Chile was under Spain’s control until they decided enough was enough in 1810. Wanting to exert some control over the southern tip of South America, the new country of Chile saw a need to have a presence down there, so Punta Arenas was founded in 1843. It had a slow start as a failed penal colony, but in the 1880s began to attract a lot of immigrants from Europe, especially Croatia and Russia. It is now a university town of 150,000 with an economy based on sheep (think three million), fishing, and tourism. Like Ushuaia, it’s a jumping off point for Antarctica.

We found Punta Arenas to have a bit of a sophisticated flair, in a hodgepodge, no zoning kinda way. It was tidy and clean with comparatively little graffiti. Corrugated metal roofs were prevalent as were colorful (think pastel pink and blue, tangerine, aqua, mustard) buildings. We saw cottages; homes built of stucco, brick, wood, and siding; an Art Deco building; and a Tudor building as well as a handful of homes that looked like the suburbs of any major city in the States.

We took a ho-hum tour of the town. I say ho-hum because our guide lacked enthusiasm. But his story was interesting and typical: both his parents immigrated from England, met and married in Punta Arenas, and he has lived there his whole life.

We visited two small interesting museums, one indoors and one outdoors and went to an overlook for a panoramic view of the city. The guide made a respectable attempt at explaining that Punta Arenas is in the famous Straights of Magellan discovered by its namesake in 1520 and, back in the day, only available to ships belonging to the East India Company. Charles Darwin sailed these waters on board the Beagle.

Dan and I walked the cute streets, popping in and out of shops looking for treasurers, until time to board the ship and get ready for cocktails and dinner with our buds. All in all, another great day.

This jumping off point for Antarctica, population 80,000 or so, had a real frontier feel with low lying, utilitarian looking, weather beaten buildings. It’s situated right on the water at the base of beautiful mountains. Some were bald, some snow capped, and others lush green. The tallest is just under a mile high. The weather changed constantly but wind was ever present and luckily the sun popped in and out all day which we were told is rare. The high was in the low 50s.

The city started as a penal colony in 1896 for prisoners who failed to cooperate in prisons up north. Our first stop for the day was at the prison, now a museum, which is smack dab downtown. Ushuaia is remote by today’s standards; back then it was thought to be in outer darkness! The consensus was that a prisoner would be foolish to leave, so a fence or wall was unnecessary. Sure enough, a few prisoners did escape but most were caught or came back on their own accord when finding food and shelter proved a problem.

The Pan-American highway, which runs from the southern end of Argentina all the way to Alaska, has its beginnings near Ushuaia. W&C’s tour took them to the southernmost point of the highway. Our tour drove north for an hour or so which gave us an idea of how beautiful the route is. We especially loved the glacial valleys with steep mountains hovering on both sides. Peat bogs were prevalent in the low-lying places. The guide explained the formation and harvesting of peat, but I must have been dreaming about lunch or something because I basically didn’t understand.

Speaking of lunch, we had a fabulous barbecue lunch of lamb cooked over coals in the traditional way. Potatoes, bread, salad, wine, and coffee rounded out the meal. The meat and potatoes were served on small coal warmers brought to the table and placed on wooden boards. Such a clever idea! The restaurant was in the country in a beautiful setting, so once we had eaten our fill we walked around enjoying the views. On the same property as the restaurant was a sled dog kennel where dogs are trained to pull sleds and wagons in the winter. I’m not sure if this is for sport or for fun or necessary in certain weather.

On the way back to town the guide explained all the felled trees visible from the road. Seems someone had the bright idea a few years ago to import Canadian beaver and get a little fur business going. Seems the fur did not get as lush as expected due to a more temperate climate than in Canada, so the business never got off the ground. With no predators, the beaver have thrived and done a whole lot of damage in Patagonia. We saw some large beaver lodges from the road as well as areas they had dammed up.

Skiing season is four months long and popular. The glacial valleys are ideal for cross country and there are small ski resorts for downhill.

Dan and I roamed the downtown streets once the tour was over until time to return to the ship to shower and get ready to drink at 5:30, per plan, followed by dinner at 6:30. I caved and had two desserts AGAIN. Someone should just slap me. We had a real treat during dinner. The captain came on to say the skies had cleared and visibility was good, so if we cared to take a look off the starboard side, we’d see glaciers. Well yeah! They were beautiful and looked just like rivers of ice. One had a huge waterfall to deal with the summer melt.

