February 13 to February 21, 2014 - Rio de Janeiro to Recife/Olinda

February 13 to February 21, 2012  - Rio de Janeiro To Recife

Thursday, February 13, a sea day dedicated to getting the blog updated. Can’t believe how long it takes to write the text and select the photos. Hope someone is enjoying this. I certainly am.

Friday, February 14, Happy Valentines Day! After my shower I found a Valentine card on my pillow. Alice had brought it from home. She is the greatest Valentine I could have.

We arrived in Rio about 8 this morning. We docked in the same place as 2012. There were two other cruise ships docked behind us. When we walked through the terminal we saw that it had not changed much in two years. We approached the H. Stern desk and saw our friend Dirk. He is the Stern’s rep who will be on the ship until Salvador. He offered us the free shuttle to Stern’s headquarters. We accepted and asked if it was possible to be dropped off at Sugar Loaf on the way back to the ship. He told us to just mention our desire to the person loading the shuttle when we left stern’s.

A slow ride because of traffic brought to Stern’s. After the tour of the “museum” and a sales spiel, we threaded our way through their shops to the shuttle waiting area. We told the lady there that we would like to go to Sugar Loaf. She assured us this was no problem, but we would have to wait about ten minutes. In ten minutes a black limo pulled up and we were told it was our ride. This private car had dark windows. We felt like such celebrities. The very nice driver took us to the base station at Sugar Loaf, pointing out the sights along the way. We thanked him and he was gone.

As we made our way through the path to the ticket booth, I noticed that the price was 62 reales, about $30. The right side of the sign read Seniors 31 reales, $15. At the ticket window I asked for two senior tickets. We had to produce proof of age. He accepted our Illinois drivers licenses, and we got the half price tickets. On these tickets were souvenir pictures of Sugar Loaf on the front and bar codes on the back. We needed to scan these several times on the way up and down the cable car system.

Copacabana Beach

Christ the Redeemer

We boarded a gondola at the base station. The ride to the intermediate stop was remarkably smooth and fast. We later learned that these gondolas are capable of transporting 1,320 people per hour. I imagine that will be fully utilized during the World Cup later this year and the Olympics in 2016. Today our gondola was only partially full.

Upon exiting we walked along a narrow path to the viewing area and the next gondola station. There are two stages in the lift to the top because Sugar Loaf is a mountain separate from the first mountain. The path took us along the edge of the forest. Signs said do not feed the animals, and we wondered what animals. We saw none. Back on the ship we learned that there were monkeys out there.

Before going up to the top we walked around this level. We marveled at the views. The best was yet to come. After taking way too many pictures we boarded the gondola to the top. Here the views were even more amazing. We watched as planes rose from the airport far below us. We gawked at the beaches with the small dots of people. In the distance Christ the Redeemer stood above us with outstretched arms. Rio is an awesome city, and these views made it even more so.

After taking in the view we did the obligatory shops. One of these was Amsterdam Sauer, a competitor of H. Stern. They had a beautiful pendant with the five gemstones for which Brazil is known mounted in two rows side by side. It was stunning. We admired it, priced it and moved on. The salesman had been very accommodating until it came to price. He would not budge. Stern is the same way.

In another shop we found a very nice picture of highlights of Rio. This we bought. Then, it was back outside to marvel at the views yet again. A leisurely stroll around the peak revealed new perspectives at every turn. Finally we descended to the mid level. We walked around a bit and then sat down at the outdoor restaurant to have some lunch.

The waiter spoke no English, but found a Portuguese/English menu. We decided what we wanted, but he could not understand. He brought over another waiter, who took our order. Everything went fine from there. Lunch hit the spot, and was very good.

After lunch we walked all around this level. On the side opposite the narrow trail we had used coming up were exhibits and a museum. There was also a helipad for sightseeing tours. We saw some passenger on a ship’s tour waiting for the helicopter. Three hours after our ascent, we finished our stroll and returned to street level.

At the base we visited the tourist info booth to learn if we could take a bus back to the port. A very enthusiastic young man showed us on a map how we could walk to a bus stop and board a #123 bus that would take us near the port. We thanked him and headed off.

When we arrived at one of the cross streets on the map we decided to reverse our steps to make sure we were in fact headed in the right direction. This move proved that we were correct in our first attempt, and we would again retrace our steps. We did not mind because we had ended up at a beautiful little beach that we had observed from above. We must say that the view of it from down  here was even better. A tour guide had said that going topless on the beaches was not permitted, but wearing a dental floss bottom was OK. There was a lot of dental floss on this beach.

