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