Walter was the only one who took in the entertainment, an illusionist. Dan and I enjoyed a piano player before going to bed and the other party animals retired to their rooms right after dinner. And so ended another wonderful day on the high seas …or in our case… a day in the fiords.

First day
We enjoyed a perfect, lazy day bobbing around in the ocean. The skies were clear, the sun warm, and the seas as calm as a cucumber. Dan and I rolled out of bed around 10:00, hours after our cruise buddies, with just enough time to walk the deck, shower, and meet for lunch. I went out on a limb mid-afternoon and had a full body treatment in the spa. Head to toe massage and a mini-facial. Dan played some video poker and we both read and relaxed on the deck until time for (free) cocktails, dinner, and entertainment. Our entertainer was Salvatore Hasard, a singer and multi-instrumentalist who jammed on the piano, drums, harmonica, guitar, and a small horn that looked like a baby sax. He was high energy and very enjoyable. After our buddies headed to bed, Dan and I enjoyed a nightcap at the bar while listening to rousing ’50s and ’60s music, mostly sung in Portuguese. Lots of Elvis, lots of dancing.

Second day
We were told (forewarned) that the seas would most likely be rough and winds strong as we approached Cape Horn, the southern most tip of South America where the Atlantic meets the Pacific. As you history buffs remember, this was the primary Atlantic/Pacific shipping route for centuries until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 created an awesome shortcut with incalculable savings in money, time, and lives lost to the perilous journey ’round the Horn.’

As predicted, we woke up to hangers sliding back and forth in the closet, a couple of drawers sliding in and out involuntarily, wind, and rough seas. Enough activity to send us straight to our stash of sea sickness abatement meds. Dramamine for breakfast in other words. Our room is three floors from the top of the ship and in the way back, so we are in the prime location for lots of rockin and rollin, pitching and heaving.

We felt fine all morning thanks to our pharmaceuticals and went to lunch early having had nothing to eat but Dramamine. Around noon the captain came on to tell us that the Horn was experiencing 30 foot seas and winds up to 69 miles an hour. Not an oddity since the weather is less than ideal 80% of the time that far south. It was his decision, therefore, to change course and not continue to head into that kind of weather. We were disappointed to have come this far but very supportive of his safety-first strategy.

Our new course took us close to shore through fiords. Low lying, dark clouds, rain, and wind made the visibility poor for the most part, but when the sun made brief appearances, I could see low lying hills smothered in trees, presumably evergreens. Late in the afternoon, just as we were leaving for dinner, we spotted penguins clustered on small islands in the fiords and along the shore. Cute as a fricken button those little guys! We also passed Fort Williams, the southern most town in the whole wide world.

H&R had a lazy afternoon and we played Hand and Foot with W&C. Walter and I won by the skin of our teeth. The second formal night was tonight, so we all donned our fancy outfits and met for (free) cocktails, as usual. Red wine for me and gin and tonic for Dan. The entertainment was a lively country western review. All in English!

On a sad note: Dan found out that General Thompson, his boss in the early 80s and a longtime friend, died yesterday. He took a spill just before we left, but his passing was not anticipated.

My favorite day so far! We docked in the city of Puerto Madryn which is on Peninsula Valdés in northeastern Patagonia, about half way down the Argentine coast. The whole peninsula is a UNESCO world heritage site, actually, due to the abundance of wildlife.

We drove out of the city of 100,000 past the aluminum plant and fishing boats (squid is their best catch) headed to Punta Tombo, the largest penguin nesting ground in South America. It is home to upwards of two million Magellanic penguins from September to March each year. It was a two and a half hour drive through a flat, dry, windy landscape with low lying scruffy brush. Our guide explained that the Pacific winds go west to east and drop all their moisture in the Chilean Andes. By the time the wind gets to Argentina’s Patagonia, it is as dry as a bone and the soil and thirsty looking vegetation certainly attest to that.

We learned that Welsh pioneers settled here first, in 1865, at the invitation of the Argentine government. These pioneers had a tough start but within ten years they had devised an irrigation system and managed to produce wheat as a cash crop. Then came a railway and then other Europeans decided to go for it and started to arrive. To this day Wales is proud of the small Welsh towns in the area.

The Punta Tombo rookery is actually on a privately owned ranch homesteaded by an Italian family 100 years ago. They noticed more and more penguins over the years and brought it to the attention of the government. Although privately owned, it is protected today and opened as a park in 1979.

