Farewell to Rio

TSH and Diva left the ship at 8:10 after a short sleep and a bath/shower. Diva did not have breakfast but TSH had OJ and a plate of Danish pastries.

As with all the journeys around Rio during Carnival, there were many delays and diversions. The police seem to close roads randomly and differently each day. The tour guides and drivers never know which route will be open.

The journey up to the Christ the Redeemer statue was made by bus, funicular, elevator and escalator. The middle two were traumatic for Diva, but she made it to the top. This was a much clearer brighter day, so the views from the top were extensive and dramatic. The scenery owes more to the jagged peaks and random islands of the south of the continent than it does to the flat greenery of the Amazon basin.

Dinner with two people from Chester. The previous night’s dinner was eaten with a man from Norfolk and there are further dinner dates with the two from Chester and with four people from the USA. Mad social whirl!!

The sail-away at 23:00 was really too late for the guests to enjoy, because they were all exhausted, but TSH and Diva briefly watched from their balcony as the lights of Rio, topped with the flood-lit statue, retreated into the distance.

Rio Carnival Photoblog

Carnival

Carnival completely surpassed expectations. 3,000+ dancers in each school, performing for 75 minutes in a wide array of complex colourful costumes, around several massive floats.

There will be a photoblog later because this has to be seen to be believed. But there is also the wall of sound from the drumming, the singing and from the ecstatic local crowd. Earplugs were issued and many guests wore them (!!) Each school has a theme. The first school was themed around Brazil, showing its progress from early society to the modern age, depicting a lot of its wildlife and agriculture. The second school was themed around a song which was sung over and over again by the audience, with accompanying dancing and wild gestures. TSH and Diva would have liked a song sheet to join in with it all.

On the way to the Sambadrome, TSH and Diva saw many impromptu street events, mostly attended by young people dressed in bizarre costumes, which are supposed to be unique rather than purchased. Think about stag and hen parties attended by hundreds of people. Mixed sex and maybe less alcohol.

Unfortunately, it rained for a while and everyone wore plastic ponchos, but eventually it cleared up. TSH and Diva watched two schools and then went back to the ship, arriving at 2:30am to a semi-cheerful ‘Good Morning’ from the seaman on security duty. TSH had told the butler not to worry about providing food but in the suite on return were the best sandwiches anyone ever tasted, plus cheese, crackers, cookies and cake.

TSH and Diva were in the secure tourist area – a controlled section of the Sambadrome (around 70,000 people) where there is much less chance of crime and disorder. There was an accident with a float which went out of control injuring a number of people but the drome is so vast that no-one in ‘sector 11’ was aware that anything had happened.

Arrival in Rio de Janeiiro

Another scenic sail-in. This time at 7:00, with cloud and mist, but not enough to hide the drama of the steep peaks and jagged mountain ranges. Silver Spirit passed Sugar Loaf mountain, with the Christ the Redeemer Statue on another peak set further away. There was loud samba music at the pier even at that time in the morning. Much of the city is modern high-rise but a hillside favela is visible from the ship.

TSH ventured onto the cable car up Sugar Loaf but Diva decided to wait for the funicular up to the statue. This latter excursion will be early in the morning after the night at Carnival – a hectic couple of days. Whilst on the ship, Diva saw bubbles in the water which were said by another guest to be caused by hunting dolphins blowing bubbles to confuse a shoal of fish.

TSH enjoyed the cable car trip up Sugar Loaf, which is about 1,000 feet high. He made sure he left the ship early enough to be on the first bus out of the port, which got to the cable car before queues had developed, so that the cable cars were not full. The views over Rio and beyond were very good even though there was some haze. At the summit, there were a number of interesting birds and lizards (or iguanas), including two that were about three feet long).

On the way back many carnivals were in progress, with very many people in fancy dress (although the amount of dress in many cases was very limited).

Too many other cruise ships to mention but Celebrity Infinity is here and there is a Regent as well.

Anticipation

The whole ship is buzzing with excitement in anticipation of the two days in Rio for Carnival. The city will be crowded and guests have been warned that any travel will potentially be delayed because of congestion. But everyone is expecting an amazing experience, although not much sleep will be involved.

In the meantime, the sail in to Paraty was scenic, mountainous and similar to a fjord. The coast along this part of Brazil is beautiful, and although it is overcast, visibility is sufficient to have a good view.