The walk to the bus stop was much longer than we had anticipated. This was an adventure, so we carried on. At last we came to an area that had many, many bus shelters.  Many, many buses had passed by as we approached this area, but no #123. We thought we might be on the wrong side of the street, so we took an underground crossing to the other side of this enormous intersection. We asked about our stop by pointing to the bus route the man had written on our map. We were told to go back where we had been There we asked a lady in a flower stand and she told us to go to the fifth shelter down. At last we found a sign that confirmed the 123 did stop here. When we looked up the bus was coming.

Now the adventure continues. We boarded the bus, paid our $3 fare and sat down. We had not gone 100 yards when the bus crashed into a car, and Alice hit the seat back in front of her. Her lip was cut inside and she was bleeding. The drive never asked if everyone was OK, but jumped off to speak to the driver of the car. It appeared that this would normally be settled quickly, but the car was a Hertz rental, and the driver needed a police report. The bus driver told everyone to get to the next bus. We were still managing Alice’s wound. By the time we got off, everyone had disappeared. We stayed with the driver. He insisted that we board another bus, saying it would be free because we had paid him.

We boarded the next bus and the driver refused to let us in until I paid again. A kind lady passenger tried to intercede for us to no avail. It was our lack of Portuguese that did us in. Alice’s lip finally stopped bleeding, but it did swell up. She assured me that it was not real painful, and she was OK.

Before she got off, he kind lady did explain to the driver where we needed to go. He assured her that he would put us off in the right place. As she left she stopped to say God Bless Us because the port was not safe. WOW! Fortunately our stop was directly across from the main entrance to the terminal. What could have been better.

Safe aboard, we had just minutes before our 5:30 seating in the dining room. In our room we had a message that the folkloric show originally scheduled for 9:30 had been changed to 7:30, so after supper we went to the Lido deck poolside to stake out our seats for the show. We sat at the outside edge of the deck. This proved a good spot because we had fairly good sight lines, and could stand to take pictures without blocking anyone’s view. Not everyone was so thoughtful as we later discovered when people cam e to stand in front to take their photos.

The show was an excellent Samba show with fine musicians, excellent acrobats and majestic Samba dancers. After the show the performers stayed around so passengers could take pictures up close and personal.

Alice said her lip was feeling better. She agreed this had been a great day!

Saturday, February 15, we decided to walk on our own. We had talked on Friday afternoon with Audrey and Andrew, friends from England, and they had suggested getting the Lonely Planet guide of Rio from the librarian. Then we could have the front office copy the walking maps for us. This worked perfectly. The librarian took our room key as collateral for the return of the guide. We were not to remove it from the library except to make the copies. After the show on Friday night we had laid out a route to follow.

All went very well. We visited a monastery very near the ship. It was tucked up a back street, high atop a steep hill. The walls and ceiling of the church were covered with wood that had been intricately carved. It was beautiful, but to dark to photograph properly. We exited to a view of the rooftops of surrounding buildings, and headed into the bookstore. We hoped to learn more about this beautiful place, but there were no books in English, and the clerks did not speak any English. The Internet will have to suffice.

The downhill walk was much easier than the climb. We strolled toward a prominent church. Along the way we visited many churches, statues and public buildings. These were all quite interesting. Then we came to a square next to two attractive old buildings. As we admired the statue in the center of the park, we heard music. We looked and found a rock band performing near an elevated highway. Under this highway, now unused and being demolished, was a huge flea market. We perused the stalls, and found many interesting things. One area had many old tools for sale. Again, no English was spoken. It was difficult to learn the price of things. We met one other passenger from the ship. He was having the same difficulty.

After much more walking and viewing sights we stopped at a street vendor to buy some coconut water. He deftly cut the top off the coconut without spilling any of the water. Alice and I shared a straw and finished the water in short order. There was plenty of it, but we were very thirsty. It was very satisfying. We continued down the street until we got to the Municipal Theater. This gorgeous structure was modeled after the Paris Opera House. It’s exterior was decorated in gold that shone brightly in the sun. We spent some time in the square in front of the theater before we started back to the ship.

We were quite proud of ourselves for all that we had seen and done. It was very satisfying. That night at dinner, a bit of disappointment set in, when we learned that we had stopped just a few blocks short of the Municipal Cathedral. We had visited this impressive structure two years ago, and we would have enjoyed seeing it again. Carol and Karol also told us that the aqueduct and tile steps were also close by. This might be a reason to return to Rio, but for now, we are sailing on to Buzios.