We really fell for these cute little guys that come each August from Antarctica to breed. The males arrive first and hang around the shore waiting for their mates. The couples spend September getting reacquainted, flirting, and cleaning out their burrows. Then they ‘get busy’ if ya follow me. Two eggs are laid … four days apart. Boom: 40 and 44 days later the chicks hatch.

Along with all these migrating penguins come loads of birds, foxes, and armadillos with one thing on their minds: feeding on eggs as well as the chicks of unlucky, inexperienced, and negligent parents. If all goes according to plan though, both parents incubate the eggs rotating in/out of the water to eat. Once the chicks arrive the parents take turns regurgitating semi-digested fish. Both chicks are fed but the first born is fed first and the second born gets what’s left. In January when the chicks are three months old, waterproof feathers start to replace their down. Pretty soon they are ready to enter the water and get with the swimming lessons. When the babies, who by now have grown like little weeds and are pretty much the size of adults, are skilled swimmers, they head north to Uruguay with a few adult females as chaperones. 15-20 years = life span.

In Punta Tombo, there is a long path and a few wooden overpasses set aside for human visitors. The penguins are literally everywhere. The babies had already begun their swim to Uruguay, so we saw mostly adults who were in the process of getting their new 2016 feathers. Little parades were waddling Charlie Chaplin style to and from the water to feed. Some pairs (they mate for life) were grooming one another, others seemed to be hanging out in the shade provided by scrub brush and the overpasses we walked on, and others were resting on their bellies in their burrows which are small holes in the ground. The best burrows had been dug underneath a scruffy shrub and were protected from wind, sun, and rain. The also-rans in the burrow world were dug out of the barren dirt and looked like pot holes open to the elements. I am clueless how they manage to return to the same nest each year, but we were told they do.

We walked the length of the path, which ended at the waters edge, where there were thousands of them just milling around. They did not approach us, but they didn’t waddle off fearfully either. By the end of next month the adults will head north to Uruguay to meet up with the youngsters. When the sea gods dictate they’ll all migrate to Antarctica where they’ll not set foot on dry land again until they return to Punta Tombo in September.

It might seem like a poor investment time wise to drive two and a half hours each way to spend two hours with penguins, but we thought it well worth it. It was such fun! We enjoyed boxed lunches on the ride back to Puerto Madryn. Our bus driver was long and lean with a chiseled face and reminded me of the quintessential tango dancer.

Near our ship were numerous large, old, rusted out fishing vessels. Apparently they were caught illegally fishing in Argentine waters, refused to pay the fine, abandoned ship, and just went on home. The coast guard or navy or someone towed the vessels to shore and parked them in a cluster hear the dock.

We talked penguins through cocktails and dinner and then enjoyed the entertainment and headed to bed after a great day.

Happy 60th Deb!

Out of bed at 10:00, yawn, stretch. Walked the promenade deck for 35 minutes before cleaning up to meet the gang for lunch. Played cards (hand and foot) with W&C all afternoon (Walter and I dominated) and then met for cocktails and dinner after freshening up. This is the life! For everyone but Hettie, that is. Her shingles flared up nicely from the heat yesterday, so she is very uncomfortable. ;~{

Seas are calm and the sun is out. Although we are heading south, the warm temperatures are holding, but when there’s a light breeze it’s a bit on the chilly side.

Tonight’s entertainment was put on by the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers and highlighted popular piano numbers over the years. Very upbeat and enjoyable but no match for the gauchos or the minimally clad violin player.

We cruised all of 150 +/- miles overnight to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, which is just across the river from Buenos Aires. Hard to believe, but due to heavy traffic we arrived an hour late. This caused no problems for us since our walking tour of the old city did not start until 12:30. The dock was right downtown which made getting to and from easy.

We had a great guide who explained how the Spanish and Portuguese fought over Uruguay from colonial times forward with Brazil getting in on the act later. This meant it changed hands quite a few times and was not the independent country it is today until 1825. The downtown we visited was full of post colonial buildings, wide roads, impressive monuments, and pretty parks. Just like in Argentina, they like their grilled meat here as evidenced by all the barbecue places with an assortment of meat cooking over hot coals.

We went inside three impressive buildings. The first was the city’s most prominent home a century ago, now the Museum of Decorative Arts. It is within walking distance of the port in the old city and has gorgeous furnishings, framed tapestries, and a very sweet marble carving about two and a half feet tall of a small girl doing handwork. The second building was the theatre with its beautiful horseshoe shaped red and gold concert hall, and the third was the cathedral where we lit a candle for Josie’s Aunt Gerry.