The experience in Paraty was not an unqualified success. Silver Spirit was due to anchor there at 14:00, arrived late and did not have a tender available for independent passengers (including TSH and Diva) until almost 16:00. The tender took over 30 minutes to reach the shore and it was a bit of a scramble to get out of it at the other end. Paraty is a world heritage site because of its colonial buildings – not grand ones, but single storey white buildings with brightly coloured doors and shutters. It is also a beach resort, with lots of small boats. An alternative Carnival was in full swing, with lots of local young people ready to join in the dancing. Diva hoped that Rio would not be as noisy or as busy. (!!)

Into Brazil

The weather is now hot again, and sometimes humid. So, short-sleeves and cropped or light-weight trousers. No more vests. A couple of relaxing days at sea and a formal night, when TSH and Diva were hosted by the Hotel Director. Other guests on the table were two people who live only about 5 miles away from TSH and Diva and two who went to a school less than a mile from Diva’s school. One man writes books about trains but, sadly, his interest is in diesels.

Silver Spirit has about 100 fewer passengers on this leg of the cruise. As a result, everything is much more relaxed and there is less queuing. TSH and Diva thought that on the last leg, when the ship was full, the ship appeared not to be fully sized up for the number of guests. There was a lot of queuing for tenders and there was no procedure to cope with simultaneous sets of people coming back to the ship and going out. Result: occasional chaos on the gangway. Lunch in La Terrazza had to be taken early to be sure of getting a table.

The first port in Brazil, Itajai, is a lot more developed than many of the places so far seen in South America. It has a lot of high rise buildings along a narrow strip between the ocean and the low hills. There are small fishing boats around now – the first time they have been spotted in his region.

Intrepid TSH ventured alone on an excursion that seemed too exciting for Diva, perhaps because of the multiple cable car rides out over the sea. The trip was to an UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve at Camboriu, where many animals and birds were said to live but none considered it worth showing themselves. As TSH has been on a number of such trips on previous cruises, he was not disappointed. His expectation level was low.

The tour was very scenic and provided a good opportunity to sample the local drink, which everybody agreed had a high alcoholic content. After climbing 100 steps to visit the viewpoints, TSH asked for water but the local drink was all that was provided. He arrived back on the Silver Spirit smelling of strong drink.

The guide leading the tour was not always very clear, resulting in some people being instructed by the Silversea escort to get off at the wrong point on the cable car.

After arriving back at the ship, TSH managed a quick drink (water) before Diva and TSH headed into Itajai, where they saw the modern shopping street and visited the main church.

Other cruise ships in Montevideo: NCL Norwegian Sun, Costa Pacifica 

Photoblog

Sunrise over River Plate

 Montevideo

Dali sculpture

TSH and Diva on Formal Night

Eva Peron plaque at La Recoleta cemetery

It is raining and Diva is not happy

Steam train at Buenos Aires

Sculpture in Buenos Aires

From the River Plate – Part 2

Buenos Aires (BA) is the first really modern city seen in South America. Although it has some beggars and some low quality housing, it also has a modern business district, many modern and classical statues and beautiful wide avenues. One avenue is allegedly the widest in the world – 140m wide. There was money here in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries and there is money here today.

TSH and Diva did two sightseeing excursions, which gave them a reasonable understanding of the city and its neighbourhoods. The highlight is probably the Theatre Colon, which is an extremely elegant opera house, certainly smarter than most UK venues, even in London.

On the way out of the port area, TSH spotted the train museum and the steam train which sits outside. There is also a warehouse named ‘Manchester’.

All the excursions go to the elaborate cemetery of La Recoleta, where there are hundreds (thousands?) of elaborate mausoleums. One of the most famous is that of Eva Peron, although one guide pointed out that her remains were moved around so often by so many different groups of people that she may not actually be buried there.

During a refreshment stop at a traditional café, Diva held her pastry at the wrong angle and all the sugar fell off. Across the table, onto the floor and against her clothes. She would not have been pleased if anyone at done that at her house.

BA is the end of the second leg of the cruise. TSH and Diva saw a disembarking guest shambling off the ship in his Silversea-supplied slippers because he had packed all his shoes in his suitcases which by then were safely awaiting him in the terminal building.

TSH and Diva are finding the S American attitude to the indigenous people very dismissive and lacking in respect. If they are mentioned at all, they were ‘primitive’, ‘weak’, ‘incapable of working in the fields’. Eventually ‘they died’ or, occasionally, ‘were killed’. (One guide even mentioned genocide without a hint of shame.) They were replaced by ‘strong black African people’ who ‘had no clothes’ and had to be given them. No mention of slavery.

Other cruise ships in BA: Celebrity Infinity.

