Oldies On Tour

Up fairly early this morning due to there being some sort of commotion in the corridor outside our room which woke us up, well Christine actually, I didn’t hear anything, but once awake, tea pops into her mind!!! Still the bonus of being a little earlier than normal, we had the pick of the tables.

Our two objectives today were to organise a tour and to find a doctor.

Organising a tour was painfully easy as the tour operator has their office on the other side of the block of flats in front of us so we were there a few minutes after leaving the hotel. After looking at what’s available we plumped for a full day tour taking in the important sites and providing a Brazilian bar-b-q at lunchtime. The good news is we are picked up from the hotel at 8.50.

After a quick pit stop at our hotel, we strolled the 4 blocks inland to find the walk-in clinic where we were processed, and booked into their system very quickly and efficiently. That’s when it ended, as we joined a number of locals also waiting to see the doctor. Still about an hour later we were ushered into the “room” where we tried in our poorest Portuguese and his equally poor English explain what the issue was and what had already happened to Christine. Anyway after the stethoscope was used and he prodded her about and asked questions that we had to guess what they were, then answer them, hoping he understood, he gave her a 2-item prescription; strong antibiotics and something for her sinus and after collecting them we marched straight into a coffee shop for a snack as she should only take the strong antibiotic’s after food.

Back at the hotel and just as she was about to open the package, she noticed the Chemist had given her 500mg but the prescription called for 750mg, so we traipsed back to the chemist to correct things. Anyway we got back to the hotel, she took her first dose, and now we are hoping for a miracle.

The afternoon was much about chilling, getting up to date with “Oldies on Tour” getting some printing done and generally chilling, giving those antibiotic’s time to work.

We strolled over to the beach seafood restaurant again and whilst eating watched a Brazilian version of Beach Volleyball; very interesting though I suspect Christine was captivated by the bronze coloured bodies, of the men with bristling biceps and Six packs; still she walked back with me!!!

We decided to watch a film “What we did on Holiday” but there was insufficient volume on the edition that was on YouTube; probably a pirate copy.

Have to be up early tomorrow, tour day around Rio, hooray!!!

 

We both woke but still felt a little groggy, still, onward and upward, we don’t have too long here. The first thing we did was look up at the sky but there was too much low cloud so a trip the Corcovado (The statute of Christ) or Sugar Loaf was a non-starter.

After breakfast we decided to stroll to Ipanema beach, try and

find “that girl”, Google maps said it would take about ½ an hour; well Google maps doesn’t take the heat into account. Though the sky was a little cloudy the heat was intense and when we eventually arrived at the far end of Copacabana beach we were pleased to see an open shopping Mall. Here we found a little refuge with the Air Con and decent toilets.

Refreshed we carried on to Ipanema and had a paddle before falling into a couple of chairs for drinks, the non-alcoholic kind!!!!! This ½ hour walk, albeit with a refuge and toilets took nearer 1¼ hrs., still once refreshed we had to make our way back as we had agreed to meet David and Christina for lunch before they started their trek back to the UK. We arrived back at the hotel, knackered, soaking wet (sweat not rain!) and in desperate need of a shower.   Though it was a fair walk in this heat and we did contemplate a cab or maybe even a bus, we stuck at it and arrived at our hotel with sufficient time to clean up before our get together in our lobby at 1400hrs.

The four of us walked to a beach restaurant just over the road from our hotel and had an excellent, inexpensive meal; well go back there. After a few beers and etc., we walked back up our road to another restaurant we know for coffee and Pastel de Belém or Pastel de Nata, (both names are right) those beautiful Portuguese custardy tarts that I love and David fancied them as well.

We bade our farewells and en route to the hotel I popped into a barber for a haircut, a little more expensive than Celcius in Campo Verde, so will wait ‘till I get back for the next one!!!

Back to the hotel for another early night trying to shake off our ailments. By the end of today we had done 11,848 steps or walked 7.2Kms, no wonder we are knackered!!!!!!!

With no early morning tea Christine was gasping so down to breakfast at a reasonable time; no Cruise Liner Breakfast available here, back to normal.

