Brazil cruise Part 4-Rio to Sao Paulo

December 6th, 2010- Rio de Janeiro
Oh Beautiful Rio!
It was overcast all day, but still wonderful.

Here is our first view of Sugarloaf and the city in the background as we enter the harbor.
Our first destination was to Cocovado and "Christ the Redeemer". He stand high above the city and you have to ride in a little train up the side of the mountain. Along the way you can smell the jungle and see lots of interesting plants.

This is one of the more interesting fruit trees. The big pods hanging off the tree trunks are more like giant watermelon. The Internet describes them as giant potatoes. Sister Parrela said it was her most favorite fruit. I think they called it jaca. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to taste it.  

Here is the sign describing the history of the monument.
The hill was covered in clouds when we arrived, but they would tease us and lift momentarily so you could get a quick glimpse of the statue.

Here is my first view of the back side of the monument as I hiked up the final stairs.

It took several minutes to get this picture. I had to stand ready to snap the shutter and then in a second he would be lost in the clouds again.

I just copied my video to the computer. Here is a quick picture of Christ the Redeemer ascending back into the clouds.
We also stood as a group and sang "The Spirit of God" (in Portuguese). It was a magnificent statue and I was blessed to be there. I kept thinking how crazy it was that I was actually in Rio and seeing this for myself. I have often seen pictures and thought it would be amazing to visit, but never really thought I would actually do it. I think of it as a"bucket list " item.

After riding away on the bus I looked back to see the clouds clear away and got this picture of Cocovado.
No time for lamenting our luck though, cause next stop was lunch and Copacabana Beach!

Lunch was at a Brazilian barbecue restaurant. Buffet style side dishes, with all you can eat chunks of meat sliced off a saber at your table. Quite fun and lots of different Brazilian specialities to try. I liked the little  hard boiled quail eggs. 

Anything was wonderful after eating the bland ship food for nearly 3 weeks. It was great to get some flavorful food.

Here's Piggy with our 5 reais soda's. The meal was not expensive, but they took the American tourist for a ride by charging an arm and  leg for the drinks. Funny that they do not print the price of the drinks. Adalton and Delgia were outraged by this price gouging:)  But I say "C'est la vie"! Nothing was going to ruin my day.

Next stop was Copacabana Beach. I was told I would not have time for swimming, but I would not be thwarted from playing in the surf.

How can anyone expect me to go to a beach and not get wet? It was fun playing chase with the waves, but the waves mostly won. I should have just put on my swim suit anyway so I would have had something dry to change back into. I coaxed several people to join me in the fun and we all had a good time, even if it only lasted 30 minutes.

This picture makes me laugh. Proof that McDonald's is everywhere. Even in a cabana at the beach. I bet this place is hopping on a sunny day.
Our next stop was Sugerloaf Mountain.

Note of trivia, this is where "James Bond" had a fight with "Jaws" in the open air cable cars. We were lucky to enjoy the ride in the new enclosed glass cable cars. What a great view! To bad there were so many clouds. Here we are leaving the ground level to the lower mountain top.

Here is the best view I have of Sugarloaf. It was engulfed with cloud cover at the top. Interesting being in the middle of a cloud, but we couldd not see farther that 50 feet.

Mom and I in the clouds at Sugerloaf. I think she keeps shrinking, because I don't think I have gotten taller.
She was a trooper though and did not complain about her hip at all. I know it was a lot more painful than she let on. Glad to report she now has one brand new hip, and she can't wait to get the second one replaced.

The backyard wildlife in Brazil includes monkeys. These little guys were hanging around the cable car station looking for tourists to give them treats. I'm sure these cute little creatures are a lot more of a nuisance than squirrels.

The view coming back down the mountain. Doesn't that beach look inviting?

Well that was the end of our day on Rio. We got back to the ship at 6pm. Mom was exhausted. She decided to stay in the cabin the rest for the evening and pack for our departure in the morning. Here is a view of our little cabin. It was very comfortable and roomy.
I decided to take a quick refreshing swim with Alf. I didn't feel like eating, but he talked me into at least going to dinner for the company. I spent the rest of the evening packing, then stayed up till midnight writing in my journal. I was looking forward to being at home with my family, but not excited about the long trip ahead to get back to Gig Harbor.

