Today was a carbon copy of yesterday, more or less. The same safety warning while traveling through the city was printed on the front of our daily newsletter, only there was the prediction of showers, which never did happen. Today we began our walk by going around the new structure near the port called the Museum of Tomorrow. Once again, due to the holiday, it was not opened. Around the far end, we could see a few promising restaurants on the ground level, but they were not going to be opened either.
We had high hopes to have the chance to see a parade somewhere today for the holiday of the patron saint of Rio, St. Sebastion. But they never happened, at least any time before 4:30pm, which was all aboard time for everyone. Once we completed the scenic walk around the new museum, we headed back along the shoreline. When we neared the military area, we realized something was going on. Many of the sailors were at attention at the fencing, and two well-armed patrol boats were in the water facing the building. Since there were nice concrete benches along the way, we sat down for a bit and watched the activity. Their military band was gathering with their instruments, and a series of local news people with cameras were getting good spots to film this event, whatever it may be.
Just about then, Greg and Heo came by, after completing their explorative walk earlier. Greg tried to communicate with the nearest sailor, but had no luck as he did not speak English. It was obvious that someone important was either arriving or leaving the port area. So after waiting for 20 minutes, the fellows continued on their way back to the Amsterdam, and we left for another long walk to town. Unknown to us, Greg had finally found someone with English skills, and discovered that the President of Brazil was actually leaving the military building, with the help of a lot of pomp and circumstance. Wish we had stayed, as it would have been a good substitute for the parade we never saw.
We had time to see Heo's photos of some more icons of the city, which were in the same area we walked yesterday. However, we did go around the Candelaria Cathedral, and located the main drive called Avenida Presidente Vargas. Strolling this wide thoroughfare, we saw so many homeless men and women, that we ended our quest to see more of the city. We even were asked by two of our Indonesian crew members if we knew how to get to a market, but we did not know any more than they did.
We did locate the front entrance to the Municipal Theater, which was most impressive. Many more churches were everywhere we looked, but most of the iconic structures were so buried in this concrete jungle, you could not spot them easily. It was too bad that the information folks in the terminal did not have detailed maps of this part of the town. And once again, the streets were not crowded due to the holiday. The reminder of the travel tips that warned everyone to be careful of being isolated in any part of the city kept coming to our minds. So we headed back.
By the time we reached the military area, the event had happened and was over. The guards and band were nowhere to be seen. The plazas did fill up with local kids on bikes, skate boards, and roller skates. Even the adults were doing the same.
By the time we got back to the ship, it was almost 4pm. So we opted for Dive In burgers once again, and ended up going to the sail away by 4:30pm. This time, the aft deck was filled with people watching our sailing out of the bay, going past Sugarloaf, Copacabana, and Ipanema beaches. Christ the Redeemer was in sight the entire time. This was lucky because there was no fog and no rain to spoil our departure. We joined Susie and Woody and eventually Greg, sharing stories from past trips as we enjoyed seeing the sights of the city from this angle.
We ended up staying until the sun was about set. It looked promising, but when the sun disappeared behind clouds, we knew that was as good as it would get. And besides, it was time to get ready for dinner.
None of us had gone out to lunch today, so we did have better appetites tonight. A burger was on the menu with a Brazilian twist, so one of us ordered it. A tuna entrée was the other choice, but when it came half raw, as in ahi tuna, only half of it was consumed. Guess we need to ask more questions about how things are cooked, or not cooked. Raw tuna is not something we really care for, even if that is the way you are supposed to eat it. Knowing how it comes, we always ask for it to be fully cooked.
Now we will have two well-earned days at sea, and stop on Thursday in a small resort area of Uruguay, a new port for us.
Bill & Mary Ann