Sunday, February 16, we arrived at Buzios early in the morning. Buzios is just a two hour drive from Rio, if traffic is right. This week someone took seven hours because of construction. The affluent use this as a getaway from the city. The beaches are beautiful. The water is clear for snorkeling, windsurfing, fishing and swimming. The interior is lush with greenery.

We had really enjoyed walking Buzios on our last visit, so we set off on foot again. Actually, we had remembered that small tour buses had been available at the tender pier the last time. We had planned to take one this time, but they were nowhere to be seen. We do not understand why they have been discontinued.

Well, walking is our thing. We passed through the square and into the neighborhoods. There were some government buildings across a thoroughfare that looked interesting. They were closed but we viewed the complex from the partially opened gate until a guard shooed us away. That was OK because as we walked away we noticed some impressive houses in a gated community.

We walked to the gate, and took some pictures through the bars. Sure enough, a guard approached us. He was very accommodating. Holding up our camera, we motioned that we would like to walk around and take pictures. He opened the gate for us, and followed us past several houses before deciding that we were OK. He returned to the gate. There were about 25 houses in this complex.

We saw houses that looked Scandinavian with large glass windows and very contemporary furniture. Some had private pools even though there was a community pool near the gate. Some had outdoor kitchens with large ovens. They all were in pristine condition. They did not look very old, but the weather here is not so harsh as to age them quickly. The landscaping was mature.

It was Sunday morning. People seemed to be having breakfast or preparing the afternoon meal. We could hear the rattle of cookware and the sound of conversation around the kitchen table. The large glass sliding windows were open for ventilation. The breeze was cooling. The few people, who noticed us, were very friendly. We could not think of anyplace back home where you could walk through a neighborhood so open. This was definitely upscale.

When we got back to the gate the guard was gone. He had left his key in the lock on the gate, so we could let ourselves out.

Farther up the hill we discovered another gated complex. Again we were able to gain entry. This guard followed us for a longer time before leaving us alone. These houses were older and not as open. It looked like many of them were second homes with no one there. The architecture was different and not as interesting. This was still very upscale, and much smaller perhaps 10 homes, and quieter than the other complex.

We returned down the hill, where we visited another complex of city offices. We walked off in another direction avoiding the town square. We hoped to find some new sights, and we did. We passed regular neighborhoods with run down homes, toys in the yards and kids all around. I had hoped to find a beautiful lagoon we visited last time, but it was not appearing.

I did not share my concern with Alice, but I worried that I had led us wrong. So, at the next crossroad we turned up a hill that seemed to be in the direction of the sea. After winding past many hotels and pensions we crested yet another hill. There, before us, was a descent directly to the shore. The first thing we spied was a small seaside restaurant/bar. At a table, having a beer, were Andrew and Audrey. After a chat, Alice and I set off to photograph some funky art objects we had seen last time. They were still there. This time we examined our pictures before leaving. They were fine. Last time they were all overexposed and useless.

We went back to join Andrew and Audrey at their table next to the sea. At the next table were Karol and Carol with some other Cruise Critic folks. Alice and I shared a beer. It really hit the spot.

The four of us headed back to the tender pier. Along the way we stopped to take the obligatory pictures at the sand castle.

On our arrival, the creator had been making a pile of sand five feet high. Now he had transformed it into a beautiful castle. For one reales, about fifty cents, he allows pictures. I would love to know how this works out for him.

We returned to Prinsendam very satisfied.

Monday, February 17, a sea day spent updating the blog and sorting photos.

Tuesday, February 18, I was in the Crows Nest on deck 12 for sunrise and our approach to Salvador. We passed through a rain shower that washed yesterday’s bird droppings from the windows. Masked Boobies had spent yesterday escorting the ship, and diving for the fish we stirred up. Flying fish and squid are their delights. Their antics were captivating.

The skyline of Salvador grew larger on the horizon. We docked at about 8. In 2012 we were forced to skip our scheduled stop at Salvador because the police were on strike, the military were patrolling the streets and the US State Department had issued a travel advisory cautioning against travel to Salvador. Holland America opted to send us on to Recife where we spent an extra day.

Salvador has interesting geography. A few streets from the docks is a high cliff. Atop this cliff is the Old City with many churches, shops and old residences. It can be reached by vehicle or by the elevator. There is a small charge for the elevator. It lets you out at the edge of the Old City.

We had decided that we would take the Hop On – Hop Off Bus to tour the city. We asked the ship’s port guide about it as we disembarked. She told us we would find it a the Mercado near the elevator. It would cost 30 reales, about $15 each. The next bus left at !0:00. It was now 9:00.