Tuesday December 7th, 2010
Sao Paulo
I got up at 6am to enjoy the quiet morning one last time. I loved to go up on deck and see the coast of Brazil with the sunrise and feel the peace of the sea. It was overcast and wet, but still somehow wonderful. I sat and read the scriptures and contemplated the wonderful blessings I had received over the last few weeks. I did not want to dwell on the departure of the cruise, or leaving my new friends, but remember the joy it had given me. I missed my family very much and could not wait to hold them all in my arms. I wrote this in my journal. " This world is AMAZING and a gift from God for us to experience and enjoy. I hope I can remember this blessing and the peace I have felt when times are a little more challenging and my heart is heavy."

I was shocked back to reality with this view of the shanty town on the edge of the river as we pulled into port to disembark. I truly have no reason to complain about any part of my life. We had a little confusion finding all or baggage and getting to the buses, but I was patient, made the most of the situation and enjoyed visiting with friends.
We had a good bus ride to Sao Paulo and visited with Brother and Sister Parrella and the Wallace's. Finally got to the hotel in the afternoon and quickly changes clothes to go to the temple. Here is a little video of the temple.

So by the time we got back to the hotel it was getting dark. The main road from the hotel was a very large shopping district. I joined a dozen other friends to walk the streets to see the Christmas lights. It was strange to see all the normal Christmas decorations, and hear Christmas music while walking down the street in shorts and a t-shirt. An experience that would take some getting use to. It made me realize we were getting very close to Christmas and I had not even started shopping, baking, hanging lights, or any of the normal traditions yet.

I took mom the next day to see some of the decorations.

We saw the Nativity scene at the mall,

and listened to some carolers.

We had fun for awhile, but soon we were just ready to start our journey home.

We were tired of walking and ready to see our families. We finally got to the airport at 5pm. By the time we started boarding the plane the sun was setting.

My final picture of Brazil as we boarded the plane, with a beautiful sunset in the distance to wish us farewell.
And that is my trip of a lifetime. Thanks for sharing it with me.

Heather's Cruise Part 3- Fortaleza to Salvador, Brazil

December 1, 2010 My Birthday

Fortaleza, Brazil

I woke up at 5:15am and was surprised to see another ship outside my porthole. I knew we must be close to land so I quickly dressed, went up to the top deck, and watched us come into port at Fortaleza, Brazil. 

This was my first view of the"New World". I was a little surprised about the skyscrapers. I knew we were going to a city, but guess I just had something a little more primitive in my mind:)

One thing I found very fascinating was the education on cashews. Each cashew nut is actually the seed of a cashew fruit that grows on a tree like an apple. One fruit = one cashew nut. Now I understand why cashews are one of the more expensive natural snacks. In Brazil they harvest lots of cashews, then use the fruit to make an alcoholic drink.

some pretty flowers

more cool plants

Typical street vendors. They were on every street in downtown Fortaleza shopping area.
We only spent 4 hours touring Fortaleza on the bus. It was OK, but after awhile, a city is just another city.

The beach front

the city park

an old Cathedral

future LDS Temple site. Not much to look at right now, but wait till the Temple is built!

At dinner that night my friends ordered me a Birthday Cake and the whole restaurant sang to me.
I love Birthdays!

Thursday December 2, Recefe'
Today was really fun. We went to an old part of the area called Olinda. It means "an area of great beauty". We had a walking tour of the old city and visited a small area for shopping. It was much more interesting to walk the street and stop and see the different plants and just feel the life on the street. Much better than just riding by on the bus.

This is mom and I in front of  very old baobab tree from Africa.

This is a banana tree. The bananas grow upside down, because the little flowers on the ends of the bananas always try to grow toward the light. The big red thing at the end is called the heart and is suppose to have medicinal properties for your circulatory system.

