Fortaleza, Brazil
28 November 2007- Wednesday
Fortaleza, Brazil
Was I ever surprised to see the skyline of Fortaleza as we approached from the sea- high rise buildings almost from horizon to horizon. Must not have read that it is the 4th largest city in Brazil after Sao Paulo, Rio and Brasilia? As usual I've signed up for a tour where I was hoping to visit all the historical sites I did read about, but it was not to happen. I was on bus number one with the handicapped seats up front so it took a little while to load and unload. First we drove down a coastline of beaches and the further we got from the port the more upscale they became. There are no private beaches in Brazil and some of them looked like they were family oriented with a Disney Land flavor. Of course, I was on the wrong side of the bus to take pictures. ( I have to remember to sit on the driver's side). We then turned uphill to some nice villas which all had one thing in common- walls topped with sharp spikes and electrified wire fencing. All of that is explained when you look downhill at the favalhos where the poor live in cardboard boxes or better. The downtown apartments have high walls and guard towers over the massive grilled gates- don't think I'd want to live in a compound like that. Anyway it was really a shopping tour not a sightseeing tour. We stopped for 15 minutes at the Cathedral which is made of concrete, finished about 1978 and is now being completely renovated- but the stained glass from Lausserne, Switzerland was nice- but we got 50 minutes at the handicraft market, 15 minutes at the cultural center and 50 minutes at a clothing complex. Should have done it on my own, but after seeing some of the unsavory street people that may not have been a good idea- and I don't know any Portuguese. All in all, I flushed $60. This part of Brazil was discovered by the Portuguese in 1500, but was later held by the Dutch in the 1600'a. The Dutch fort still stands and I'll bet there is a museum in it. The big draw was lumber (after they found there was no gold) and the hard wood tree they were after was the pau brasil tree which has a red core used for dying things for the natives. The country is named for the tree. I think the guide said Brazil has over 1800 km of beaches and certainly a large seacoast. Fortaleza sits 3 degrees below the equator and the water temperature is in the 80s. The population is really mixed with a lot of mulattoes after the African slaves arrived ( I meant to bring along a copy of "The Missionaries" which is about the colonial period of Brazil and has Jeremy Irons as a Jesuit who is against the exploitation of the indigenous population). Our guide is one of 9 children, her father has black blood, but she prides herself in looking somewhat oriental like the aborigines. Back to the boat for late lunch and then wrote some postcards that I bought and used the stamps I bought and had the purser mail them with the agent when the boat left. I wonder if that really happened. Uneventful sail away but the first time we used a tug. After dinner with our usual congenial group (someone pointed out that in spite of our varied backgrounds we
get along well. There's the Welshman accountant who wife is a nurse, a Canadian Professor who's wife has been to Afghanistan a couple of times to advise the new government on women's issues, The couple from Mexico where these ex pats have lived for 18 years and who celebrated their 26th anniversary 2 nights ago, an elderly couple who spent several years sailing after he retired from IBM a doctor and a lawyer- what a collection) our delinquent entertainer had arrived. He is a vocalist not a comedian or a magician both of whom I would have enjoyed more. He sang some Pavarotti and Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett etc.- did Tolerably well. Stimulated me to listen to some real Pavarotti on the ipod Matt gave me for Christmas.
Fortaleza, Brazil
Was I ever surprised to see the skyline of Fortaleza as we approached from the sea- high rise buildings almost from horizon to horizon. Must not have read that it is the 4th largest city in Brazil after Sao Paulo, Rio and Brasilia? As usual I've signed up for a tour where I was hoping to visit all the historical sites I did read about, but it was not to happen. I was on bus number one with the handicapped seats up front so it took a little while to load and unload. First we drove down a coastline of beaches and the further we got from the port the more upscale they became. There are no private beaches in Brazil and some of them looked like they were family oriented with a Disney Land flavor. Of course, I was on the wrong side of the bus to take pictures. ( I have to remember to sit on the driver's side). We then turned uphill to some nice villas which all had one thing in common- walls topped with sharp spikes and electrified wire fencing. All of that is explained when you look downhill at the favalhos where the poor live in cardboard boxes or better. The downtown apartments have high walls and guard towers over the massive grilled gates- don't think I'd want to live in a compound like that. Anyway it was really a shopping tour not a sightseeing tour. We stopped for 15 minutes at the Cathedral which is made of concrete, finished about 1978 and is now being completely renovated- but the stained glass from Lausserne, Switzerland was nice- but we got 50 minutes at the handicraft market, 15 minutes at the cultural center and 50 minutes at a clothing complex. Should have done it on my own, but after seeing some of the unsavory street people that may not have been a good idea- and I don't know any Portuguese. All in all, I flushed $60. This part of Brazil was discovered by the Portuguese in 1500, but was later held by the Dutch in the 1600'a. The Dutch fort still stands and I'll bet there is a museum in it. The big draw was lumber (after they found there was no gold) and the hard wood tree they were after was the pau brasil tree which has a red core used for dying things for the natives. The country is named for the tree. I think the guide said Brazil has over 1800 km of beaches and certainly a large seacoast. Fortaleza sits 3 degrees below the equator and the water temperature is in the 80s. The population is really mixed with a lot of mulattoes after the African slaves arrived ( I meant to bring along a copy of "The Missionaries" which is about the colonial period of Brazil and has Jeremy Irons as a Jesuit who is against the exploitation of the indigenous population). Our guide is one of 9 children, her father has black blood, but she prides herself in looking somewhat oriental like the aborigines. Back to the boat for late lunch and then wrote some postcards that I bought and used the stamps I bought and had the purser mail them with the agent when the boat left. I wonder if that really happened. Uneventful sail away but the first time we used a tug. After dinner with our usual congenial group (someone pointed out that in spite of our varied backgrounds we
get along well. There's the Welshman accountant who wife is a nurse, a Canadian Professor who's wife has been to Afghanistan a couple of times to advise the new government on women's issues, The couple from Mexico where these ex pats have lived for 18 years and who celebrated their 26th anniversary 2 nights ago, an elderly couple who spent several years sailing after he retired from IBM a doctor and a lawyer- what a collection) our delinquent entertainer had arrived. He is a vocalist not a comedian or a magician both of whom I would have enjoyed more. He sang some Pavarotti and Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett etc.- did Tolerably well. Stimulated me to listen to some real Pavarotti on the ipod Matt gave me for Christmas.
Labels: Barcelona to Rio
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