RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

Decemer 5



Our arrival here after 2 days at sea was a symphony of disasters, beaurocracy run amok and general frustration. Due to an outbreak of GIF on the ship, the Brazilian Medical Officer showed up and would not let anyone decamp until he checked all the passenges and crew who had been sick. This took about 5 hours. Finally, the Immigration Officers came on board to check Visas and passports and that took another 5 hours. We finally got off the ship at 5:30 pm and to our hotel by 6pm. At least we had a room waiting! Unfortunately one of Barb´s carry on bags was not with our stuff and she is suffering trying to figure out what was in the bag.

The Hotel Debret is a european hotel with all its pluses and minuses. They seem to be in the midst of a renovation project that will take years. When we went outside to look for the balcony rooms, we discovered that all the balconies had been removed and that side of the hotel restuccoed (but not the front facing the ocean). The dining room had a hole in the roof and so our breakfast is in a temporary room on the main floor. But the staff is accommodating. Our room for this first leg of our stay has a fabulous view directly overlooking the beach.

We are enjoying the atmosphere and walking along avenue Atlantica which fronts the ocean. Watched an indiginous band performing and selling CDs. Two of their group danced and you can certainly see they are cousins of the Cree. Their beading is lighter and brighter and the feather head dresses contain some of the colourful feathers that South American birds sport. They also included a pan pipe which make the sound very distinct and pleasant.

We are finally eating sensibly....and can barely do up our pants so have a lot of incentive to walk more and eat less.

We are leaving for Manaus in the Amazonus on Tuesday, December 8 and will keep everyone updated as time allows.

For some reason time is in short supply. Could be because we are having a fabulous time!