Thanks to Christine not sorting her self out, I now have a stinker, sore throat and cough so planned an easy day. So after breakfast went over to the beach and had a swim, even at this time it was quite crowded, still it was very nice, did our coughs and colds a power of good I’m sure!!!

We were due to meet up with our friends for a late lunch today, but they didn’t answer our e mail about where to meet etc., we thought that perhaps they had a better thing to do but then our room ‘phone went; it was David come to talk about lunch etc. Apparently Christina had been trying to reply to our e mail, in fact tearing her hair out so David came in search of us, firstly to the two other “W” hotels in the area, still third time lucky!! The long and short of it is we are meeting tomorrow after which they can get cab to the airport as they are flying home. We then went out for a stroll around the local

market behind our hotel where we saw things that even Spain wouldn’t have in a street market. We then headed back for a rest before we ventured out again for an early meal.

We had another early night in the hope of throwing off our cough and splutters before the morning.

 

The alarm went off at 0630 this morning, last early morning tea arrived promptly, not surprisingly as no doubt they wanted us all “up-and-at-‘em” out of Cabin by 0800hrs and off ship by 0900hrs.

As most of our luggage had been taken the night before, our plan was to oblige and armed with the residue of luggage, an over weight and bursting ruck-sack and a shopping bag that was overflowing, we were out of the cabin a little after 0730hrs.   We dragged it to the Grand Dining Room for our last breakfast, Steak and eggs washed down with Champaign for me, and Lamb Chops washed down with Perrier Water for Christine: a fitting last breakfast to complete a first class cruise, on a first class cruise ship.

David and Christina also joined us for breakfast and we agreed to meet up in Rio as they were also staying opposite Copacabana Beach.

We wandered down the gangplank, only to find there was another “monster” cruise ship disgorging her passengers. The shed was very busy with all “those” passengers searching for their luggage; ours on the other hand was the other side of the shed and we found ours very easily; small cruise ship!!!!!     Now to find our driver in all this mêlée, I waited with bags and Christine eventually found him.

Being Saturday the traffic was lighter than normal, good news but several junctions had been closed and we had to make a number of detours, bad news. We arrived at the hotel too early for the room but as we were now both a bit under the weather stopped in the reception to wait and yes you’ve got it, played crib. We were told 1400hrs was official booking in and we must have met the “jobs worth” man; every tine we asked, he quoted the rules and when we saw people arriving after us and getting a room before us we were incensed. Anyway we have a room, 9^th floor overlooking a block of flats, we are one street back from Copacabana but on the top floor, 19^th, there is a pool, a bar and a view over the tops of the buildings and we can see the beach; they fulfilled their “blurb” but not the spirit of it!!!

We had a stroll over to the beach, paddled whilst watching all the Brazilians enjoying themselves in the sun, being Saturday we think all the folks from Rio were all on the beach. Anyway on the way back we had a late lunch or early evening meal and back to the hotel for an early night.

Today is our penultimate day; tomorrow we disembark but fortunately the cruise ship’s itinerary has been considered carefully and we approached Rio at Midday, not at night as some cruise lines do. This must be up in the best “top ten” bays to

sail into, firstly we could see the Copacabana beach in the background then this was followed by the Sugar Loaf Mountain towering over us as we passed. In the distance we could see the 8-¼ mile Bridge, the “Ponte Presidente Costa e Silva”, it has 8 lanes and carries 140,000 cars a day and was opened in 1972.   Curiously, the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were here in on their only trip to Brazil and attended the symbolic start of construction back in 1968.

As we passed the Sugar Loaf we could see the Internal Airport,

the one featured in the James Bond Film, “Moonraker”.  Next we passed their naval dockyard where there was what looked like an old WW2 carrier, it could still commissioned!!!!! We then passed the “Ilha Fiscal“, a former Palace but now a cultural museum.  As we approached the berth, we clocked the new “Museu do Amanhã”, Museum of Tomorrow, opened in 2015; a very impressive building right on the waterfront. This museum mixes Science with Innovative design to focus on sustainable cities.

We were eventually moored behind a P and O Cruise ship that left soon after; perhaps the El Capitaine said something!!!!

