Last Day

We had a great time after entering the harbor in Rio De Janeiro.  We did not stay in the city to see the regular sites, like the Christ the Redeemer statue that watches over everyone.  He was currently wrapped in steel scaffolding since he could not redeem himself from mold and mildew in the humid tropics.  

We did go to Petropolis about 60 miles outside of Rio.  It was cool and pleasant there as we visited the “Imperial Museum” built by Brazil’s second King, Peter II.  It was a great museum.  

You had to wear special slippers which polish the floor as you walk around.

Finally, we say a fond good bye to our dinner mates on the cruise.  Greg, Beatrice and daughter Savannah were fine Canadians from Toronto.  They own a very successful trucking company.  They were fun to be with because like most Canadians they are rather liberal in their views.  They were constantly incredulous about the lack of  healthcare for Americans and were very congratulatory when Obama signed the bill this week.

This was a great cruise.  It was not for those who want to stop in world class ports on every shore leave.  Rio and Buenos Aries are fantastic, overcrowded and polluted but the small undeveloped towns we visited were rugged, basic, friendly and educational.

Buzios

This is our last stop before disembarking the Veendam in the morning.  We were on one of the first tenders off the ship this morning since it was already getting hot.  We walked around this jet set destination for a few hours.

This place was put on the map when it was a fishing village because Brigette Bardot and her Brazilian boyfriend came to tryst here.  They even made a statue of her to thank her.

Probably there will be no posts tomorrow as we tour Rio all day and then go to the airport for a red eye back to Atlanta.  It has been a great two weeks.

Ilhabela

We spent the day in Ilhabela, one of the larger islands off the coast of Brazil.  It is a getaway for residents of Sao Palo and its flora and fauna are highly protected.

I have noticed in Brazil that the churches here are not near as opulent as in Europe and other places.  Perhaps taking care of other things was more important than spending most of the national wealth on God. 

The churches are quite understated and charming.  Somewhat like New Mexico.   Ilahbela was founded just 8 years before Albuquerque.

We visited water falls and watched local ski over wet rocks and then do flips into pools of jungle water.

Metal

Shipping Containers.  Let me tell you about shipping containers.  After five cruises around the world we have decided there is one or two shipping containers for every living soul on this planet.  There seems to be hundreds of acres of them stored in every port, and outside every port.  Half the existing smelted steel in the world must be made up of steel shipping containers.  If their use becomes obsolete then we can shut down every iron ore mine in the world and just throw all the containers into the furnace.

They could also be converted for housing.  They could be used for many things.  But mostly they sit around waiting their turn to get on a ship.  Which might take decades after seeing all of them stacked up around the world.

Our sail away from Paranagua last night was breathtaking as you can see from the photo.

Morretes

We spent today in Paranagua, Morrettes, and Antonino in coastal Brazil.  

This is real jungle around here and we lucked out by having very moderate weather.  The locals were all happy about it.

The towns and buildings all look as if they are just succumbing to mold and mildew.  It is extremely humid here.

We had another incredible lunch of local foods.  Beef with masa mixed at your table.  Fish, shrimp, mussels, sundried tomatoes, bananas fried, fresh bananas and candied banana for desert.  MMM.

We saw Brazilians young and old.

The South Atlantic

This is a Sea Day on the Veendam.  It is about as calm as I have ever seen the open ocean.  We are about forty miles off the coast of  Brazil as we head for Paranagua to the north.  

I have been reading, doing crosswords, did close to three miles around the deck, ate, and relaxed.   Bobbi took a cooking class and worked out in the gym.  A nice day.  

Stewart Udall was a guy that should be imitated by a lot of conservationists today.  He always found a way to get things done and our country is better for it.

I read today that he passed away.  A giant has left.  This is a picture of Stewart and me at the National Press Club in 1992 trying to convince folks that the 1872 Mining Law was a bad thing.  It has outlived Stewart.  How sad.

Punta Del Este

We had a really pleasant day in Punta del Este, Uruguay.  I think this may be the main playground for the obscenely rich in the world, and I can see why they come here.  The soft beaches are beautiful along the River Platte and the Atlantic side of the peninsula has hard rock beaches.

Then a real treat was a visit to the Ralli Museum, which is one of four worldwide, that highlights the work of living South American Artists.  It is run by a private foundation.

