Salvador de Bahia, with 3 million people, is the oldest city in Brazil. We didn't stay in the city, but travelled by bus to Praia do Forte, about 80 km away. Here we visited the remains of the oldest (European) house in Brazil, now a museum, and then a turtle research station. P-do-F is an exclusive holiday area, reminiscent of Noosa 20 or so years ago, before it went 'upmarket'. The people are SO friendly.
Travelling with 3000 people, everyone picks up a 'wog' at some time - John's had an awful cold, Frances a severe case of vomiting and diahhorrea (Brazilian belly??). When John and the rest of the tour party went to a restaurant for lunch in P-do-F, she sat on a nearby patch of lawn, and promptly fell asleep ... only to wake up with a crowd of about 50 locals surrounding her! They'd brought a man who spoke good English, offering to escort her to a doctor nearby (free!). From old men, mothers with children, teenagers on motor scooters, everyone wanted to help ... MUCH embarrassment, but what wonderful people!
The other delight of our day was a lizard (iguana?) about a metre long. When we first sighted him on the grey branch of a poinciana tree, he was grey and white. He moved to a green bush nearby, and became light-and-dark green. Does Brazil have chameleons? We must find out!
Our hero of the day is the 10yo who bowled out Ponting! Good on him! What wonderful donations at the cricket! When is the day of mourning? We know there is to be one, but no date given.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Feeling closer
Thanks to those who let us know about the fires - we ARE getting CNN now, so are keeping up to date at last - have even been able to read street signs in Yea!
Yesterday we went to Olinda - no, not Olinda in the Dandenings, but an earlier one - a World Heritage area established in the 1500s by the Portuguese ... it's on a hill above the Brazilian city of Recife (said "Hea-ssiff"), looking over the city and the sea like a view from the Dandenongs, so we wonder if the Aussie one was named after the original.
Most people on the ship caught buses, but we shared a taxi with two friends - our driver, Valdi, spoke some English, but it gave me a good chance to practice my (extremely limited) Portuguese. We went to St Francis' monastery, decorated with wonderful P-gese tiles, and a great painting of the Last Supper, with a cat eating the scraps under the table! At the top of the hill we visited the Cathedral de Alto Se and lots of craft shops etc, then headed back downtown towards the VERY smelly river and the beautiful beaches. Recife has over 3 million people, most housed in huge highrises, so it's an interesting city from the sea. The illusion of sophistication, however, is soon dispelled when you realise that just about every road is still cobblestones, with problem areas still dug up by a man with a shovel, and the cobblestones replaced by hand, knocked into place with a hammer!
As we travel east, we're only 12 hours (13 for those with daylight Saving Time) away from you - we're feeling closer to you all the time! Fond wishes to all F&J
Yesterday we went to Olinda - no, not Olinda in the Dandenings, but an earlier one - a World Heritage area established in the 1500s by the Portuguese ... it's on a hill above the Brazilian city of Recife (said "Hea-ssiff"), looking over the city and the sea like a view from the Dandenongs, so we wonder if the Aussie one was named after the original.
Most people on the ship caught buses, but we shared a taxi with two friends - our driver, Valdi, spoke some English, but it gave me a good chance to practice my (extremely limited) Portuguese. We went to St Francis' monastery, decorated with wonderful P-gese tiles, and a great painting of the Last Supper, with a cat eating the scraps under the table! At the top of the hill we visited the Cathedral de Alto Se and lots of craft shops etc, then headed back downtown towards the VERY smelly river and the beautiful beaches. Recife has over 3 million people, most housed in huge highrises, so it's an interesting city from the sea. The illusion of sophistication, however, is soon dispelled when you realise that just about every road is still cobblestones, with problem areas still dug up by a man with a shovel, and the cobblestones replaced by hand, knocked into place with a hammer!
As we travel east, we're only 12 hours (13 for those with daylight Saving Time) away from you - we're feeling closer to you all the time! Fond wishes to all F&J
Monday, February 9, 2009
Thanks David, for letting us know the terrible news from Victoria in your blog comment - as you can see from the previous blog, we've been totally out of contact. We're feeling for everyone in Victoria - a blog comment might be the best way to let us know how you're getting on.
God Bless!
Frances & John
God Bless!
Frances & John
Back in the Southern Hemisphere
Apologies for our non-communication ... when we crossed the equator, the ship lost all web communication for two days! We feel totally cut off - particularly as our emails don't seem to be coming through either!
