Day 22 - At Sea (2nd of 2)

 

Date:  Jan. 30, 2007

 

Location:  At Sea (2nd of 2)

 

Next Port:  Walvis Bay, Namibia, Jan. 31

 

Quick Summary:  A fairly rough day…rocking and rolling towards Africa. The strong head winds directly on the bow have slowed us down and we may be a bit delayed arriving into Walvis Bay, Namibia. Everyone is really looking forward to our special dinner tomorrow night out on the sand dunes.

 

Report:  Larry was able to do about half his treadmill routine this a.m…half the time, half the incline and half the speed. He said, “I guess it really wasn’t too smart to come done those 699 steeps of Jacob’s Ladder. I’ll probably skip that on my next visit!”

 

Early in the morning, we were just experiencing large, rolling swells. Later, the wind kicked up white caps and we’ve been moving about quite a bit ever since.

 

We both enjoyed breakfast out on the aft deck, followed by our devotional session. About 13-18 people attend these sessions and enjoy sharing this time. Then Larry worked on the journal and attended Daniel Silke’s presentation, “Critical Issues Facing South Africa in the Future.” Daniel always presents a very balanced few of every topic, but Larry came away feeling much more pessimistic about the country’s immediate prospects than does Daniel.  But you can probably feel that way if you list all the issues facing any country…one certainly can when looking at the USA. We believe we have a very good foundation for our forthcoming visit to this reborn nation and are looking forward to it with much anticipation.

 

Karen did some laundry and attended a Cordon Bleu cooking demonstration that her instructor offered for all the guests. About 40 people attended.

 

Larry, Gary and two others took a 45-min. tour of the engine control room on Deck 3. The ship was rocking too much for us to go down into the actual service areas. “Engine” department is a misnomer because the 40 folks run and maintain all the systems of the ship: propulsion, electricity generation, heating and air conditioning, fresh water making, waste, air filtration, etc. It is remarkable what goes into keeping this mobile city humming.

 

Karen went to a jewelry fashion show and then stayed for a portion of the art presentation that our neighbor Mario runs. 

 

This evening we joined our hallway neighbors, Barbara and Jim from Rancho Murieta, Calif., at the specialty restaurant, Latitudes. This was a first visit for us since they changed from the normal Indochine menu to that of a Brazilian Churrasco. The dinner and entertainment were very enjoyable.

 

Afterwards, we enjoyed the singers’ and dancers’ new show, “Rock this Town.” It’s amazing how much energy these talented young folks can pack into 45-minutes.

 

Tomorrow we arrive in Africa.

 

Karen and Larry

 

A reminder: Photos of our cruise are now available at the following web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

Day 21 - At Sea (1st of 2)

 

Date:  Jan. 29, 2007

 

Location:  At Sea (1st of 2)

 

Next Port:  Walvis Bay, Namibia, Jan. 31

 

Quick Summary:  A gray day for our first of two sea days heading towards Namibia. We crossed the prime meridian at about 11:00 am.

 

Report:  Still feeling the effects in his knees and thighs from descending Jacob’s Ladder, Larry skipped his exercise routine. Karen went to her last Cordon Bleu class and was very successful in preparing an orange soufflé that didn’t fall. We both attended Daniel Silke’s lecture, “The Turbulent Transition to Democracy in South Africa.” Daniel has been involved during this exciting period in South Africa as an academic, activist, and politician in the new governmental bodies. He brings first-hand experiences and insights to his engaging and very popular lectures.

 

After the special curry buffet on the Pool Deck, we played social bridge with Nancy and Jerry in the Observation Lounge. Our cards weren’t as good as the last time, but we managed not to embarrass ourselves!

 

For dinner, we joined Mary Lou and John from our daily devotional group. They are from the Point Loma area of San Diego, but John was raised in Chicago. We had much in common with our southern California and Midwest connections. We all decided to skip the evening show and turn in early.

 

We advanced our clocks again today one hour...now 7 hours ahead of Chicago time. We will do the same again tomorrow. The sea is a bit rockier tonight.

