Around South America in 80 Days

March 12, 2019

Parintins, Brazil

Parintins is best known for its annual folklore show which is one of the largest in Brazil. It is a competition between two groups, the blue Caprichoso and the red Garantido. In the festival they present song, dance, floats to try to outdo the other. The Boi Bumba tells the story of a bull that has been killed but has to be brought back to life. The details of the story vary from place to place.

We were given the chance to view a one hour presentation of the story as an excursion complete with the Brazilian national cocktail, the caipirinha (made with cachaca, sugar, and lime).

Pat and Tom, Patty, Sherita, and I took the tender into town at 10 am. Instead of using our tenders, we had some of the river boats take us ashore. There were crafts as we left through the terminal but we opted to walk around town first. It was slightly drizzling (not enough to use the umbrellas we had all brought).

There was not much to see although we walked a number of blocks. Pat was able to find a couple of baby items for the still yet to be born grandchild. We walked through the craft stalls an bought a few things and then went to a large outdoor restaurant and had a large (600 ml) beer while we sat and talked.

At about 1:15 we got in the line for the show. The convention center where it was held was right across the street from the tender pier and right beside the craft stalls. Luckily, it was not real hot and the drizzle had stopped.

When we were allowed in we were handed a caipirinha which was really tasty. The show lasted an hour. It was constant singing and dancing with a number of amazing costumes.

We returned to the ship just in time for 4 pm trivia. We probably would have been better off to skip trivia. We only had 8 out of 19. The winning team had 11.

1) What was Captain Steubing’s first name on The Love Boat?

2) Where is the oldest existing zoo in the world – Denmark, Germany, or Austria?

3) What is the cocktail made with white wine and crème de cassis?

4) The finish line for the New York City marathon is in front of which famous building?

5) What is the capital of Liberia?

As I was going to grab something to eat (no food all day other than peanuts and goldfish at trivia), I met with one of my dinner mates and found out three of them were not going to dinner tonight. I quickly decided to join my other table for an early dinner. I had cold berry soup (delicious), fruit, and pork medallions. We ran out of time and had to skip dessert to get to trivia.

We did not do much better in evening trivia. The winning team had 15 and we had 11 out of 18.

1) What part of a car has a bead bundle running around its carcass?

2) What scares the chute out of a barophobic sky diver?

3) Which award is decided by the fewest eligible voters – Emmy, Grammy, or Oscar?

4) Which sport gets its name from the French for “crooked stitch”?

5) What was Tom Wolfe’s first book of pure fiction?

Pat and Tom, Patty, Sherita, and I went to the show at 8. It was a group called Graffiti Classics billed as “The Comedy String Quartet”. If you have not seen them it is hard to picture but they combined music, dance, singing, and comedy. It was a great show.

When I returned to my cabin the dreaded “Disembarkation Options” paper was on my bed. It simply can’t be time for the cruise to end!

Street Scenes