From the River Plate - Part 1

Five port excursion days on the run here, so not much time for blogging. Montivideo (Uruguay) (twice), Buenos Aires (Argentina) (two days) and Puerto Este (Uruguay). Buenos Aires is the end of the second leg of the cruise.

Puerto Este is the most prosperous place TSH and Diva have so far seen in South America. All of the houses and apartments look desirable, although very expensive. The tour went to a gallery where they had some original Dali sculptures and another one where a famous (Pablo Atchugarry) artist was caving marble. The outdoor part of this one was lovely – the landscape was quite English-looking. Unfortunately, the similarity ran to a heavy shower and Diva had to wear a plastic poncho.

TSH got bitten by midges when he was photographing birds and Diva was very cross with him.

There were sealions in the harbour and a bridge which was like a roller coaster. The drivers deliberately drove fast over it. This strange shape was by design!!

Also in port in Montevideo: MSC Musica

Diva's photoblog - taken by Android

Stanley Valentine

The weather did not worsen, so TSH and Diva were on the balcony for their arrival into Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. In fact, although they had heard how often it is not possible to land at the Falklands (other than by using the military harbour one hour away from Stanley), Diva and TSH woke early to a blue sky and calm sea.

The ship was welcomed by Megellan Penguins, which could be seen in the waters around the ship. Diva and TSH embarked on the first tender of the day (07:30) for the 20 minute journey to Stanley and then boarded a rugged 4 x 4 vehicle which almost required a ladder to get in. The vehicle held five people including the driver who was originally from Plymouth but now lived in the Falklands with her Chilean husband. The other two passengers were from Switzerland.

The journey to Volunteer point to see penguins takes two and a half hours. The first hour is spent on roads (some of which are have tarmac) and the other hour and a half is cross country over rough terrain. This latter part of the journey involved crossing ditches, streams and what felt like hundreds of pot holes. TSH is aware that he spent quite a bit of time bouncing above the seat rather than sitting on it. Diva hated the journey but eventually judged it to have been worthwhile.

The vehicles travel on the off-road section in convoy so as to be able to provide assistance when they get bogged down or, as was the case on this trip, nose down in a deep ditch with the rear wheels in the air. Fortunately, Diva and TSH were not in the offending vehicle, which had to be pulled out by one of the other vehicles.

Volunteer point does have some facilities – very limited basic toilets which we were advised to use before too many other people arrived.

An abundance of penguins (King, Gentoo and Megallan) were visible and could be observed at close quarters on the beach as they went down to or returned from the sea and also in the colonies further back from the sea. There are about 2,000 King penguins in the colony there and Diva and TSH saw some with young chicks.

The Megallans nest in burrows and they could be seen going into them. The Gentoo have just a few stones for a nest and the Kings don’t bother with any nest.

After an hour and a half, Diva and TSH returned to the bone shaker for the ride back to Stanley. They ate the lunch provided, which included a tuna and cheese butty and a biscuit in a heart shape to recognise that it was St Valentines day. The journey back to Stanley was uneventful but. as the driver had predicted, everyone was pleased when they were back on the road.

Diva and TSH were back on the ship just in time before it sailed for Uruguay. Although the journey to Volunteer point had been long and hard, Diva and TSH had really enjoyed the day.

Interesting facts about the Falklands include-

·         Squid is caught in large quantities around the Falklands by Asian countries, including Korea and China. Also by Spain.

·         There are very many times more sheep than people, although unlike the people they seem to be spread out over the islands.

·         Education is free – this includes university, where all fees, accommodation and travel costs are met by the local government.

·         The Falkland Islands runs a surplus budget. Income includes port costs for ships, fishing licences and sale of quarried stone. There is income tax but no sales tax. It was claimed this made wine cheaper than in the UK.

·         Supply ships for food etc only visit every few weeks and Amazon ordering is popular. The cheapest way to buy many items is to get orders from UK supermarkets delivered to a place in Bristol where they are packaged up and shipped out.

·         The Falklands was originally part of South Africa but the movement of the tectonic plate on which the island sits has moved it to its present location.

·         There are highly unusual stone rivers in the Falklands. A stone river is a conspicuous rock landform, a result of the erosion of particular rock varieties caused by myriad freezing-thawing cycles taking place in periglacial conditions during the last Ice Age.

·         Unemployment is low and there is quite a young population.

As it was Valentines Day, Diva and TSH found that the suite had been decorated with heart shaped balloons and later a supply of pralines. Also, a penguin (later named Stanley), had appeared, complete with a ‘Circlers’ T shirt.

Dinner was taken at Stars supper club.

Also in port: Celebrity Infinity. 

Photoblog - penguin day

Photoblog