Natal
Our first stop in Brazil was at the coastal town of Natal which we visited in November, 2015. Natal juts out so far east on the Brazilian coast that Africa is closer to Natal than the western border of Brazil. We enjoyed Natal when we visited two years ago so the beautiful sail in brought back fond memories. We sailed in under a suspension bridge that reminds us of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge back home in Tampa Bay. We passed by a Portuguese fort that we previously toured and recalled the scenic areas of the city from our last visit. Rather than repeat our previous tour, we decided to take a free shuttle bus from the port and walk around on our own...BAD DECISION. The shuttle bus dropped us off in a rather inconvenient area. Knowing that tourists must be careful in certain areas of Brazil notorious for pickpockets and purse snatchers, we could not wander around too far on own. In the area we were in nobody spoke English. Forgetting it was a Sunday, we had no way to exchange currency and could not find an ATM, so we had no local currency for a taxi, thus we were stuck there. It was blistering hot and we had no money for refreshments. Basically, no money no fun. After a short look around, we caught the next shuttle back to our ship! You can’t win ‘em all. We knew we had plenty of good times in Brazil ahead.
Recife (“Venice of Brazil”)
For our return trip to Recife, we booked a catamaran tour that took us up the river that runs through the city. We had a very knowledgeable tour guide that filled us with a lot of information on the history, culture and economics of the city as we cruised past colorful colonial buildings built by the Portuguese and a series of bridges reminiscent of Venice, Italy. She also openly expressed her opinions about the notoriously corrupt government of Brazil and the state in which Recife is located. We all appreciated her candor recognizing that she loves her City, State and Country, but hates to see corrupt politicians taking from its citizens. She told us a joke that when God created Brazil, He made a country that is not plagued with earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes as other countries are. However, to be fair, God gave Brazil its politicians!
The last stop of our tour took us to a distillery that makes cachaca, the liquor used to make caipirinha, the national drink of Brazil. This very cool distillery/warehouse/party venue was a great setting for us to learn about the distilling process and, more importantly, sample the cachaca, some of which was aged for smooth, but lethal, sipping.
It was a fun day for us re-visiting this area in a different way from our last trip.
Vitoria
Next on our coastal stops was the city of Vitoria, a new town for us to visit. It is a town filled with shops, boutiques, outdoor cafes and leafy squares. We were able to walk from the port to the town to explore on our own on a quiet Sunday morning. After walking along the pedestrian friendly waterfront, we walked towards the main part of this hilly town. We climbed up an ornate set of stairs called the “Maria Ortiz Stairs” built to commemorate a Portuguese business owner who led the fight to successfully defend the city from the invading Dutch in 1624. You go girl!!!
We also visited a cathedral perched up on the hill with its tall spires, gorgeous stained glass windows lit up by the morning sun and ornate wooden doors and altars. We are always amazed at the engineering and architecture of the colonial settlers. Kudos to the Brazilians for maintaining these incredible churches and cathedrals.
We walked to a palatial building in the area that also sat up on the hill overlooking the port. It is the Palacio Anchieta, a former Jesuit mission that is now the residence of the state's governor, but is open to the public. Again, it is a magnificent building with a grand entrance of tiered stairs up the hill to the front doorway. A side entrance to the building led us to an art museum that was open and free to the public. We were drawn in by the words "free" and "air conditioned"! This unexpected museum stop turned out to be terrific. We toured a wonderful art exhibit in this beautiful palatial building that also had preserved remnants of the ancient Jesuit mission as part of the structure. So many times in our travel, we have some of our best experiences in the most unexpected places that are totally unplanned.
We finished up our visit stopping at a small café and buying local beers that we drank sitting at a sidewalk table under leafy shade trees among the locals who were enjoying their Sunday afternoon. We toasted our good fortune!
Our sail away from Vitoria was very interesting. Since we had sailed in on a narrow channel and docked facing inward, we had to turn the ship around to make our exit. It was very narrow where we were parked so we had to back up to a wider spot in order to turn the ship around. Two tugboats had to assist. The tugs were positioned on each side of the ship at the front and back as the side thrusters pushed and pulled us away and we made a 180 degree turn in the channel. Of course, there was other boat traffic in the area, too. There were winds and currents effecting the steering. It is a marvel how the port crew, the tugboats, the harbor pilot and the ship's bridge crew coordinate these maneuvers in a tight channel and they all speak different languages, but are able to work together. Makes us wish all global leaders could work that well together!!!