We met Christina and David for our last lunch together, we even got to sit at the table the captain usually sits at, the waitress who was serving us was great, and we enjoyed a full three courses, not sure how we are going to do dinner tonight, still it is the last day.

We could have got off but decided not to, instead elected to get the rest of our packing completed. We had agreed to meet up with our Crib playing Canadian friends for dinner and a last few hands of Crib, as there is no “Showtime” aboard tonight, only a film, ugh! The cribbage challenge was Alvin and I against Christine and Laura and after numerous games and rubbers over many days we arrived at the end of the cruise even-Stevens; a fair result me thinks.

Early start tomorrow.

We were not due into Salvador until 1600hrs so had a nice breakfast and a leisurely morning. I went to a lecture on Brazil and Christine stayed in the cabin as she is still coughing and one degree under. Once we get off the ship in Rio and away from constant air conditioning things should improve. Once the lecture was over and following the obligatory coffee and brandy, we decided to start packing. We filled one case with everything we don’t need until we board the Queen Victoria on the 21^st February; this will help us on Friday when we leave the ship.   We also started the process of gathering all the required information to make a claim for the Ships Hospital costs. We have never known such a palaver for a claim; what they want we don’t have with us, of course, so we have been sending e-mails far and wide to get the required information.

To arrive at the dock on time, we actually entered the large “Baia de Todos os Santos” (All Saints Bay) around 1400hrs where we collected the pilot. The entrance to this bay is very wide, but there were numerous freighters anchored all around us, which the Captain had to weave in and out to get to the dock. This was one of the more spectacular docking maneuvers this cruise, so most guests were up on top deck watching. We had to berth between a 4,000-passenger cruise ship and an enormous bulk carrier with minimal room for mistakes; still he achieved it smoothly and efficiently.

As we had had a hearty breakfast we missed lunch so decided afternoon tea was the order of the day before setting ashore; not so elegant or stunning as the Gala afternoon tea, but we still had the string quartet playing and more than enough of all those slimming cakes and buns etc.

Salvador was founded in 1549 and was the first capital of Brazil during the heyday of the slave trade, and this legacy can be seen today in its large, black population. It sits on a Peninsula on the North East coast of Brazil, which shields the town from the Atlantic Ocean. This city is the third largest in Brazil with a population of around 4 million and at the end of the peninsula there is a fort guarding the entrance to this safe anchorage. Today this is a naval museum. Salvador is also one of the oldest colonial cities in the Americas.

Once our ship was cleared by the authorities and we had finished our afternoon tea, the four of us “intrepid explorers” set foot in what had been described by Dotty as a dangerous place if one strayed from the main thoroughfare: we did. Firstly we crossed into the “badlands” to find a chemist to get something for Christine’s cough then rather than go back we cut across through a not so “thoroughfare” street to the large tourist undercover market; no issues so far.

Naturally we don’t flaunt jewelry or mobile ‘phones etc., and we keep our wits about us.

A big cliff divides Salvador; its lower town, (Cidade Baixa) and its upper town (Cidade Alta), are about 85 meters apart, “vertically” and there is an elevator tower housing 4 lifts taking about 30 or so people each trip, up and down. The cost of this ride is 15 cents, (local currency Reals) worth approximately 4 pence!!!! We joined the queue which was half way down the road and thought it would take forever but no, the system works well and we were soon at the front of the queue and herded into a hot, sweaty lift. Fortunately we were up to the top in a second so our suffering was minimal.

The top is where the old original town is situated and out of

the lift into a magnificent cobbled area, surrounded with old, large buildings, museum and other local authority buildings.

Whilst queuing we got talking to a Portuguese family who told us there was some sort of show in the square where the Cathedral is situated.