We got back to the ship just in time to shower and change for dinner. Tonight’s entertainment was a pretty, energetic, young, Russian violin player who came to have a good time. Let’s just call her Inna Tolstova in case you want to YouTube her. She has either tied with the ball twirling, whip snapping, dancing gauchos or she is my favorite so far. Surprise #1: she did not stand still. Hard to picture I know, but she started each number in a sort of tai chi pose and then moved fluidly into waltz and ballet type movements, lunges, and mini-squats. It did not distract from the music at all. Surprise #2: the first third of the performance was done in a beautiful hoop skirt, 3″ strappy sandals, and what looked like a sleeveless leather top. Then fast as a flash, she released something around her waist and stepped out of the floor length skirt and played in the leather top and a thigh high, gold and black checked sarong. It is not so much that it was distracting as it made us ask why a costume change when she had us all so captivated with her music. Imagine our surprise when the little sarong dropped to the floor and she looked like a trapeze artist playing a wicked violin. She got a standing ovation and did an encore. H&R had been up since 5:00, so won’t they be sorry to know what they missed by heading to bed early? Cleone also passed.

Sad news today: W&C’s dear friend Don died this morning. They knew before they left home that it was a possibility, but it was still very sad to hear the news.

It was a challenge in this relaxed atmosphere, but we managed to be up, fed, and at the mustering station for our tour by 8:00. Once organized on the bus, our group of 22 drove an hour+ out of town and through the pampas (grasslands). Destination: a ranch, La Mimosa, where we spent the better part of the day enjoying a huge barbecue lunch, touring the grounds, and enjoying traditional dances performed by two couples dressed in gaucho and gaucho girlfriend outfits. A highlight was watching four gauchos compete in a ring race, a pastime dating back to the 17th century. One at a time they galloped at full speed toward a ring (the size of a wedding band) dangling on the end of a suspended bar. The idea was to snag it with a thin wooden stick loosely the size of a pencil. Boom! They actually did it. The next round was galloping toward a larger ring with a wooden lance and snagging it, knight-like. Not a problem.

The ranch, which has been in the same family for 150 years, is now too close to Buenos Aries to run cattle, so it is technically a soybean farm. The current owner met us at the gate along with gauchos serving fresh, warm empanadas, red and white wine, water, and soft drinks. An old, white, stucco hacienda sits in the middle of dense vegetation and looked just like a movie set inside and out. The owners no longer live there but have maintained it very well. After our warm welcome we wandered the grounds, took a short buggy ride, and were amazed by the menagerie. There were 14 big dogs, half of which were German shepherds, all well behaved and completely unfazed by all the visitors. There were also peacocks, chickens with their chicks, horses, goats, sheep, geese, and a few ostrich lookalikes for good measure.

The ride back into town was uneventful less being serenaded by the gentleman behind me. He had earbuds in and moved swiftly from tapping to humming to singing along to F. Sinatra, the Beatles, Peter, Paul and Mary, and others the whole way back. He was not, unfortunately, blessed with much of a singing voice.

We returned to the ship in time to shower and change for dinner. Dan and I ate light (shock) because we were still a bit full from the huge, melt in your mouth beef lunch. The entertainment was my favorite so far on the cruise: the Argentinian group Impacto. Three hunks in tight, light blue mom jeans and black boots that looked like the marriage of cowboy boots and tap shoes danced up a storm, played drums, sang, did a couple of guitar numbers, danced while whirling whips, played the Peruvian flute, twirled capes, and did amazing things with what I call gaucho balls. Excuse the name. They are baseball sized cement balls wrapped in leather and attached to the end of a long rope. Back in the day they were used to bring animals down…sort of like a cowboy’s lasso. Anyway, the hunks beat the hell out of the stage floor with these balls all the while dancing and twirling them around in the air frenetically. Impressive unless you were in the front row and worried a dancer might lose control and let one go flying by accident.

Dan ended his night dropping a few quarters in the slots while I read in our room.

In case you are wondering, H&R took a city highlights tour that overlapped lunch and included time to shop and W&C were on their own and walked into town to explore.

We woke to clear skies with not a hint of the rain from the night before. We enjoyed a light breakfast and coffee on our huge balcony before attending the lecture ‘Secrets to a Flatter Stomach.’ We came away knowing a lot about toxins, liver function, the lymphatic system, and the need to change up our lifestyle a wee bit. Lunch with the gang rounded out the morning followed by walking the deck with the hopes that the lecture leader would spot us diving right into a new routine. No such luck.