 

Karen and Larry

 

A reminder: Photos of our cruise are now available at the following web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

Day 20 - Jamestown, St. Helena (UK)

 

 

Date:  Jan. 28, 2007

 

Location: Jamestown, St. Helena (UK)

 

Next Port:  Walvis Bay, Namibia, Jan. 31

 

Quick Summary:  Isolated St. Helena is a small island of many contrasts and has played various roles since being discovered in 1502. Rocky and barren at sea level, it has sweeping vistas and lush tropical vegetation and large trees at higher elevations. Napoleon lived out his final days here.

 

Report:  Discovered in 1502 by the Portuguese explorer Joao da Nova on St. Helena’s Day, hence the name, this remote 47 sq. mi. island is 1,700 mi. from Cape Town. It has no air service, and everything must come by boat.  There is “regular” service about 8-12 times a year. As a British Overseas Territory, the island has a governor whose jurisdiction includes as dependencies the two “close” neighboring islands of Ascension (700 mi. northwest) and Tristan da Cunha (1,000 mi. southwest). Talk about being remote!

 

Today, 6,000 people call St. Helena home, while at any time about 1,000-2,000 work off the island. The make-up of the population is about 50% African, 25% Chinese and 25% Caucasian. The island has a small fish processing plant and harvests some trees for use as lumber. There are several small herds of cattle. Philatelic sales are a growing source of revenue, as is tourism. The latter is in its infancy. The other two islands are self sufficient, but St. Helena is not.  It must be subsidized by the UK, currently at about $25 million per year.

 

The island has three distinct layered weather zones. At sea level (Jamestown), there is about 4 inches of rain per year, while the upper cloud forest (2,000 – 2,700 ft.) receives about 40 inches. The island is volcanic in origin…originating on the seabed some 14,000 feet below the Atlantic and reaching the surface about 14 million years ago. Scientists believe the last volcanic activity took place 6-7 million years ago. The island has a variety of plant life, much of it tropical. There are many species of birds but no native mammals.

 

Though discovered in 1502, the Portuguese kept its existence a secret until it was re-found by the English explorer Thomas Cavendish (1588) on his round the world voyage. He and subsequent visitors left cows and pigs and planted crops for future provisions. The East India Company opened a garrison and the first settlement in 1659. St. Helena was an important staging post for trading ships going to and from the East. (In going from Britain and the Med around Africa, the prevailing winds and currents made it necessary to swing much further west than to go directly down the west coast of Africa. It was almost by accident that some ships went too far west and discovered South America, opening up even more trade routes.)

 

In 1815, Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena after Waterloo. It was here that he wrote his memoirs before dying in 1821.(In 1840, Napoleon’s remains were returned to Paris.) The Brits actually treated him quite well. He had a staff of 30 and was able to move about quite freely. France was given three plots of land. On one, they built a substantial cottage (residence) which included a wine cellar. Today, the others contain the garden with his tomb and the new residence of the French consul.

 

Four factors eventually led to the decline of the importance of

St. Helena: steam replacing sail, the decreasing use of whale oil, the ending of slave trade and the opening of the Suez Canal (1869).

 

When we arrived at our harbor anchorage at about 9:30 am, the island was shrouded in fog and mist. In fact, we ran through showers enroute to the harbor. But thankfully, by the time we boarded our 14-passenger van for our 3-1/2 hour tour, the sun began clearing and we ended up with a beautiful day.

 

We drove through Jamestown with its Georgian architecture, into the countryside. We stopped at several overlooks; walked down a gentle ½-mile path to Napoleon’s garden tomb; visited his final residence, Longwood House; stopped at the private residence of the British governor, Plantation House, and saw Jonathan, the 175 year old Seychelles turtle that lives on the grounds; and visited Ladder Hill Fort with its harbor overlook.

 

Larry then climbed down the 699 steps of Jacob’s Ladder directly into town. This inclined plane was built in 1829 and was initially used to carry manure into the country. Mule-driven carts would be hauled up the smooth incline winding a rope around a capstan at the top of the hill. Later, it was used to haul all sorts of materials up and down the steep hill. Now these steps offer a quick shortcut back to Jamestown…but “my do those knees feel wobbly once you get back down.”  (Karen is smarter than that!)

