typical for this time of year in the tropics.

Ill de Diable, better known as Devil’s Island, is one of three closely spaced, small Islands lying 9 miles off the coast of French Guyana. Today on the mainland the super sophisticated Kourou Space Center houses the European Space Program.

The history of the mainland and these small islands is far different than the present. The other two islands; Ile Royale and Ile Saint Joseph and a building complex on the mainland formed the infamous French Government penal colony from 1852 until it was finally closed in 1946. Yesterday there was a feature movie presentation of all passengers in the main lounge. We saw Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman featured in Papillon, the award winning film that depicted the brutal punishment received by the inmates in this penal colony.

We finally were able to take a ship tender to the dock at Ile Royale by about 2:00, not much time to visit since we have to be back on board by 5:00. The weather cleared up for us just in time and the air was warm and moist. Since the islands are volcanic in origin the road surfaces are made primarily of volcanic rock, hand cut by the prisoners more than 100 years ago. The steep incline made for a good workout as we made our way up to the top of hill to see the remains of the prison complex. Along the way, high in the trees you could see playful Capuchin monkeys. There are a lot of banana trees along the roadway, making it a virtual cafeteria for the monkeys.

Several of the buildings, including the chapel have been reconstructed in the past several years. A few others including the Hospital are currently being rebuilt and several are in a tumble down condition. The French government is in the process of restoring the island for tourist purposes. We visited the “L’Auberge des Iles” the only hotel on the island, which had been an administration building for the penal colony. There are only a few rooms, very plain but clean, if you want air conditioning the cost of a double occupancy room is 233 Euros, about $315 US. Very expensive, especially when there is nothing else to see or do on the island except visit the prison buildings. At least you could say you spent the night at the site of one of the world’s most brutal penal colonies.

The hotel has a small bar, and we had our requisite beer to celebrate another destination. Much to my surprise the only beer available is Heineken. We took the tender back to the ship, and set our sites on Brazil, which we will be visiting after two days at sea.

Spanish:

Hoy estamos en la Isla del Diablo, Guayana Francesa. Nuestra llegada a este puerto de escala se ha retrasado por más de dos horas. Hemos tenido mar gruesa y fuertes vientos en contra desde que salió de Granada. La temperatura es cálida y hay algunas lluvias intermitentes, típico para esta época del año en los trópicos.

La enfermedad de Diable, más conocida como la Isla del Diablo, es una de las tres muy próximas entre sí, las pequeñas islas se extiende 9 millas de la costa de la Guayana Francesa. Hoy en el continente el super sofisticado Centro Espacial de Kourou alberga el Programa Espacial Europeo.

La historia de la parte continental y las islas pequeñas es muy diferente que el presente. Las otras dos islas; Ile Royale y Isla de San José y un complejo de edificios en el continente formaron el Gobierno francés infame colonia penal desde 1852 hasta que fue cerrado finalmente en 1946. Ayer hubo una presentación de película de la característica de todos los pasajeros en el salón principal. Vimos Steve McQueen y Dustin Hoffman aparece en Papillon, la premiada película que mostraba el castigo brutal recibido por los internos en esta colonia penal.

Finalmente, han podido contribuir a una oferta de buques para el muelle de Isla Royale en alrededor de 2:00, no mucho tiempo para visitar ya que tenemos que estar de regreso a bordo antes de las 5:00. El tiempo mejoró para nosotros justo a tiempo y el aire era cálido y húmedo. Dado que las islas son de origen volcánico del firme de la calzada se hacen principalmente de roca volcánica, cortado a mano por los presos hace más de 100 años. La inclinación empinada para un entrenamiento bueno como nos abrimos paso hasta la cima de la colina para ver los restos del complejo penitenciario. En el camino, en lo alto de los árboles se veía juguetón monos capuchinos. Hay un montón de plátanos en la carretera, por lo que es una cafetería virtual para los monos.

Varios de los edificios, incluyendo la capilla han sido reconstruidas en los últimos años. Otros pocos entre ellos el Hospital están siendo reconstruidas, varios están en una condición de derrumbarse. El gobierno francés está en el proceso de restauración de la isla con fines turísticos. Visitamos el "L'Auberge des Iles" el único hotel en la isla, que había sido un edificio de administración de la colonia penal. Hay sólo unas pocas habitaciones, muy sencillo pero limpio, si desea aire acondicionado en el costo de una habitación en habitación doble es de 233 euros, alrededor de 315 dólares EE.UU.. Muy caro, sobre todo cuando no hay nada más que ver o hacer en la isla, excepto visitar los edificios prisión. Al menos se podría decir que pasó la noche en el sitio de una de las colonias más brutal del mundo penal.

El hotel dispone de un pequeño bar, y tuvimos nuestra cerveza necesarias para celebrar otro destino. Para mi sorpresa, la única cerveza disponible es Heineken. Tomamos la oferta de vuelta al barco, y establecer nuestros sitios en Brasil, que nos va a visitar después de dos días en el mar.