Naps, showers, and some light reading had us refreshed and ready for the first of three formal dining nights. But first we rallied for cocktails. OK, here’s how cocktails work: W&C and H&R have a lot of status with Royal Caribbean (we don’t) and each gets three coupons a day for complimentary happy hour drinks. This nets out that we drink for free thanks to their generosity. It’s a system we’ve grown to love.

Dinner was wonderful and the entertainment was very enjoyable. The headliner was a Brazilian chanteuse named Veronica (pronounced Ver-own-E-kuh by our Brazilian cruise director) Ferriani. In light of the fact that a) there are 800 Brazilians on board and b) we were still in Brazilian waters, most of her songs were sung in Portuguese with a couple in Spanish and English. From the enthusiasm (wild applause and singing along) of the the row behind us, it is safe to assume she nailed the Portuguese numbers.

We ended our evening with cookies washed down with coffee (H&R), tea (Walter), milk (Cleone), sugar free fruit punch (D&S) before heading to bed after a nice first day at sea. We turned our watches back an hour before lights out.

The second day at sea was an exercise in relaxation. Clear skies with temps in the high 80s. Dan and I were up and walking the promenade deck by 10:45 which got us back to the room in time to shower and meet the gang at noon. The ladies had a special ladies-only lunch, at Cleone’s invitation, in the dining room where she presented both Hettie and me with two beautiful Rustic Cuff bracelets in celebration of the 40th anniversary of her and Hettie’s friendship. I have made out like a bandit with these two beautiful bracelets and the scarf that Hettie knitted me. This is not counting free cocktails each night.

Cocktails at 5:30, dinner at 6:30, and entertainment (Brazil’s Luis Fernando on piano) at 9:30. I would have been more surprised by Louis’ orange shoes and orange tie except there was a gentleman seated behind us at dinner tonight with orange shoes and an orange shirt. Orange really is the new black in South America. We all agreed that the day was wonderful in spite of having done essentially nothing. And I do mean nothing.

The Brazilians have nailed bacon! Take the meat from three of our slices and combine it into one thick slice, cook off all the fat and you have it. It now rivals English for my favorite. Besides bacon I tried just about everything on the breakfast buffet. The papaya was fabulous, coffee great, and to look as bodacious as posible I went out on a limb and had the ‘cellulite reduction’ fruit drink. For real.

I digress. Anyway, we were up at 6:00, breakfast at 6:30, rallied in the lobby at 7:15 for the 7:30 airport shuttle. The purpose of returning to the airport was to catch our two+ hour transfer (a bus) to Santos, the port we cruised from. The ride took us through town and then up and over some densely vegetated mountains to the sea. We passed through what looked like the jungle but I don’t know if it technically was. It was a beautiful, rich green peppered with vibrant fuchsia blossoms. The roads were great and the traffic was steady but did not delay our trip. We took care of checking in and then proceeded to the ship where we headed straight for lunch.

The afternoon was relaxing and passed quickly as we settled in, unpacked, and explored the ship. After a delicious dinner we enjoyed the evening’s entertainment which was a French juggler of some renown: Jaz Danion. Hard to believe but while balancing on one foot, he placed a tea spoon on his other foot and flipped it into the air so that it balanced (on the handle) on his forehead. I know! Another crowd pleaser was when he used a springboard to flip a wine glass into the air. It landed, you guessed it, on a metal rod sticking out of his mouth. Who thinks this stuff up? OK, I’ll share his claim to fame: lifting ten tiers of wine glasses balanced on plexiglass panes. With one hand (and forearm) mind you. Four glasses per tier, one on each corner of a pane, stacked 10 high. That’s 40 glasses and ten panes of plexi with an 11th pane on top to support an ice bucket. 35 kilos (2 pounds per kilo … do I remember correctly?) balanced on one hand and forearm on a moving ship. All to rousing, anticipation building music. All that talent and a sexy French accent to boot.

Hettie and Ronnie did not join us for the entertainment. Sadly Hettie has suffered with shingles for five weeks and was not feeling too great. Cleone and Walter, who finally made it to the hotel at 2:30 this morning, stayed strong and lasted through the show and even joined us for tea and cookies before heading to bed.

It all made for a memorable Valentine’s Day. Plus, Dan surprised me with two funny cards, concert tickets, and candy that he had secretly squirrel away in his suitcase; Walter had cards and little stuffed animals for me and Hettie; and Hettie gave me a gorgeous, purple knit scarf she made especially for me.