 

Before heading back to the tenders, we visited St. James’ Church, the oldest Anglican church south of the Equator. The present building was completed in 1774.

 

It was a spectacular day ashore (particularly after four days at sea!). It is also humbling to think how few people will ever actually visit this remote spot on God’s earth.

 

We enjoyed a nice dinner in Compass Rose with Karyn and Joe from New Orleans. They are neighbors on our 8th deck corridor and chat-room acquaintances from the group that posts on luxurycruisetalk.com.

 

Another wonderful day!

 

Karen and Larry

 

 

A reminder: Photos of our cruise are now available at the following web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

 Photos of our visit to St. Helena have been posted today

 

Day 19 - At Sea (4th of 4)

 

Date:  Jan. 27, 2007

 

Location:  At Sea in the South Atlantic

 

Next Port:  Jamestown, St. Helena, Jan 28

 

Quick Summary:  Another beautiful sunny sea day…the high pressure systems are holding. We had a restful day. Larry was finally able to get some photos up on the web using Picasa. (See special Day 18 report and info at the bottom of this report.) We enjoyed a very interesting tour ofthe Voyager’s Main Galley and Provision area.

 

Report:  Following our workouts, devotionals and breakfast on the back deck, Karen attended her bridge class and Larry worked on his photos. Then we attended the enrichment lecture by Dr. Robert Clark on the history of St. Helena, including its connection with a series of early explorers and the forced final refuge of Napoleon.

 

After the lecture, we passed our induction as Turtles, thanks to the sponsorship of Alene and Don.

 

Our afternoon was spent walking on the outdoor track, sunning at the pool and working on the photos and journal.

 

At 5 pm, we joined the rest of Karen’s cooking class and their partners for a tour of the Voyager’s Main Galley and Provisions area. Sixteen of us heard Executive Chef Tobias Schreiber’s interesting and humorous commentary. We were also joined by Chef Stuart Conibear, the Cordon Bleu chef from the London Cordon Bleu School, who joined the ship in Rio in order to teach this class.

 

We went to the Observation Lounge for some music and arranged to have dinner in the Compass Rose with Nancy, Jerry and Ken. After dinner, we caught Kenny Smiles’ second show.

 

This was another fun sea day. Hopefully, the weather will hold for our short stop tomorrow at the remote island of St. Helena.

 

 

A reminder:  photos of our cruise are now available at following web site. Photos of our Chef’s Tour have been added today:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

From our pillow chocolate tonight:

 

              We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.

 

                             -- Hilaire Belloc

 

 

Karen and Larry

Day 18 - Sea Day (3rd of 4)

 

Date:  Jan. 26, 2007

 

Location:  At Sea in the South Atlantic

 

Next Port:  Jamestown, St. Helena, Jan 28

 

Quick Summary:  Another beautiful sunny sea day…the highs are holding. We had a great evening, with a special Cordon Bleu class dinner and our first opportunity to see the Southern Cross.

 

Report:  At our daily devotionals this morning, Jamie told us how beautiful the stars of the Southern Cross were last evening.  It had been an exceptionally clear evening, and he felt he could reach out and touch several constellations. He promised to take us this evening.

 

In the morning we both attended the port lecture about Walvis Bay, Namibia and the special dinner we will all be going to in the dunes.

 

Then Larry stayed in the theater for Dr. Robert Clark’s enrichment lecture on “Volcanoes and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.” Karen went to her bridge lesson. She rejoined Larry at 11:00 for the next of Daniel Silke’s terrific lecture series. This one was entitled the “Rise and Fall of Apartheid (Separation) in South Africa.”

 

In the afternoon, we walked in the sun, read and worked on the photos for our journal.

 

We enjoyed a special dinner with new friends in the normally closed half of La Veranda with members of the Cordon Bleu cooking class, their partners and the chef.  We all had a good time.

 

The show was a performance by an Italian violin virtuoso Vincenzo Gentile, who played music from around the world.

