Around South America in 80 Days

March 5, 2019

Belem, Brazil

Because we were not due into port until 11:00 am, we had trivia at 9:30. We had 17 out of 22 and the winners had 18.

1) Captain Quint was the skipper of the “Orca” in what famous movie?

2) What 1963 Disney animated movie was based on the legend in a book by T.H. White?

3) What word for an academic or scientific conference comes from the Greek for “a group who drink together”?

4) Frangelico liqueur is flavored with what?

5) What English artist popularized limericks in his 1846 “Book of Nonsense”?

After trivia I went back to my cabin and paid a couple of bills that come in on the first of the month and then grabbed a quick slice of pizza when the Lido opened at 11:30. While I was eating the heavens opened up and it poured. I decided I needed to take my raincoat after all.

My tour met at 12:45 on the pier. For the first time I used my perk of priority tendering (which comes with being a 4-star or more Mariner) and left on the tender just before noon. I arrived about a half hour early and had time to walk around Estacao das Docas which has converted warehouses that house restaurants and shops.

I am not real sure why I picked the tour I did (some sound really good at home when it is cold outside). It was a “naturalistic” tour of the city by Do Brazil Right. It had a great deal of walking (and standing) and although it was not real hot (80s) it was very humid. I enjoyed what I saw, however.

Our first stop was at Mangal Das Garcas which has numerous birds many of which I had never seen before. There is a tower with nice views of Belem. We had an hour to wander around.

We then went to the Emilio Goeldi Museum. This is a research facility and has numerous plant species and animals of the region. We were there for about an hour but followed our guide, Vito, around as he told us about some of the flora and fauna we were seeing.

While we were traveling around the city we saw a number of the famous buildings of Belem including the Mercado Ver-o-Peso which has been around since colonial times, the Basilica of Our Lady of Nazareth, and the La Paz theatre where we had a ten-minute photo stop.

We were done around 4 pm. I looked around a little more although I did not go to the Mercado because the guide said it was not safe to go alone. Of course, we had not had one drop of rain the entire tour since I had taken my raincoat.

I was back on the ship before 5, tired and hot. I decided to eat in the Lido. I had fruit, a delicious beef stroganoff with rice, and ice cream for dessert. While I was eating there was another torrential downpour.

We met for trivia at 7 pm and we tied one other team with 18 out of 19 (we both had the correct answer for the tie-breaker so we left it a tie).

1) By what name was Dick Grayson better known?

2) Who was the first man to fly across the English Channel?

3) Who played “The Fugitive” in the 1960s TV show?

4) What color was Spock’s blood?

5) King Zog ruled what county? (the one we missed)

We then went to hear the “Jack Pack” a group of four Brits who were finalists on “Britain’s Got Talent”. They play songs reminiscent of the Rat Pack.

Ann and Pat had saved us seats in the Ocean Bar for the Mardi Gras celebration. There were masks and beads for everyone and the place was packed. The Brazilian Cultural Ambassadors, Nayara and Fernando, lead the group in a number of dances and a good time was had.

I returned to my cabin around 10:30 totally wiped out. I had a shower and washed my clothes I had worn all day. We received a note that there would be limited laundry facilities while we are on the Amazon as they cannot take on water. We have been asked to re-use towels if possible and I am trying to not send out any laundry.

I knitted for a while before bed.

From my deck