Brazil, Brazil, Brazil!!!

Well, here we are, back to sailing the wide Atlantic.

Location update:
Latitude: 15 degrees, 17 minutes S
(At 15 degrees S, the sun’s rays are stronger here than anywhere else on earth)
Longitude: 035 degrees, 3 minutes W
Average Speed: 20.32 knots
Distance to South Africa: 3,094 NM
Ocean Depth: 14,805 ft (almost 3 miles)
Ocean Temp: 28 degrees C, 82.4 degrees F
Air Temp: Same
Moderate seas, swells 1-3 feet
*Our clocks advance yet another hour tonight, making the ship’s time 3 hours ahead of EST.

Well folks, now its story time. Where o where do I begin!!! I will simply start by saying that the Futbol (Soccer) game that I saw on Sunday afternoon may very well be the highlight of my entire journey…though we’ll know for sure come May. However, it was DEFINITLY the highlight of my Brazilian spree.

As for the rest of the trip: On Thursday morning I boarded a bus to travel an hour and a half to a place on the water called Praia Du Forte. I had said earlier that it was a fishing village, which is not entirely true. It was mostly devoted and able to be what it was because of the turtle sanctuary that was also there. It was a program devoted to preserving and protecting sea turtles along the 4,000 miles of Brazilian coastline. As informational as it was, I found it a bit depressing. The animals were healthy and everything was clean, however, it was their limited space that bothered me. But this group does good things and has saved hundreds of thousands of sea turtles otherwise. We spent the rest of the afternoon perusing around the town (total tourist town that it was), and ended up on the beach for a bit. The water was amazing; it felt like a cool bath, but was a hot swim. The fishing boats that filled this area were older than I am. Most looked like they wouldn’t be able to survive a typical storm. Painted in bright colors, with their paint chipping and canvas tops falling apart, it didn’t matter; it was a way of life for the residents and fishermen of the region. In fact, we saw one guy have to move his boat from one place to another. The boat was about 20-25 feet or so, and he had to maneuver it with a hand-held rudder. Man did he know how to move this boat in and about other boats that filled this little bay.

For dinner we ate at this restaurant that had a preset meal for us. We got to choose between Chicken, Beef, or Fish. I’m sure all of you can guess what I went with. Well, it was AWFUL. It might have been better if it were not cooked all the way through. It was a meaty, steak-like fish and I prefer those a bit rare. From there we moved as an American mass to a Bar/Restaurant/Live Music place called Souza for some after dinner fun. It was all outdoor and huge! Thankfully our tour guide came with us and he was able to help us order drinks because none of us spoke Portuguese and the waitress would just look at us and laugh. I was happy that the word for Vodka was no different in Portuguese. After being there for about an hour or so, one of the guys from the restaurant comes over to all of us with a stack of Sombreros and starts putting one on each of our heads! Well, I just couldn’t take it anymore; I sprung to my feet and began to dance - as did everyone else. We started a crazy Conga line and I was doing my best to pull other people form the crowd that were not with us. Well, there was this one guy who joined our line. He was a GIANT. I am not exaggerating when I say that he was at least 7 FEET TALL!!!! Once we got back to the dance floor he kept dancing with us and started asking us where we were all from. United States I said, his face went from smile to frown and he put two thumbs down and started screaming “BOOO BUSH!!!!!” I loved it, as did about 95% of the kids I was with…it was great. We hugged and took pictures together. He ended up being a French-German that lived in Sweden.

The next day it was rise and shine for 0730 breakfast at the hotel. After that we boarded these big Jeeps that were all open on the sides with roll bars and roof. They each had 4 rows of seating including the front seat. We had a 20-minute ride to the river that we would be canoeing. Well, we were on the main road for a while and then turned off. It was then that I realized why we were traveling in these off road vehicles. We drove by shacks and villages that were in the middle of nowhere. Mules and horses roamed while residents worked in whatever that were doing, each of them lifting their heads as we drove by. At one point we all had to duck and block the limbs and braches that were making their way into our off-road trekker. I have this picture of us going down a hill (kind of like a roller coaster…haha, you think I’m kidding) and there was no more than 3 inches on each side of the vehicle. We were driving through a trench that had been carved out after years and years of erosion and had unearthed rock and dirt. Luckily, these vehicles just barely were able to pass. Soon our adventure ride ended and we came to our river/creek/stream.