 

After the evening’s show, Jamie invited us on a tour to the darkened area of the ship to look for the Southern Cross.  About 40 of us accepted his invitation but found it to be quite cloudy in certain areas. We could see the moon to the north but found about 70% cloud cover to the south. As we moved to the area nearer the bow, we had a few light drops of rain from a passing cloud. Then a wide hole in the cloud banks opened, and we had a spectacular view of the Southern Cross – the first time for both of us. Another highlight!

 

This wrapped up one more fine sea day.

 

Previously, our longest cruising experience was 14 days.  We passed that four days ago…with no problems!

 

As we sail this vast expanse of the South Atlantic coming up on our third weekend, maybe this quote from our pillow chocolate is appropriate:

 

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.

-- St. Augustine

 

 

 

A reminder, photos of our cruise are now available at following web site. The are nine albums for the days on which I took photos:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

 

Cheers,

 

Karen and Larry

Day 18 - SPECIAL REPORT - PHOTOS

 

Date:  Jan. 26, 2007

 

Location:  At Sea in the South Atlantic

 

Next Port: Jamestown, St. Helena, Jan 28

 

SPECIAL REPORT:

 

PHOTOS OF OUR TRIP ARE NOW AVAILABLE.

 

I WAS NOT ABLE TO LOAD THEM DIRECTLY INTO THIS AOL JOURNAL.

 

HOWEVER, HERE IS A LINK TO A PUBLIC WEB PAGE I HAVE CREATED AT PICASA. I WILL ADD A PHOTO ALBUM FOR EACH DAY THAT I TAKE PICTURES.

 

TO VIEW THE NINE ALBUMS I HAVE ALREADY SET UP, JUST TYPE IN THE FOLLOWING URL:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

YOU WILL SEE A PHOTO REPRESENTING EACH STOP/ALBUM. CLICKING ON THE PHOTO WILL BRING UP THUMBNAILS OF ALL THE PHOTOS IN THAT PARTCULAR ALBUM.

 

YOU CAN LOOK AT EACH PHOTO INDIVIDUALLY BY CLICKING ON THE FIRST AND USING THE ARROW AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE TO ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ONE. OR, YOU CAN VIEW AS A SLIDE SHOW AND ADVANCE THE PHOTOS BY USING THE ARROW.

 

YOU CAN MAKE THE URL ABOVE ONE OF YOUR FAVORITES. FROM HERE ON OUT, I WILL INCLUDE IT ALSO IN THE JOURNAL POSTINGS THAT HAVE PHOTOS.

 

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THIS SOLUTION BY EITHER ADDING A COMMENT TO THIS JOURNAL ENTRY OR VIA E-MAIL: themccrackens@hotmail.com

 

LARRY

 

 

Day 17 - (2nd of 4)

 

Date:  Jan. 25, 2007

 

Location:  At Sea in the South Atlantic

 

Next Port: Jamestown, St. Helena, Jan 28

 

Quick Summary:  A beautiful sunny sea day, with cooler temps (75-78 degrees), less humidity (85-90%), a sharp, haze-free horizon and two beautiful island groups. The early-morning sightings of the large, barren, multi-colored Brazilian island of Trinidad at about 8 a.m. and three smaller islands 45 min. later were spectacular.

 

Report:  Today we continued to enjoy favorable weather patterns and sea conditions. Shortly after 7 a.m., as Larry was finishing up his gym workout, he saw Trinidad looming in the distance. This barren island is uninhabited except for a couple months of the year when researchers come to study sea turtles that lay their eggs on its one small sandy beach.

 

By 8 a.m., we passed close by the steep cliffs and rock formations of this beautiful disruption to the gentle sea.  Jamie told us that it was Capt. Dag’s first sail-by of Trinidad, and that he was also in awe.  It is good to see that such experienced voyagers get a rush as we experience the majestic wonders of God’s earth.

 

Karen attended her bridge lesson and got some laundry done.  Larry attended Marco’s class on how to use Picasa software to publish photos on the web.

 

(Larry, who has used Picasa before to edit photos, experimented with what he learned and believes he has worked around his AOL frustrations. He’ll share more info later with Journal readers after he experiments some more. After he gets free Internet access on the next segment of the trip – after departing Cape Town – things should be much better.)