Well, it was a long walk to the Mercado. When we got there we could not find any sign of the ticket stall. After asking some vendors, we were getting nowhere. English is not spoken here. Finally through gestures, you should see us hop, we got directions to a tourist information desk from a young police officer. He was very gracious.

It turned out that this info desk was inside a door at the Mercado that we had passed earlier. There were no signs for it. The young man at this counter had a very difficult time understanding us. Again gestures won out as he explained it the tickets were sold at the other end of the Mercado. When we went to the other end we did not see a booth, but we were carrying the time schedule we had picked up at the info booth. An observant street vendor noticed our plight and led us to a locked counter. He told us it would open at 10, in just 15 minutes.

As we stood there a young lady arrived and opened the stand. The vendor seized this opportunity to sell us a brightly colored necklace for Alice. We negotiated a price and turned to purchase our bus tickets This woman at least understood English, and spoke some herself. The bus was hop on hop off. It made three 15 minutes stops and it cost 45 reales, $22.50 each. Oh and it did not leave until 11:00.  We met Regina and Jerry form the ship at the booth. We all decided to take it.

Alice and I sat at a table to wait out the hour. We marked the stops on the route map, and talked about how it would be. Then we people watched. Alice was wearing her new necklace. The vendors left us alone. Jerry and Regina had gone into the Mercado.

Soon I noticed our port guide talking to the ticket vendor. Shortly, she came to our table to apologize. The bus did make 3 stops, but if you stayed at any of them it would be about 2 hours before the net bus came. This is hardly hop on hop off. The whole ride would take 4 hours and the 30 reales fare she had quoted us was for online bookings. Alice and I debated what to do, and decided to follow through. When they returned, Jerry and Regina had decided the same.

Just before 11 we boarded the top deck of the bus. This had a cover and was open on the sides. We were quite high. Good for viewing. Traffic was terrible as we got underway. We followed the route guide. It was taking a long time to make any progress. Finally we got to the first 15 minute stop. It was on a body of water well known for training for water sports, but the prime objective was an ice cream shop. Disheartened, we boarded the bus after taking a few pictures of the bay, and looking into the nondescript ice cream shop. After a short ride we stopped again. This time we were at an old church on a high hill in an old part of the city. It was an interesting church and the view over the city was splendid.

Moving along we arrived at the hospital named as a memorial to Irma Dulce. She was a nun who worked to provide food and health care to the poor of Salvador.

We were unfamiliar with her work before boarding this bus. Fortunately the lady making announcements on the bus took us by the hand and led us around some back passages to see the various exhibits of the sister’s life. She explained to us in broken English how sister Dulce did her work modeled after Mother Theresa of India. In fact they did meet at some point. This hospital has grown significantly and still provides for the poor.

The bus returned to the Mercado to pick up a few new tourists before heading off to the other side of town. We passed the new soccer stadium, upscale shopping, residential high rises and beautiful beaches.

The tour finished back at the Mercado at 3:00. We disembarked and looked for the necklace vendor. He actually sought us out. He was very apologetic and offered to replace Alice’s necklace with two made of natural products that will not fade. We accepted, and so far so good.

We walked through the Mercado toward the elevator that would take us up to the old city. We stopped at a cafeteria next to the base of the elevator, and shared a liter of freshly squeezed orange juice. The quick ride up let us off at a viewpoint where took some pictures of the market, the port and the downtown.

We walked around the square, visiting several churches and shops. 

The churches were everywhere. The cobblestone streets presented quite a challenge to both of us so we found the H. Stern store. There we did the obligatory look at jewelry before boarding their last shuttle to the ship. At 5:00 we were back in our cabin preparing for dinner. This was another long day. The extreme heat made it even longer.

Wednesday, February 19, another beautiful sea day. Working on the blog update and attending lectures made the time pass quickly.

Thursday, February 20, I was up in the Crows Nest for sunrise and our approach to Recife. We docked at the end of the harbor farthest from the city. This was OK because we would have to take a port shuttle to the terminal no matter where we docked.

Alice and I had decided earlier that we would skip touring Recife because we had done it rather thoroughly last time. The plan was to take a city bus to Olinda about 5 miles away. We got maps form the tourist information desk and learned where to catch the bus to Olinda. We were given a list of bus numbers that would take us there and told where to get off. The same bus numbers would get us back to Recife.