Our last stop for the day was the Recefe' Temple. We enjoyed performing an endowment session before racing back to the ship. Our tour guide called the ship from the bus to tell them we were on our way. He was the last one up the gangplank and they actually closed the door behind him as he stepped onto the ship.

Friday Dec. 3rd - Maceio

This was suppose to be my only day I had to just sit on the beach. At least that was the original plans. But everyone was so worried about me going off on my own, so I ended up sticking with the group for the boring bus ride around town. They said we were going to the beach, but by the time we finally got there the day was half over. I did get to swim for about 30 minutes, enjoy a Coke on the beach in the beautiful blazing heat, and even do a little shopping. But don't get me started on how frustrated I was about wasting the first half of the day.

Mom quenching her thirst with  fresh coconut water.

a view of the city with our ship in the background

me and Dora Mae

the colorful fishing boats on the beach

a view of the beach from my beach chair.

chair rental 5 reais...
cold coke 3 reais...
temperature- sand hot enough to burn off the soles of your feet...
memory of the sunshine and the Brazilian atmosphere- priceless!
(actually Tracy would probably have a number for that:)

Saturday Dec. 4- Salvador
This was one of the best days of the trip! How can I describe this day in it's full glory.
We started out at 8am. Our bus guide was amazing. He spoke very fluent English and was a teacher by profession. He was very knowledgeable about his Brazilian heritage and shared his views of all the mixed races and the history of the Brazilian/African/Portuguese cultures. Everything he said was very fascinating to me. I really like the new perspective I am gaining as I learn about other people. So here goes my photo journal of the day's activities.

At every port we are met by local ambassadors of the city that greet us with music or dancing. This is mom with a Bahia woman. She is dressed in the traditional costume handing out prayer ribbons.

we first took a quick bus tour around the city. This is the public elevator from the harbor (poor slave area in historic times) to the upper city (or rich Portuguese area).

a small view of the waterfront with guys selling sugar cane

The view looking down to the harbor from the upper city.
The little island was a prison.
The white building in the left hand side was the slave trading house, and the large brown building on the right side (now a market) was the tax house where you paid for the slaves after purchase.

friends getting their picture taken at the tourist attraction.

One of the most amazing things I witnessed was the unexpected surprise of the "Festival of Santa Barbara". We were walking through a courtyard area when I noticed all these people up ahead coming towards us. They were dressed in red and white and you could hear a commotion coming from down the street. Then you could see the procession coming, like a parade down the street towards us. I jumped up on a bench so I could get a really good view and not get lost in the crowd. Mom on the other hand thought it would be neat to have a front row seat and walked out to the curb.

If you look carefully you will see a little lady in a white hat  just next to the light pole. That is my mom.
So anyway the procession was amazing!! I think it was the cheerful energy engulfing me as they walked by singing and carrying flowers. You could just feel the happiness in the air. I thought it was amazing and I was blessed to be a part of it.

After the procession we continued down the street to the Gold Church. Along the way we saw this parrot outside a store.

this is the courtyard at the Gold Church. It is decorated in elaborate tile art describing man's purpose on earth and how we can get to heaven.(at least in the belief of the original builders of the church)
I can't describe the whole story, but it was interesting to get the perspective of why they felt they needed to build so many churches and make them so decorated. The basic idea was the more you paid the church, the greater your reward in heaven, or something like that.

This was our tour guide. I love this picture because it reminds me of the passion he had about sharing the histories of the past. He was showing a picture of a slave woman nursing a rich Portuguese child. He talked about the clashes of the inequality and confused belief that the slaves were not human, but yet they were made to feed the rich ladies babies. Very similar to the stories of the US slave trade. I found it all very fascinating and educational.

This is the artist that made this painting that now hangs in my living room. It is a painting of the Gold Church.