 

After another seafood BBQ lunch on the pool deck (Larry could get used to this lobster for lunch!), Karen went to her second Cordon Bleu class and Larry read in the sun.

 

At 2 p.m., we advanced our clocks 30 more minutes; now, we are five hours ahead of Chicago time.

 

Later we played social bridge with Shirley and Norman from the Philadelphia area, in the Observation Lounge. We are enjoying getting back into the groove of this game…as long as it remains “social,” which it has so far.

 

Tonight was our second formal night. Capt. Dag and Gundrun, the onboard cruise consultant, hosted a cocktail party for the members of the Seven Seas Society (people who had cruised at least once before on RSSC). Since that’s just about everybody, it was held in the show theater.

 

Then we enjoyed dinner with our friends Glenda and Gary from Michigan, and Donna and Al from Seattle.  Dinner was followed by a wonderful tribute to opera and operetta by the Peter Grey Terhune Singers and Dancers, the entertainment group that will be with us the whole cruise.  One of the singers, Mallorie Fletcher from Missouri, attends our morning devotional meeting and is as beautiful a person as she is a gifted artist.

 

We want to wish Heather, who is in Hawaii with Ron, a very special Happy Birthday. Aloha!

 

Karen and Larry

 

 

Day 16 - Sea Day (1st of 4)

 

Date:  Jan. 24, 2007

 

Location:  At Sea in the South Atlantic

 

Next Port: Jamestown, St. Helena, Jan 28

 

Quick Summary:  The first of four straight sea days, heading towards St. Helena, enroute to Namibia, Africa…filled with exercise, lectures, a quiet dinner for two and a terrific performance by a comedian/singer.

 

<BSTYLE="MSO-BIDI-FONT-WEIGHT: normal?>Report:  We are heading into four straight high pressure areas strung out across the South Atlantic. Capt. Dag expects the pleasant weather and favorable seas to hold for at least the beginning of our long crossing to Walvis Bay, Namibia. On Sunday, we will make a four-hour stop at Jamestown, St. Helena, a small island in the midst of this vast world of water.

 

After exercising and breakfast, Karen went to the first of her Cordon Bleu workshop classes. Larry attended Daniel Silke’s new lecture series. This one was entitled: “South Africa – Origins of Isolation: Discrimination Takes Roots.” This series should be just as informative and enjoyable as his last on Globalization. Daniel holds nothing back in describing the history and current events of his native homeland.

 

Karen joined Larry for the first presentation by Dr. Robert Clark, an oceanographer and historian, who joined us in Rio.  His first enrichment lecture was titled: “The World Really Wasn’t Flat – Explorers Who Came Before Us.” 

 

After lunch, we were able to catch up with our daughter Heather and Ron before they left San Diego for a five-day vacation in Hawaii. Again, this was a successful Skype call, and we also were able to get our video cam to work. When it works, technology is great!

 

But when technology doesn’t…Larry spent a very frustrating afternoon in the computer lab! He has still not been able to work through the AOL website so that he can add photos to this journal. However, he has one more work-around try. Hopefully, we will have good news to report tomorrow.

 

At 2 p.m., we advanced our clocks 30 minutes…4:30 hrs. ahead of Chicago time.

 

We had a quiet, simple meal alone in Compass Rose. It’s fun to have met so many nice new people onboard, but sometimes it’s also good to share some time by ourselves.

 

After dinner, we thoroughly enjoyed the music and comedy of Kenny Smiles, the “Mad Welshman.” He is a very funny entertainer who has been a fixture on the Regent cruise line for 10 years. The fact that Capt. Dag and all his officers were there (and taking some good ribbing) speaks well of the love they have for him. His 90-min. performance was a sell-out. (Kenny also took many barbs at Jamie, all in good fun!)

 

Tomorrow morning at about 8 a.m., we should pass by the barren Brazilian island of Trinidad…some 500 miles east of Rio. What a surprise that must have been to the first explorers in sailing ships!

