Rain in Cadiz

 TSH and Diva had already cancelled their coach tour, as they decided that they would enjoy walking around Cadiz on their own.  After a good breakfast, TSH sat on the balcony in the sun for a while. By the time they got to the gangway, the sun was gone and the heavens had opened. They only made it as far as the terminal building before they returned to the ship. The weather improved in the afternoon, so they took a short walk to the cathedral. A carnival was taking place and there was a lot of street theatre and people dressed in the sort of crazy costumes that the British reserve for Christmas and hen parties. 

TSH and Diva have mostly been impressed with the hygiene arrangements on the Spirit of Discovery. There are sanitisers everywhere and compulsory hand-washing on the way into buffets. All of the security staff have so far managed to scan their ship cards without needing to touch them. But one woman grabbed Diva's card and said that was the only way she could scan it. She looked totally blank in the face of Diva's protestations about the spreading of disease. In the unthinkable event that Diva catches norovirus, there will be a formal complaint.

TSH has started to take photographs.

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.

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. (!!)