Friday, April 26, 2024

A new day and a new Country! Cape Verde it is! As we pull up to the dock, it is hard to even tell we are at a dock! The dock is only 50ish feet wide and then it is all water again! Unless you’re on top looking straight down, all you see is ocean and harbor!

So we prepare for the day, knowing we have to be back on ship by 1:30PM. That’s right, shortly after noon! Sheesh! Who planned this port? But we get our breakfast and get in the cue to leave as soon as it is announced that we can depart. We hop on the shuttles that take us a mile into town and are assured by Franklin, the shuttle guide, that the guys in the yellow vests are our friends!

We get off the shuttle and are the first to approach the guy in the yellow vest, Liam. Liam negotiates with us for $60 USD for a 3 hour taxi. Several times, he tries to get us to join a group, but we know his price won’t go down and for $60, we want our own private driver. Finally, he pairs us up with a taxi driver that speaks English and off we go!

We drive off out of town and onto the island’s tundra. This is pretty much a desert isle and natural growth is rare. But he brings us to a local farm where we walk down into the farm and get to see the plants and vegetables grow. We also see a windmill as it pumps water out of a well. The people here are very self reliant and it is amazing to see how they prosper.

Driving on, we travel along the shore where the contrasting volcanic rock and sand dunes paint a picture with the azure seas and turquoise waters in the background. We arrive at a fishing village and our cameras are assaulted with views of fishermen and their boats and colorful houses. We walk along and come to a sea turtle rehabilitation center and even see a sea turtle with a missing flipper (leg). We are told the flipper will grow back but we wonder how long that will take.

Interesting shore scenes abound as we make our way back to our taxi.. Then it is off to head up the mountain to get some panoramic views. We get about two-thirds way up the mountain and are told the road is closed. (little do we know that other passengers make it to the top) But the views are worth it and our cameras steal the show and go a bit crazy with the views!

We work our way back down and back across the island to where the ship is and all is well. We still have some time to walk about town and we find a local pub where we have a local beer and even a local white wine! We’re told that a volcano wiped out the vineyards in 2014 and had to be replanted. But the wine was better than any on our ship! We even get a taste of Grogue, a local alcohol that turns out to be grain alcohol!

So off it is to find a few souvenirs including a magnet for our map wall in our cabin. Shopping and browsing here was fun and we were not overwhelmed with vendors chasing us like in other ports. We acquire more photos and then it is back to the ship. All in all, a fun day!

Back on board, we take part in some games and trivia, dinner and a show, consisting of random crew showing their talent! Even one security guard performing as Elvis which we have heard about and he definitely stole the show!

Goodnight All!

Day 48, Sunday, April 21, 2024

We turn our clocks ‘ahead’ tonight for the first time since Singapore! We have been going back for the last 6 weeks. Now we are traveling East to Africa and we will change 3 hours in the next 4 days! Here are a few interesting places on the ship!

Day 49, Monday, April 22, 2024

Today we had a ‘Crossing the Equator Party on deck. I’ve been across the equator more time than I can count, but it was fun for photos!

Day 50, Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Today the Officers had a Drink Mixing Party on deck! I tried them all and chose my favorites. Unfortunately, My winner lost! So did my runner up! So much for people’s palates!

Day 51, Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Today there is an ice Carving display on the pool deck. The member of the kitchen staff was quite the artiste!

Day 52, Thursday, April 25, 2024

Today, my camera informed me that it had not been allowed to shoot all of the fabulous artwork all over the ship! I said, “Let’s get a drink first!” It flat out said no! The nerve of my camera! Okay, so off around the ship we go to share with you all the art we saw every day!

And you thought At Sea Days were boring! Goodnight all!

Saturday, April 20, 2024

We arrive today in Recife, Brazil (pronounced Es-e-fee) in the rain and fog. The shoreline is interesting as this place has its own harbor. We get breakfast and don’t stress over time. We are only in port for 8 hours but we are basically convinced we only need 4. Add to that my Bronchitis and I don’t want to over exert myself. We are told, though, that this is not a place to wander around on your own and we take heed! Need I tell you that Brazil has more crime than all the other countries on earth combined!

When we get off the ship, there are busses waiting to take us to the terminal (we are not allowed to walk through the port!). This a good thing for most ports have almost a mile to walk to get to the taxi stands. We have no excursion planned for the day and we negotiate with the taxis and agree on a rate of $100 USD for 3 hours. We probably could have done better, but hey, these people need money too!

So off we go with our driver, Franklin, cruising through Recife! He doesn’t speak a single word of English and we don’t speak Portuguese (How many of you thought Brazil spoke Spanish? You’d be incorrect!) We never find anyone today that speaks English! So we defer to our uncle. And our driver’s uncle! Uncle Google! We chat all day with Franklin via Google Translate! Such a marvelous modern tool!