 

Karen and Larry

 

 

Day 15 - Rio de Janeiro (Day 2)

Date:  Jan. 23, 2007

 

Location: Rio de Janeiro

 

Next Port: Jamestown, St. Helena, Jan 28

 

Quick Summary:  Another fun day in Rio…riding to the top of Sugar Loaf and walking Ipanema beach. Then it was time to start across the South Atlantic to St. Helena.

 

Report:  After breakfast, we departed the ship for a morning in Rio. We were one of the few that spent the evening before on the ship…even most of the wait staff went off to enjoy the energetic night life in Rio…so at breakfast they were obviously tired, but happy! And lots of folks seemed to be sleeping in.

 

We again were offered a private car with driver and interpreter/guide  by the H. Stern jewelers. We met up quickly with Nina, a law student, and mapped out our itinerary. Since the sun was attempting to make an appearance, we decided to head towards Sugar Loaf instead of the Botanical Gardens. Enroute, we could finally see Corcovado, “Christ the Redeemer,” peeking out of the clouds. Things were looking up!

 

Reaching the top of Sugar Loaf, a large rock formation in the Urca area between the beaches of Botafogo and Copacabana Beaches, involved two cable car rides. Again, the cost was 36 Reals per person or about $36 for the two of us. From the first station, we could see that the top of Sugar Loaf, which juts out into the bay, was clear. But by the time we made the transfer to the top, it was again clouded in. While we were up there though, certain portions of the harbor and city came into view…and it was well worth the trip. We also saw several small monkeys there in the trees that surround the viewing platforms.

 

From Sugar Loaf we drove through Copacabana Beach to Ipanema Beach. After driving by some of the fancy shops, we decided to stroll along the beach.

 

Our walk enabled us to get to know Nina a bit better. She has been a nationally-ranked gymnast and has represented her country in a couple of international competitions outside of Brazil. She also has lived for a time in Southern California where she has relatives.

 

While on Copacabana Beach, we watched students at the Pele Beach Volleyball School and admired the work of a couple “sand castle” artists. More people were at the beach and in the water today.  There also were more breakers. We stopped at one of the many kiosks that sell coconuts and soft drinks. Nina had one of the coconuts that vendors slice off the bottom (so it will sit up straight) and core a hole in the top so one can drink the coconut water inside through a straw.  These drinks are very popular in Brazil, as we’ve seen such stands in each of the cities we have visited.

 

Then it was time to head back to the pier so that we could be on board by noon for our 1 p.m. departure.

 

Though the sun never was out for long periods of time, we enjoyed Sugar Loaf, our time at the beach and our sail away from this unique harbor and city.

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent working on the journal, reading and Karen attending a yoga class.

 

Karen had a welcoming reception and dinner for the multi-session Cordon Bleu Cooking Class that Larry gave her as a Christmas present. (We’ll have her describe in a separate entry all that this entails.) Larry joined some new friends, Barbara and Richard from Colorado, for drinks in the Observation Lounge and then dinner in Compass Rose. Karen joined us for desert and coffee.

 

After dinner, we went to the Horizons Lounge where Nathaniel Reed, a piano player and vocalist, performed a special cabaret show. He was terrific.

 

(We were also able to make a Skype computer-to-computer call to our daughter, Kristin, in NYC. It was great to hear her voice and catch up with the details of her 4-day trip to Texas where she saw her sister, Heather, who was attending a professional meeting. And they both were able to visit with friends of all of ours in the Hill Country, San Antonio and Austin.)

 

We danced and watched a new moon off the aft deck as we set sail for St. Helena…a small island in the South Atlantic that is a four-sea- day journey away.

 

Karen and Larry

 

 

Day 14 - Rio de Janeiro (Day 1)

 

Date:  Jan. 22, 2007

 

Location: Rio de Janeiro

 

Next Port: Jamestown, St. Helena, Jan 28

 

Quick Summary:  A great, but foggy and wet, day in Rio de Janeiro. Enhanced by spending it with a beautiful professional guide and expert driver. Ending with a quiet dinner with good new friends.