I say river/creek/stream because they had not gotten any rain in a month or so, so the water level was very low and there was barely any current. We boarded our Canadian Canoes (three passenger) and headed downstream with our guide ahead of us. My team, Team Amazing as we liked to call it, did a great job of turning this leisurely canoe ride into a competitive race. We did our part to take the lead (staying behind the guide) and maintain it through some pretty tough waters. When I say tough waters I mean that if you didn’t choose the right side you were going to hit the bottom and have to work like hell to get unstuck. Or, be sure your captain is paying attention that way you don’t ride into a tree hanging out over the water. These trees created homes for spiders, birds, and bugs, bugs, and bugs...it was not something I’d want to just roam into. I was the first officer, and thankfully we had a kick-ass captain on board. Unfortunately we did not get to see any of the small anaconda’s or alligators that frequent this water way. When I say small anaconda…I mean 12-15 feet. I talked to friends that went to the Amazon and they saw anacondas of 20 plus feet!

Half way through our 6-kilometer (a bit over three miles) ride, we took a break on this serene, secluded, and stunning beach where nothing but sea and sand was in plain site for miles and miles. The southern Atlantic is amazing: shades of clear dark blue, with hints of a Caribbean green. The water was about 80 degrees and the waves were amazing. Something that astounded me about this beach was that for miles and miles and miles there was a fence made of old, dried palms leaves about 30-40 feet from the shore. In rethinking this fence, my assumption would be to prevent turtles from going too far up the beach to lay eggs and also to keep turtle egg predators off the beach (foxes). I could be way off though.

We got back in our canoes and began the last leg of our journey. This was a bit more difficult than the first stretch because it was windier and shallower throughout. Regardless, nothing could hold back Team Amazing from maintaining our lead and keeping a safe distance from those behind us. Thankfully, we finished this around 1100 or a bit before, and man it’s a good thing. That sun was getting hotter by the second.

We went back to our hotel for lunch and a bit more free time. At 1530 we got back on our bus and headed to the only castle still standing in Brazil. Built in 1551 north of Salvador, by a man named Garcia Davila. He was a good friend of the King of Portugal and because of that the king gave him this land to build and farm on. Quite the gift considering the amount of land he received. Now, when he first received this parcel, it was a fifth of the size of Brazil…so, about the size of New England along with New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Eventually this land was subdivided and dedicated to certain people and also to certain types of farming. What made this parcel of coastal land so perfect for this castle, which by the way endured several attacks, was that it could see ships coming from the North from Europe, and from the South from Africa. Once a ship was spotted, smoke signals were sent to Salvador to alert the city of the coming sailors or invaders.

Unfortunately, only about a third of the total castle is still standing. The Chapel has been refurbished and it gets used on occasion. The original castle stood three stories high and was shaped sort of like an upside down ‘T,’ with one arm shorter than the other. After generations of occupation, the last family to live there simply abandoned this old palace and due to weather and erosion, it crumbled to the ground.

As you all know already, Friday night didn’t turn out to well. It was the night that my ATM card got eaten by a vicious HSBC machine.

As for Saturday, it was off to Barra for the beach! First we stopped at the Barra mall where there are over 350 Brazilian shops, from shoes to clothes and everything in between…it was absolutely the most overwhelming shopping experience I’ve ever been on! And I’ve been on quite a few. Something that really impressed me were the number of stores that only sold men’s clothing. Of course, this was a pleasant surprise. I did maintain some good self control and I only bought bathing suits, so that was good. I wasn’t leaving Brazil without a bathing suit to two. Something about that great coastal town, was that you could walk around in your suit (a speedo, that is) and it was no big deal, because everyone was doing it! The less you wore, the better you fit in. Brazilians are an incredibly seductive culture and it shines through in their attire. Something to note: if you do go to the beach in Brazil, don’t expect to nap. You will be constantly interrupted by Brazilians trying to sell you everything from aqua mineral to Skol (local beer), and handy crafts to sun screen.