Our first stop in Brazil was at the coastal town of Natal which we visited in November, 2015. Natal juts out so far east on the Brazilian coast that Africa is closer to Natal than the western border of Brazil. We enjoyed Natal when we visited two years ago so the beautiful sail in brought back fond memories. We sailed in under a suspension bridge that reminds us of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge back home in Tampa Bay. We passed by a Portuguese fort that we previously toured and recalled the scenic areas of the city from our last visit. Rather than repeat our previous tour, we decided to take a free shuttle bus from the port and walk around on our own...BAD DECISION. The shuttle bus dropped us off in a rather inconvenient area. Knowing that tourists must be careful in certain areas of Brazil notorious for pickpockets and purse snatchers, we could not wander around too far on own. In the area we were in nobody spoke English. Forgetting it was a Sunday, we had no way to exchange currency and could not find an ATM, so we had no local currency for a taxi, thus we were stuck there. It was blistering hot and we had no money for refreshments. Basically, no money no fun. After a short look around, we caught the next shuttle back to our ship! You can’t win ‘em all. We knew we had plenty of good times in Brazil ahead.
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| City of Natal |
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| Colorful boats in the Port of Natal |
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| Impressive entry into the harbor of Natal |
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| Fort built by the Portuguese to defend against the hostile Indians and invading French pirates |
Recife (“Venice of Brazil”)
For our return trip to Recife, we booked a catamaran tour that took us up the river that runs through the city. We had a very knowledgeable tour guide that filled us with a lot of information on the history, culture and economics of the city as we cruised past colorful colonial buildings built by the Portuguese and a series of bridges reminiscent of Venice, Italy. She also openly expressed her opinions about the notoriously corrupt government of Brazil and the state in which Recife is located. We all appreciated her candor recognizing that she loves her City, State and Country, but hates to see corrupt politicians taking from its citizens. She told us a joke that when God created Brazil, He made a country that is not plagued with earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes as other countries are. However, to be fair, God gave Brazil its politicians!
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| Recife's tall buildings in the business district |
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| Recife's iconic obelisk designed by a local artist. |
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| Waterways and bridges |
The last stop of our tour took us to a distillery that makes cachaca, the liquor used to make caipirinha, the national drink of Brazil. This very cool distillery/warehouse/party venue was a great setting for us to learn about the distilling process and, more importantly, sample the cachaca, some of which was aged for smooth, but lethal, sipping.
It was a fun day for us re-visiting this area in a different way from our last trip.
Vitoria
Next on our coastal stops was the city of Vitoria, a new town for us to visit. It is a town filled with shops, boutiques, outdoor cafes and leafy squares. We were able to walk from the port to the town to explore on our own on a quiet Sunday morning. After walking along the pedestrian friendly waterfront, we walked towards the main part of this hilly town. We climbed up an ornate set of stairs called the “Maria Ortiz Stairs” built to commemorate a Portuguese business owner who led the fight to successfully defend the city from the invading Dutch in 1624. You go girl!!!
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| Maria Ortiz Staircase |
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| Busy waterfront road that is closed on Sundays so pedestrians and bicyclists can enjoy the waterfront |
We also visited a cathedral perched up on the hill with its tall spires, gorgeous stained glass windows lit up by the morning sun and ornate wooden doors and altars. We are always amazed at the engineering and architecture of the colonial settlers. Kudos to the Brazilians for maintaining these incredible churches and cathedrals.
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| Catedral Metropolitana |
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| Beautiful architecture around the City |
We walked to a palatial building in the area that also sat up on the hill overlooking the port. It is the Palacio Anchieta, a former Jesuit mission that is now the residence of the state's governor, but is open to the public. Again, it is a magnificent building with a grand entrance of tiered stairs up the hill to the front doorway. A side entrance to the building led us to an art museum that was open and free to the public. We were drawn in by the words "free" and "air conditioned"! This unexpected museum stop turned out to be terrific. We toured a wonderful art exhibit in this beautiful palatial building that also had preserved remnants of the ancient Jesuit mission as part of the structure. So many times in our travel, we have some of our best experiences in the most unexpected places that are totally unplanned.
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| Palacio Anchieta |
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| Ornate Staircases and Fountains |
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| Enjoying artwork and air conditioning |
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| Remnants of the Jesuit mission |
We finished up our visit stopping at a small café and buying local beers that we drank sitting at a sidewalk table under leafy shade trees among the locals who were enjoying their Sunday afternoon. We toasted our good fortune!
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| Tourist |
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| Mrs. Tourist |
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| Complicated high voltage wiring (picture compliments of Tourists) |
Our sail away from Vitoria was very interesting. Since we had sailed in on a narrow channel and docked facing inward, we had to turn the ship around to make our exit. It was very narrow where we were parked so we had to back up to a wider spot in order to turn the ship around. Two tugboats had to assist. The tugs were positioned on each side of the ship at the front and back as the side thrusters pushed and pulled us away and we made a 180 degree turn in the channel. Of course, there was other boat traffic in the area, too. There were winds and currents effecting the steering. It is a marvel how the port crew, the tugboats, the harbor pilot and the ship's bridge crew coordinate these maneuvers in a tight channel and they all speak different languages, but are able to work together. Makes us wish all global leaders could work that well together!!!
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| Our ship docked facing inward on this narrow channel |
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| Tugboats assisted turning us around to exit |
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| Beautiful sail away from the channel out to the Atlantic NEXT STOP, BUZIOS, BRAZIL. |
Love the post and pictures! Have fun!
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