As we were leaving the info desk, a man approached offering tours. He said he would take us to Olinda and around Recife for 200 reales for 4 people. This would amount to $50 per couple. We saw Karol and Carol, our table mates, and asked them if they were interested. They agreed and we set off with our guy. Well, once outside the terminal he started talking to five taxi drivers. None of them spoke English. We told the guy we needed an English-speaking driver. He found one, and the fare went up to 250 reales for English. It had become apparent that the inside man was just a broker for the cabbies, who could not communicate in English. We called off the tour and headed to the bus stop.

Our route to the bus stop took us past a square we had visited before. Stages were in the process of being erected on 2 corners. Carnival is coming soon. At the bus stop we met two other passengers. We all went to Olinda together. The bus fare was 3.35 reales each. This was just $3.00 per couple.

We easily spotted our stop in Olinda, and, when we exited, we were in front of a building where a celebration was taking place. A band was playing and brightly costumed people surrounded a couple dressed as a king and queen.

The hoopla was great and we were already way ahead of what we might have experienced if we had taken the tour. 

Karol had a DK travel book with a walking tour mapped out. We started to follow it and it took us past an information office. A visit to this got us new maps with sights and a walk marked on them. We followed this route and saw many churches, home, viewpoints and houses as we climbed higher into Olinda.

The clerk had told us about a puppet museum. As we started looking for it we were descending from the high point of our route. The cobblestones were very irregular, and the sidewalk had numerous stairs built into it. Alice did an admirable job of negotiating this. Part way down the passengers we had met at the bus stop split off to return to the ship on their own. Karol, Carol, Alice and I continued on.

We found the puppet museum. After paying our dollar admission fee, we met a gentleman employee. He apologized for his English, but took us around the museum. His English was actually pretty good. We think he was so happy to have non-Brazilians interested in the museum, that he gave us the best tour.

When we left the museum, we headed down some more to find the bus stop. We passed the most colorfully painted buildings. They were absolutely vibrant. Finally we came around a corner to find flat, the bus stop and a beer garden. We were all parched so we stopped at a table under the awning to have beers all around. $2.50 each got us two stupidly cold beers. This was just what we needed. Then Karol and I split another cold one.

Shortly after sitting down, it began to rain. It poured for about 15 minutes before the sun returned. While it rained we talked to two fellows at the table next to us. They were vacationing from New Jersey. They try various places in Brazil each winter. They were unfamiliar with Buzios. We tried to explain it to them. They might give it a try.

We walked to the bus stop. As we waited, we noticed a building across the street marked Mercado. We had time so we decided to visit it. When we walked in there was no market. The building had been vacated and was now being used to prepare large statues for Carnival. Ladies were carving large blocks of Styrofoam into figures. Other ladies were painting the finished carvings. At another station a lady was trimming fabric that would be attached. This would be stitched by another seamstress. I counted more than 60 figures around the walls.

I doubt that anyone else on the ship was so fortunate as to see this. Bravo for taking buses.

A bus arrived with a number on our list that was different from the one that brought us to Olinda. The fare was only 2.15 reales. As we rode back I forgot that this bus would take a different route, and I almost had us get off too soon. Thankfully Karol had asked the ticket seller on the bus about our stop. He saved the day and we rode on. When we got to our stop, I recognized that we were very close to the Zero Mark. This is the point from which all distance are measured in this state. We walked to it, and admired the compass built into the pavement. The main stage for Carnival was being erected just at the water’s edge beyond the mark. As we approached it, the same guy who had tried to sell us the tour to Olinda, approached us offering a canal tour. When Alice told him we saw him this morning, he left us alone.

After viewing the zero mark, the main stage area and the sculptures on the break water, we started back to the terminal. This walk took us past the first synagogue in South America, several restaurants and food and beverage booths being set up around a square. This is where we had started this morning. The booths were similar to those of two years ago, but were now much more colorful. Beyond the booths we found a samba group being filmed for a promotion of Carnival.

We walked to the terminal and took the shuttle to the ship. Karol and Carol remained in the terminal to us the Wi-Fi. We were in our cabin at 5:30. We were exhausted, but thrilled with our day.

After a shower and change we went to the Lido to check out the special barbecue. It looked good, but the line was long, the music was loud and tables were scarce. It seemed that if we did get food here, we would have to eat inside. We decided to eat in the dining room. When we sat down with Marion and Ken they had just finished their first course. We soon caught up. Andik and Budi did a fine job of serving us quickly. Marion told us that as early as 5:00 tables and chairs in the Lido had been staked out by people putting their names on them. They then went about their business, and claimed them later.

After dinner, we went to deck 12 to view the nighttime skyline and take some pictures. Back in our cabin we were in bed by 9:00.