We had a great first day, all things considered, and are happy to head to bed all settled in. There was rain and lightening as we turned out the lights, so we munched on a Dramamine for good measure.

 

South America here we come! Our 9.5 hour nonstop overnight flight placed us in Sao Paulo, Brazil before lunch where we are rallying with our cruise buddies, Walter & Cleone and Hettie & Ronnie. Everything went perfectly: on time take off , smooth flight, on time arrival. We cleared immigration and customs and took a shuttle to the airport Marriott where we’ll spend the night and rest up to board the cruise ship tomorrow. We have a beautiful room on the 9th floor with a view of the pool, complimentary snacks and drinks, and free breakfast. Woo hoo!

Sadly W&C did not have our luck. They got stuck in Dallas overnight due to mechanical problems which will delay their arrival by at least 12 hours. Walter had arranged a city tour starting at 3:00 this afternoon. So Dan and I, completely blocking out the misery of our companions, enjoyed our complimentary cheese and cracker lunch (washed down with Coke Zero), took a quick swim, and then showered and met our guide in the lobby for Walter’s four hour tour. Laura was our guide and Wilson our driver. Expecting four of us plus the two of them, we had a sizable van, so we spread out like royalty and enjoyed the afternoon.

Laura explained that São Paulo was founded by the Portuguese in the mid-1500s. They basically enslaved the locals to do their bidding. When they ran out of locals they imported Africans. Once slavery was abolished in the late 1800s the government started recruiting cheep labor from abroad. São Paulo is now home to the second largest populations of Japanese, Lebanese, and Spanish in the world. They, along with many other immigrant groups, have assimilated into a very integrated group that is open minded and accepting of all kinds of differences.

Although we admit to seeing very little of it, we found São Paulo, the largest city in the country, to be a sprawling metropolis of stark contrasts. We visited both the rich and poor sides of town and basically found it hard to tell where one began and the other ended. Sadly a relatively new, beautiful cathedral stands directly across the street from the spot where the city was founded. We were not allowed out of the van, however, due to the number of questionable people loitering around, sleeping on the steps of the cathedral, and looking for an easy mark. Theft is the main issue.

São Paulo is not tourist centered at all, so they have not made it easy to stop and take a closer look at beautiful statues or landmarks, so most of our pictures were taken though the window of the van. We did get out of the van to check out a fun bakery though. Laura treated us to a chocolate candy that tasted like the marriage of fudge and chocolate frosting; a snack that looked like corn puffs but were a healthy, baked vegetable; and a fruity soft drink that was very light and refreshing.

Laura explained the countless tall buildings that randomly shoot straight out of the ground all over this city of 20-ish million people. They are mostly apartment buildings, not skyscraper office buildings. It is safer by far to live in an apartment than a single family house, so this option has caught on like wild fire. It’s not uncommon to own one or two complete floors. The top-of-the-line units even have elevators that take your car to your floor to be garaged. Get out! What were single family homes in former times are now small office buildings or shops.

Graffiti is EVERYwhere! Some is very artistic and beautiful but most, by a long shot, has a sloppy,  vandalism flare. Sad. On the poor side of town there were loads of homeless napping and loitering. They had completely taken over some dilapidated, tired buildings that looked like they were fresh out of a WWII or sci-fi movie. We passed a fortune teller set up on the sidewalk. Again, I was not allowed out of the van, so I have no clue what my future holds. We got a great view of the city from the 9th floor of a museum. From there we looked down and saw coffee beans drying on the rooftop of a neighboring building. Below that we could see a small inner-city  coffee farm. What are those odds? There are some spectacular, old buildings, architecturally speaking, but they seem lost in the juxtaposition of the street people, graffiti, and trash. We saw a few mattresses and even a sofa on the sidewalk outside a building taken over by street people. Sad considering that Brazil, rich in so many resources, is the fifth largest country in the world and boasts the sixth largest economy.

On the up-side, the ratio of women to men is three to one. Good if you’re a guy. Also there are some beautiful parks, lakes, and green spaces.

We had an enjoyable afternoon and came back to the hotel at 7:00 just in time for happy hour. There were light snacks, beer, wine, and small desserts. We sat down and successfully ate enough snacks and drank enough wine to make a meal. Cha Ching!

Hopefully our buds make it in tonight. H&R are due before midnight, if all goes well, and W&C will just do the best they can. We’ll see if they are in the lobby at our appointed time tomorrow morning.