The Gold Church gets it's name from the fact that everything in it is covered with 800 kg of gold leaf. I actually don't remember its real name. I just found this amazing blog from someone else that visited the church. It has amazing video if you would like to follow the link http://www.360cities.net/image/panoful#325.58,8.95,70.0

After the church we made our way back to the ship, stopping along the way at the market to do a little shopping. This was the only day we actually had free time in a city after the group tour. I wanted to go walking around really bad, but everyone was worried about me going out on my own. I managed to talk my new friend Larry into coming along. After we got off the ship he confided that he really wanted to go exploring too, but it makes his wife nervous when he takes off on his own, so he told her he needed to go with me so I wouldn't be alone. So it was a win-win situation for both of us:)
We had an amazing afternoon and found a few real gems all on our own.

This is the old slave trading house that is now the Naval headquarters. Larry wanted to go for a closer look, but as soon as he stepped over the heavy chain next to the sidewalk, a machine gun toting guard gave him a look that spoke volumes and needed no translation.

The best part of the afternoon was stumbling upon the Museum of Modern Art. Our first view was just of this nice garden area next to the highway with yard art in it. We made our way down to the little beach and found a few other locals there swimming and enjoying the sunshine. The sign said "no swimming", but the guards at the top of the hill didn't seem to mind, so we kicked off our shoes for a dip.

It was perfect! It was like our own little oasis.

While soaking in the sun and pinching myself that I was really in Brazil having the perfect day, some young guys came by to enjoy the cove too. They jumped out of their boat and swam around. It was fun watching them enjoy life and just being teenage boys. The big white building in the background was our next point of exploration. It turned out to be an old Trading house that is now a museum.

 A view as we entered the old trading house. Apparently slaves came in and sugar went out.

Here is Larry standing next to some type of shallow, tile lined pools.

Looking at the pools from the other angle. I have no idea what they were really for.

This is just me in the courtyard in front of a really cool old tree:)

On the other side from the beach was this large docking area.

A view accross the docking area to an old building that was part of the compound. I think it is just a nice picture. The tree in the front had mangos.

As you keep looking to the left, the next view is the stark reallity of poverty. The big city buildings up on the hill, and the little houses stacked upon each other under the highway. It humbles you and makes you take stock of your blessings.

This was my last view of Salvador as we pulled out of the harbor at sunset. What an amazing day that I will never forget.

Sunday December 5th, 2010

Day at Sea

This day was spent visiting with new friends and making lasting memories with people that have changed my life in ways they will never know. I don't really understand it all myself, but this Sabath Day was probably the most touching in my life. We had a wonderful Fast and Testimony meeting together, and shared many feelings of joy and happiness with each other that we share because of our membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here are a few pictures of some of the most amazing people I have ever met. Maybe unassuming on the outside, but their example to me has changed y life.

This is Delgia and Adalton Parrela from Florinopolis, Brazil. I met them in the hotel lobby on my first night in Milano. They are true kindred spirits and I will love them forever. I can't wait for the day, weather in this life or the next, that we meet again.

Lynn and Kay Wallace. They were missionaries in Mozambique, Africa. Their sweet spirits and example of showing pure love to all people were very influential to me. I hope I can follow their footsteps, have their faith, and can serve a mission with my husband someday.

Doug and Arleen Dalton. He was a great story teller. Another example of humble, happy, people doing their best to serve the Lord. Great examples of living your religion, no matter what your situation.

Eric and Claudia Dalton (brother and sister-in-law to Doug and Arlene). They were tag along cruisers like my mom and I.

Dora Mae Blades and Carol Jean Nash. They are true sisters in blood and spirit. What fun loving sweet ladies. We hit it off from the first time me we met. They taught me how to play"7-11" with Skip-bo cards and I could always count on them for a good laugh.  

And here is my mom and I with our waiter.  I don't remember his name now, but he was from Bali and had the nicest smile. He was a genuinly polite and happy guy. He did make our dinner time special. I hope him and has family all the best.

I can't believe this is my only picture of Jan Hilton. I met her and Cleonice (whom I am very sad I don't have a picture of) during our first bus ride from Milano to Savona. A super lady full of life and a great example to just open your mouth and share the gospel with everyone you meet.

And of course there is Alf Gunn, former FBI agent and the guy who made this trip possible. You will never meet a more Christ-like gentleman on this earth.

These were just a few of the people that I will always remember.