You will also see a picture of Sherpa Bobbi here.  That bag she carries everywhere is a regular Pandora’s box.  Anything a human possibly could need is stowed in that bag somewhere.  Water, first aid, food stuffs, cameras, batteries and virus killing handi wipes.  Bobbi told someone yesterday she was nothing more that a Sherpa.  That will stick.

We now head off for a day at sea before reaching Paranagua, Brazil

Buenos Aires Day Two

We spent our second day in Buenos Aires bumming around with Rachel Sanderoff.  She took us down a secluded alleyway near the Congresso to her apartment.  This place really does resemble Paris.

This city has a motherlode of street trees.  I think that is one thing that makes the city so attractive.  Some trees are bigger than others.  They hide some of those buildings that are kind of ugly. 

We leave Argentina this evening for another stop in Uruguay.  Punta del Este should be an interesting place.  

We actually got to watch the Lobo Game on the ships cable system last night.  Actually, we fell asleep before it was over because we had been partying a little.

Tango Night

Rachel Sanderoff showed us the town last night.  We started a famous bar "AFederal" and then went to a steak  house for Argentinian beef, or several pounds of serious cow as Rachel calls it.  Then off to a non touristy tango joint.  We had a great time.

La Boca

I think the taxi drivers here are really unemployed nuclear physicists.  They manage to get their cabs in between the molecules of the cars and busses next to them.  Or they are all failed kamikaze pilots.  That ride from the pier was exciting.

We made our first stop at La Boca today. 

It is kind of a tourist trap, but it is also an awful lot of fun.  If  you are into color and art then this is the place to visit.  It was originally painted with left over paints from the ship maintenance in the ports.

After walking around La Boca for a couple of hours we headed down to Plaza Maya.  One thing I have noticed in South  America is that they take their cell phones so seriously that they allow towers to  be constructed anywhere.  

This city of ten million is very cosmopolitan.  Lots of hustle and bustle and business being conducted.  A rat race maybe?  But a very neat city so far.

Buenos Aires

We just pulled into port in Buenos Aires and will leave the ship soon.  We have two full days here so we can see the sights.  My friend Brian's daughter lives here so we will meet with her tonight to "eat some serious cow" and then go to a Tango Show.

I see in the Albuquerque Journal this a.m. that City Finances are causing some angst.  I also see that Marty Chavez misappropriated road maintenance funds from the tax I passed while I was Mayor.  I always knew he would be tempted to do that and tried to get someone to audit it.  This is a serious thing but I will bet there will be no consequences.

We will get back to the ship late and if we are lucky we can watch the Lobo game.

Montevideo

We spent St. Patrick’s day in Montevideo just walking around the old area of town which is just a few hundred feet from where we docked.  We did not see any green beer, but we saw green chile in a market.  Last night on the Veendam at dinner they had green chile corn chowder and it tasted like the real deal.

The reason for spending time in this city can be summed up in one word.  Architecture!  One of Bobbi’s degrees is in Architecture so I had a personal guide.  There is every kind you can think of in this old city.  Venetian, Art Deco(my favorite), modern boring 50’s stuff, and what I think is the ugliest building I have ever seen which was made uglier by putting a cell phone tower on top of it. 

Most of the buildings are lovely though.  I have to say that the people here are great too.  They would stop to help you get to your destination if you were looking at your map.  There were tourist aides on every corner too.

We had perfect weather….about 72 and sunny!

At Sea Redux

Very high winds last night and big waves.  Like a roller coaster.  I am lucky it doesn't affect me.  Today we have another day at sea.  I will  hit the gym.  Then do three miles around the promenade deck.  Tomorrow we will tour Montevideo on foot.  It looks like a great place. 

Note to the Albuquerque Journal.  I put up with  your slow quirky website at home.  At sea it is a real pain as you wait....wait.....wait for the webpages to load.  I know times are hard but the internet is the way of the future and you should fix your webstie to perform like others.  How else can we keep our love hate relationship going on the high seas.

At Sea

walk around the ship.....eat....do three cross words.....walk around....read....eat.....drink....get a facial.....eat.

Santos

Let me tell you about coffee.  It made a whole country prosperous.  Santos, Brazil is partially responsible for that.  Using slaves as workers they built a coffee empire based out of this vibrant city of half a million.  Just 60 miles from Sao Paolo it has preserved some of its colonial past.  These pictures are of the area around the coffee auction house.  The sunset is from Paraty as we sailed last night.  So, we will leave Santos late Sunday night and we have two days at sea.  We need them, especially after experiencing a Brasilian traffic jam.  3 blocks in one hour.  But still a great day.