 

Report:  We had a very nice early morning sail-in to the spectacular Guanabara Bay of Rio de Janeiro. Though it was misty and cloudy, we were able to view the famous beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana as well as Sugar Loaf Mountain. We only had a quick clear view of the towering, iconic “Christ the Redeemer” (Corcovado) statue, as it was shrouded in clouds and fog.

 

We had signed up with H. Stern, the authorized Brazilian jeweler onboard, for access to a private car with driver and interpreter. We were aware that it would involve a visit to their large facility in Ipanema. The sale of gemstones and jewelry is a big business in Brazil. Stern had a courtesy table onboard and signed up many people for these free tours. We understand that they do the same thing from all the tourist hotels and deliver up to 3,000 people a day to their factory and salesroom.

 

At 10 a.m., we departed the ship and soon after met Luisa, our guide for the day. She found our driver, Mesquita, and then we were off for our private tour of Rio in a nice black Fiat. We shared with Luisa some of the sights we were interested in, and she quickly mapped out an itinerary for the day.

 

Our first stop was the very modern Metropolitan Cathedral in the Lapa district. Built in the 1960s, it is in the form of a truncated cone and is capable of holding 20,000 people. The four magnificent, rectangular, stained-glass windows reach from almost the top (which must be 20 stories tall) to the ground. A large carved crucifix and beautiful modern white sculptures dominate the center of the space.

 

We next visited the Park of November 15 and the Paco Imperial Palace, built in 1743. Though closed on Mondays, this palace was first used as the home of the Viceroys of Brazil and eventually became the home of the Brazilian Empire. Across the plaza is the entrance to the home where Carmen Miranda lived.

 

We drove through the center of town and saw quite a few interesting buildings from the colonial and republic eras…the Teatro Municipal, the Museum de Bela Artes (Fine Arts), the Arcos (Aqueduct) de Lapa, the old Stock Exchange, and the Library.

 

We headed past the Domestic Airport, which juts into the bay, to the beach boulevard fronting the Flamengo and Botafogo area beaches, and then passed by the base of Sugar Loaf. Then we drove the full length of the famed Copacabana Beach. This very broad sandy beach is fronted by a pedestrian walkway and bicycle roadway. On the other side, there are lines of hotels, discotheques, restaurants, etc. We stopped by the famed Copacabana Hotel, which has hosted royalty and many movie stars.

 

Next up was Ipanema Beach…which had a good surf running though not many people were in the water. Again, it was broad and lined with kiosks selling all sort of drinks, offering opportunities to sit and relax with friends. There also seemed to be more stores than hotels in this area.

 

Next, we visited H. Stern’s factory and show rooms. Housed in a large 8-story building, it was quite an operation. After a welcoming beverage, we took an elevator toan upper floor for an audio-guided tour of the workshops. The 15-min. tour was quite interesting as we saw how the artisans design and fashion this beautiful jewelry. Of course we had the opportunity to sit down at a desk with a saleswoman who wanted to show us various gemstones. We were not interested in the jewelry, but did ask to see the striking dark blue sapphire gemstone watches. We had inquired about them from the Stern rep on the ship so we were not blown away by the prices. We declined to purchase one…and there was not really any high pressure sales pitch. It truly is a classy operation.

 

We then took Luisa to a nearby outdoor café, Alessandro & Frederico, for sandwiches and Diet Cokes.  Mesquita, our driver, declined our invitation.

 

Then it was off for the ride up to Corcovado (“Christ the Redeemer”) through the Tijuca National Park. We caught the 3:00 tram, an electric cog railway of two cars, for the ride to the top. The fee is 36 Real per person…or about $36 for the two of us at the 2.05 to 1 conversion rate. Unfortunately, it began to rain during our ascension. By the time we reached the top at 710 meters, the rain had mostly let up, but we were totally fog-enshrouded. We couldn’t see down to the city and harbor; however, the “Christ the Redeemer” statute (30 meters high) loomed out above us. Though we were disappointed with the weather and views, we wouldn’t have missed it.

 

On the way back to the ship, we passed by the large World War II monument and made a stop at the Sāo Bento Monastery. We arrived just in time for a few photos before they turned the lights out on us. The rather small sanctuary is almost completely filled with gold leaf wood carvings. It is spectacular. Luisa told us that the monastery is also the home of the last remaining all-boys school in Rio and that it’s an excellent school.