I’ll call the rest of my trip fluff and we’ll skip to the game…and what a game it was. It was Bahia vs. Victoria. We arrived at the stadium, which was more like the Coliseum and I was in total awe. It could seat 96,000 people and by the time the game started, I have no doubt there was AT LEAST 55,000 people there, probably more. We sat all the way at the very top of the Stadium, the true nose-bleeders if you will. However, we all agreed that they were the best seats in the house because not only could you see the ENTIRE field, but you could also see the entire stadium and all the crazy Brazilian fans! Now, I had gone shopping earlier in the day for a few things and two other friends of mine, Chad and Amanda and I decided that we were going to this game clad out in Brazilian gear. I bought Brazilian warm-ups with a matching T-shirt, and my green glasses. Chad had a jersey and Brazilian warms ups and Amanda was decked out in a Brazil jersey and matching skirt…we were THE fans. You could say that we stood out because of our outfits…but it was a good thing! And here’s the thing you’ll never believe. So here we are, about 6 of us, standing in line for some Cervaja (beer). All of a sudden this lady with a cameraman and a microphone comes up to us and starts interviewing me for a Bahian news station!!! She caught me at the perfect moment: I was double fisting, and was surrounded by American friends who were doing the exact same thing. She talked to me for about five minutes and then moved on to a few others of us. They got shots of all of us lifting our glasses and screaming “Bahia!!!!” and so on and so on. I only wish I could of stayed in Brazil to see the footage. If anyone feels like finding it, the news station was called SBT…let me know if you do.

Our climb back to the top was always something. Just think for a minute, the steps are double steps so the climbing is a pain, there are people sitting all over the place, young kids running around, families of five and six with their newborns and young tots. Every type of person was at this game, from kids to cripples, and teenagers to seniors, they were all die-hard Bahia fans. One time, I was the first on in a line of four of us and this big Brazilian man didn’t move for us. I did my best to somehow say excuse me in Portuguese but of course that failed. All I did was look at him and scream, “BAHIA!!!” and it was like the parting of the Red Sea. He graciously moved aside and laughed as we all made our way back to the top.

Victoria scored the first goal and that caused quite the uproar and boooooooo in my section. I cannot even begin to explain to you the amount of energy these fans had, it was in their blood to live for Futbol and it showed. Thankfully in the second half, Bahia tied up the score, and man the crowd went wild for about five minutes…no joke. All we could do as American’s was pretend to understand what they were all saying and just scream “BAHIA!!!” and give them all thumbs up. (The Thumbs-Up is huge all over Brazil, not just at sporting events) Towards the end of the second half, a group of us decided to make our way over to the serious cheering section. It was a group of Bahians and there were about 12 drummers, 2 main leaders that put the crowd into massive chants and of course there were constantly fireworks going off. Again, words cannot express the feelings that come over you while being immersed in this crowd. They loved us, and again all we could do was give them the thumbs up and just keep screaming “BAHIA!!!!” It didn’t matter that we were American, we were cheering for their team and they loved it. Of course once the game was over I was all excited for overtime, but to my serious disappointment, there was no overtime. Supposedly they only do that for the big, big games, and this was not one of them. So a tie it was, 1 to 1.

We found our way back to the busses…and what a trip that was. It was like a massive, thick heard of cattle being moved through this stadium and out into the parking lot and wild street. The whole bus ride back to the ship, which was only about 15 minutes, all we did was chant and cheer about Bahia. The driver loved it. We safely made it back to our palace, our home, our ship - the MV Explorer with plenty of time before getting into trouble. There was energy running through all of our bodies like a wild fire. Everybody felt it; there was a buzz about the ship after this invigorating game.

Well, there you have it…five days of Brazil in a blog-nutshell.

I’m at sea now until the Valentine’s Day. We’re crossing the entire Atlantic…and yet it feels like a backyard lake now. The seas are expected to be calm until we reach Cape Town. However, once we round the horn of Africa where the Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean, we’re expecting to get tossed around a bit.

For those of you wondering about school, it’s going fine. I’m doing a presentation in my Environmental Politics class on Wednesday about my time and experiences in Brazil along with four others who did different things than I did. The show is going well, though we don’t start officially rehearsing until after Cape Town. Well, there is stuff to be done!

Until next time.