Armed with so “much” information, the four of us followed the crowds, who seemed to be heading purposefully in one direction. The big area we in after leaving the lift, blended into another, large open space where the surface was smooth and flat. Walking through we passed numerous stalls

selling the usual trinkets, and local arty-crafty things; there were buskers and children everywhere as we then entered a large cobbled square, full of tables and chairs and stalls selling alcohol, soft drinks and street food. At the end there was a band preparing so decided this must be it and sat down, ordered a few drinks and waited. Apart from more and more people flooding into this square nothing was happening though we did her drumming in the background and assumed this was the start of things. Still nothing was happening so David went to investigate. He reported back that there were lots of drummers walking away from our square, oh well the ambience was good and our waiter reminded us of Huggy Bear, a character from the old TV program, Starsky and Hutch; but probably more entertaining.

After a very enjoyable interlude we realised the drummers

weren’t about to descend into the square so we headed back to the lift, and onto the ship, however, we were accosted on our return. 4 Police Motorbikes, with 2 policemen on each, armed to the teeth, surrounded us. They babbled on but we didn’t understand a word they said so got out our I.D. but that wasn’t what they wanted; apparently some other tourists were mugged and they thought we were they.

Back on board it was party night on board, Christine wasn’t quite tickety boo so went to bed, and then David and I went to listen to the music.

Next morning we were up and away fairly early as the ship sailed soon after lunch and we had places to go and things to see.

Back into the lifts, across the three squares and straight to

the Cathedral, but more importantly the “Sao Francisco Church of Salvador” built in the first half of the 18^th centaury. This church has an interior to behold, all the walls, ceiling, acolumns, alter and side chapels are gold. All this sculptured woodwork is covered with gold leaf and is the original, yes in places there is wear due to its age, but on the whole it has stood the test of time well.

Attached to this splendid church is a convent, no gold leaf here but a number of the old wooden ceilings have religious scenes painted on them. There is also a rather large courtyard with all the surrounding walls covered in tiles depicting various biblical scenes.

We spent too much time admiring the interior of the gold leafed church we hadn’t left sufficient time to go over the cathedral,

though from what we had heard, after visiting the Sao Francisco Church of Salvador, nothing else comes anywhere near it for beauty and opulence.

It was a very hot day and it was time for refreshment but more

importantly “loos” were required. We found a small hotel: Parked ourselves on an outside table and rested, enjoying the Brazilian cocktail “caipirinha” (see below); well I didn’t, I had the usual as I find Caipirinha too sour.

David and Christina shot off to look at the Cathedral, whilst we waited. When they reported back they said we had already seen the best; good job we stayed behind!!!!!

Our return to the ship was down several cobbled streets with their multi-coloured façades and several touristy shops. They were very attractive to look at and we were pleased we went, but when we got to the bottom and looked back up the hill, we were shocked and caught a taxi; well we did, our friends being younger went back up.

Back onboard we had a casual afternoon before dinner. Tonight’s Showtime was called “Tuxedo”, a show featuring the ships singers and dancers taking a fresh look at music by such artists as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole and many more. The singers did a good job, very entertaining but we couldn’t think why they had the dancers. Due to it being a small stage the ship only has 2 dancers and as far as we were concerned they were superfluous to the show. “Still, it is what it is; get on with it”.

Tonight was also a farewell night; at the end of the “show” all the crew came on stage and the Captain and Hotel manages did their farewell speeches, usual things, thank everybody for coming, thanking the crew for their hard work, and probably more importantly from Oceania’s point of view, hoping everybody will return for another cruise.   At this point the crew made a lot of noise as everybody joined the singers in a rendition of “Auld Lang Syne”. When we exited the Sirena lounge the crew lined the corridors and applauded.

Christine trotted off to bed, and I went to horizons with D & C for a nightcap, or two!!!

Tomorrow is another sea day and then Rio the following Lunchtime

Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	·       Cachaça
Served	On the rocks; poured over ice
Standard garnish	sugar cane, lime(ingredient)
Standard drinkware	Old Fashioned glass
IBA specified ingredients	·       5 cl cachaça ·       Half a lime cut into 4 wedges ·       2 teaspoons sugar
Preparation	Place lime and sugar into old fashioned glass and muddle (mash the two ingredients together using a muddler or a wooden spoon). Fill the glass with ice and add the Cachaça.
Notes	A wide variety of fresh fruits can be used in place of lime. In the absence of cachaça, vodka can be used, making a caipiroska.[1]