 

Speaking of education, Luisa explained that the best high schools in Rio are private, but the best universities in Brazil (and the most competitive to get in to) are the public ones.  And, the public ones are free!

 

When we left Luisa at the port, we felt we had made a lovely new friend in just a few short hours. She is an amazing 24-year old young woman, focused and with a great head start on life. In high school, she was an exchange student for a year in Michigan with a rural farm family and is still very close to her “host sister.”  Skype technology (voice of internet telephone) allows them to stay in touch and share their lives with each other.

 

Luisa, who speaks several languages, has earned a degree in geography, is taking more research courses in this field and is working on another degree in Philosophy. She plans to complete some of these studies at a university in Paris. She is already doing some teaching and hopes to pursue this as a career. We are certain that with her intelligence, drive and engaging personality, she will be a success in whatever she does.

 

(And because of her interests in geography, Luisa plans to follow our future adventures on the Voyager via this blog. We hope she does!)

 

This evening we decided to stay on the ship…and there weren’t many of us who did. Several large tour agency groups and a ship’s tour went into Rio for dinners and Samba shows. We had planned to go to Ipanema and walk the beach and find a place for dinner, but the rain discouraged us.

 

Instead, we had drinks in the Observation Lounge with Ken (our co-Chicago Bears fan) from Toronto and Claude from Paris. Then the four of us enjoyed an Italian dinner together in La Veranda.

 

We are looking forward to our second day in Rio and hopefully some better weather. We will have an early start because we need to be back on the ship by 12:30 for a 1:00 sailing to Jamestown, St. Helena.

 

Karen and Larry

Day 13 - At Sea

 

Date:  Jan. 21, 2007

 

Location:  Cruising the Coast of Brazil

 

Next Port:  Rio de Janeiro, Jan. 22

 

Quick Summary:  A quiet sea day…finished off with a Bears victory…we’re going to the Super Bowl!

 

Report:  It was a fairly quiet Sunday…and the Voyager made good time with the winds now behind us and the currents being favorable. It was bit hazy, but we enjoyed watching the sea birds that followed us dive for fish.

 

After our workouts, we had breakfast in La Veranda. Larry attended Daniel Silke’s fifth and last Globalization lecture: “Ranking the World – Who’s Hot (and Who’s Not) in the Global Political Game.”  Karen went to a Bridge lesson. We played cards together in the Game Room (for the first time) before enjoying another seafood lunch. Then we played social bridge with Nancy and Jerry in the Observation Lounge. It is fun to get back into this game (as long as it remains “social,” says Larry).

 

Our Cruise Director Jamie led a good 5:00 pm Protestant church service. He does a great job and it’s definitely from the heart.

 

Then it was time for football!!!...sort of. This time it was held in a conference room….meaning we had to go out for refreshments or call in a waiter. Disappointingly, the Internet connection was very intermittent. We had to keep switching between the graphical feeds from Yahoo.com or CBSSports.com…or hit the refresh button. So we stalled on or missed many plays. BUT...the Bears won and we’re going to the Super Bowl. Karen wants me to start a petition to have Regent fork over the cash for live coverage. It will be played very early (2-3 a.m.) on Monday morning after we depart Cape Town.

 

It has been an unbelievable season. We definitely won a couple games we really shouldn’t have, Grossman has been very erratic, and even the vaunted defense has not been as good as its press clippings…but, we are going to the Super Bowl…and only one other team can say that (as this is being written, we don’t know who that will be.)  GO BEARS!

 

At 2 pm we advanced our clocks one additonal hour...so we are now 4 hrs ahead of Chicago time.

 

Tomorrow it’s Rio for an overnight visit. Because of favorable sea conditions, we should arrive a bit earlier than scheduled…sail-in about 8:00 am and docking by 9:00 am. We understand that it’s an arrival not to be missed. We are really looking forward to visiting Corcovado…the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue…and Sugar Loaf.

 

Karen and Larry