Buzzing Around The World With Fellette & Doug

Day two in Rio...

Up at 6 for a beautiful sunrise. Later on deck we were comparing notes with some souls who went ashore to Samba halls, etc., last night. Some had a great time and some were apparently somewhat intimidated with the noise, crowds and generally unfamiliar circumstances. Fellette and I are not "clubbers" so you will have to get the real story from somebody who has a throbbing head sitting in the shade today.

This morning after breakfast I spent some considerable time with some of my 15 to 20 camera cords transferring video to computer. My video camera also needed some tender loving care as well. Not too happy to see flashing warning screens in my viewfinder. Fortunately my video-head-cleaner-cassette was one of the items that made it into the suitcase!

Off the ship an onto a bus for a 1/2 hour drive out to a lovely old home, [Villa], that was the Big House for the sugar cane fields that were being cultivated around 1830s.

We were met by some very energetic young male dancers whose claim to fame was that they danced on their hands as opposed to feet. Short but interesting. Once inside the home it was milling around with cocktails of various vintages for some considerable time. We were then escorted into a large cooler downstairs Great Room where we were wined and dined by very elegant white gloved servers, all men. The food was very well presented and delicious. However at this stage of the game a peanut butter sandwich and glass of cold milk would have been preferred!

Back to the ship one and one half hour before dinner. We decided to skip the six o'clock dining room dinner. Around seven o'clock I felt a bit peckish and we went up on deck, to get some salad and iced tea. The woman who does crafts joined us at our table as we picked away, Fellette with six pieces of lettuce and me with a small portion of Maui Ribs. It was a lovely outside, the heat of the day had gone with a slight breeze blowing.

The chef's then rolled out a roasted suckling pig at the buffet. I was surprised to see it come out because there were only maybe 25 people on deck at the time.

Next is the best part. We were soon approached by the Captain who asked if he could join us! [We voted and agreed that he could.] The Captain has a good appetite and his plate was piled with roast pig, crackling and all. Now we know why the pig, right? We had a pleasant chat with Captain Halle Thon Gunderson for about an hour. As you may know, sitting at the Captains table is the one thing that most cruisers will kill for. The conversation ran from his navy military diver days to the upcoming Canadian election where he said the Conservatives were going to win? I didn't make that up.

That was the end of our second and last day in Rio. We leave at eight in the morning. We were originally scheduled to leave at 2.00 am but the Captain changed it so the people on the right [starboard] side of the ship would have a great view as they had their morning coffee and "sugar loafs" baked especially for the sail away!

Yesterday I talked with son W., and today brother G., Good day!

Next stop Montevideo, Uruguay

posted by Doug and Fellette @ 2:29 PM