Franklin takes us up the hill to the next town of Olinda where colorful buildings and houses are everywhere! We visit Cathedrals and churches and photograph them to our cameras delight! We get ocean and harbor views in the rain and fog! At times the rain is heavier. But it is a warm rain and at no time do we feel uncomfortable! Soaking wet, the only thing i attempt to do is keep the camera dry. I am mostly successful at that. I am carrying a dry cloth in my back pocket that I use to occasionally wipe down the camera.

Franklin takes us to the Mercado and finds us a lunch restaurant called ‘Cafe de Mercado where they have an upstairs buffet of local foods, most of which we don’t recognize! But it all looks delicious, including some sushi. Franklin assures us that all the food is made fresh! We buy Franklin his lunch and we all have a good time, all the while chatting with Franklin via Google Translate!

Franklin tells me to put my camera away until we get back to the cab. I have no place to put it except hold it close to my body so that is what I do! You think this is foreshadowing? It’s not, LOL we arrive back at the cab even with me still taking photos and all is well!

We then drive back down into Recife which turns out to be a bit disappointing as it is no where as photogenic as Olinda. But we see some sights and Franklin takes us to a prison that is now a marketplace. We decline to go inside and from shipmates later, we discover that this was a mistake! The photos we see of the Marketplace are spectacular!

Back to the ship, we go to our cabin and change into dry clothes and go to the bar for a drink. The ship leaves the dock at 4 PM and we are on our way back across the Atlantic towards Africa!

We go to dinner and then to the show where Davey McCaulley entertains us as an Escape Artist, Comedian, and Sleight of Hand Artist.

Now it’s off to bed! Goodnight All!

Friday, April 19, 2024, At Sea

I am sick with Bronchitis that I likely caught from Elee. It has been coming on for several days now. The exploring we did in Salvador yesterday wore me out. I will be spending the majority of the day in bed. No fun and games for me. I do go up to the buffet for lunch and dinner but I eat as far away from everyone as I can.

I visit medical and get the same diagnosis as Elee got. They give me antibiotics and cough syrup to get me through it. Glad we have a day At Sea! The cameras get a break for the day.

Thursday, April 18, 2024, Salvador, Brazil

We have a semi leisurely breakfast today. The ship is in port but we don’t intend to maximize the hours in port. We head out and walk into town looking for the Lacerda Elevator (pronounced La-say’r dah El-eh-va-Tor). we are told it is closed today. Hmmm, this city is on two levels and walking up the steep hill is not our first choice. But we are told there is a Funicular called, ‘Plano Inclinado Goncalves (Plane-O In-clin-ah-doe Gon-sal-ves) and we locate it. We are beginning to love the fact that public transportation in Brazil is free to those over 65!

So we queue up for the Funicular and ride it to the top. We find ourselves in ‘old-town’ Salvador. Walking around, we see cathedrals everywhere! There must be 9 cathedrals in two blocks! We visit a few of them at the cost of $2 USD per cathedral and marvel at the quantity of gold facades and alters. Amazing yet beautiful. It seems like each cathedral tries to outdo the next one! Blue Portugese tiled walls surround courtyards and depict different subjects and religious philosophies.

Outside the cathedrals, the city streets are poor and cobblestone. We are told this is not a safe area to walk around but there are several police officers every block. Probably why we are told it is not safe. Many vendors selling all kinds of trinkets and tourist commodities cover the sidewalks. We acquire our wall magnet and then find a Brazilian Steakhouse, Odoyo, to sit and have lunch. The meat is tender and tasty and satisfies our desire for a Brazilian Steak. There are also some Brazilian ladies walking around in traditional hoop skirts and dresses that grab our cameras attention!

We feel we have seen the essence of Salvador and head for the Funicular and ride it down. At the base, we saw several paper stores and we do a little shopping. Elee finds watercolor paper as she has joined the watercolor group and wants to save money from the costs of materials onboard. I find regular printer paper as the Ukulele group has mentioned shortages in paper to print the song sheets on and I pick up a ream to give to them. Then we walk back to the ship where much needed naps are taken.

We manage to change and make it into the restaurant for dinner and then meet up with the Trivia Team for the nightly game. It seems everyone has had a good day in Salvador. We do hear of one couple that reports being ‘Mugged’ in town but do not get any detail beyond that a lady lost her purse and has some scratches. Maybe we’ll have more details tomorrow. We can’t help but think they weren’t being careful enough.

Oh well, the day is done. We get nightcaps and retire to the room. Elee goes out to get her water bottle filled and must have found something fun to do as she doesn’t return for a while.

Goodnight All!