Fortunately, this is a wonderful way to be cut off - life on board the Carnival Splendor is totally sybaritic ... we wake in the morning, watch the sea from our bed, discuss whether to get up for breakfast (which we do, eventually, as it's too good to miss). Then we go to the library, and the web cafe, before meeting friends for lunch. Sometimes we even exercise in the afternoon, before a superb dinner, a show, drinks with friends etc etc - or else we go ashore, and soak up the great places we visit.
Yesterday we made our first Brazilian visit, to the city of Fortaleza ... yes, you've never heard of it ... but it's HUGE - about 3 million people - with more highrises than Brisbane and Melbourne combined. We went to the cathedral (really modern and simple), a market, and several of the beaches ... saw very few locals as this was before midday - even the first mass, for the early risers, doesn't start until 12 noon, as most people party on until 5am, then sleep most of Sunday.
Tomorrow we go to Recife, and the World Heritage town of Olinda. We're not doing this on an organised tour, but on our own - it will be interesting to see how we get on!
Fortunately, this is a wonderful way to be cut off - life on board the Carnival Splendor is totally sybaritic ... we wake in the morning, watch the sea from our bed, discuss whether to get up for breakfast (which we do, eventually, as it's too good to miss). Then we go to the library, and the web cafe, before meeting friends for lunch. Sometimes we even exercise in the afternoon, before a superb dinner, a show, drinks with friends etc etc - or else we go ashore, and soak up the great places we visit.
Yesterday we made our first Brazilian visit, to the city of Fortaleza ... yes, you've never heard of it ... but it's HUGE - about 3 million people - with more highrises than Brisbane and Melbourne combined. We went to the cathedral (really modern and simple), a market, and several of the beaches ... saw very few locals as this was before midday - even the first mass, for the early risers, doesn't start until 12 noon, as most people party on until 5am, then sleep most of Sunday.
Tomorrow we go to Recife, and the World Heritage town of Olinda. We're not doing this on an organised tour, but on our own - it will be interesting to see how we get on!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
From the Caribbean
Two days in the Caribbean, and we're feeling homesick ... we couldn't get over the similarities between the islands and home!
Dominica is, of course much more mountainous than the Sunshine Coast, and MUCH poorer, but almost every plant we saw was one that we knew from home. Birds were different - a great big Sisserou parrot, and tiny green humming birds, but we even saw many gum trees and sheoaks, as well as almost every plant we have in our garden. We travelled to a splendid waterfall, drank rum punch, and admired the marvelous cricket ground, donated by the Chinese Government!
Barbados is MUCH wealthier - near Bridgetown, the capital, are hundreds of million-dollar mansions, but all across the island people seem to have a comfortable lifestyle. We hired a car, and took new friends Janet and Collette (sisters from Pennsylvania who sat on the floor with us while we waited out the bomb scare as we were boarding in Fort Lauderdale) on a tour of the island - they were impressed that we could handle a right-hand drive car! John had a great talk with Garfield Sobers' cousin - with so many American tourists, anyone who loves cricket is greatly welcomed!
Lunch was at Bathsheba, on the far side of the island, fried flying fish eaten in a little shack with red, green and yellow shutters, then we headed back through spreading canefields, past herds of Nubian goats and more familiar plants. There was a Pirate Party last night, but we went to see a ventriloquist perform instead - the entertainment is terrific.
Rougher today, now that we're out in the Atlantic - 12 foot waves, we're told. Some are suffering, but we're still enjoying the wonderful cuisine - and walking lots, so that we don't roll home!
Dominica is, of course much more mountainous than the Sunshine Coast, and MUCH poorer, but almost every plant we saw was one that we knew from home. Birds were different - a great big Sisserou parrot, and tiny green humming birds, but we even saw many gum trees and sheoaks, as well as almost every plant we have in our garden. We travelled to a splendid waterfall, drank rum punch, and admired the marvelous cricket ground, donated by the Chinese Government!
Barbados is MUCH wealthier - near Bridgetown, the capital, are hundreds of million-dollar mansions, but all across the island people seem to have a comfortable lifestyle. We hired a car, and took new friends Janet and Collette (sisters from Pennsylvania who sat on the floor with us while we waited out the bomb scare as we were boarding in Fort Lauderdale) on a tour of the island - they were impressed that we could handle a right-hand drive car! John had a great talk with Garfield Sobers' cousin - with so many American tourists, anyone who loves cricket is greatly welcomed!
Lunch was at Bathsheba, on the far side of the island, fried flying fish eaten in a little shack with red, green and yellow shutters, then we headed back through spreading canefields, past herds of Nubian goats and more familiar plants. There was a Pirate Party last night, but we went to see a ventriloquist perform instead - the entertainment is terrific.
Rougher today, now that we're out in the Atlantic - 12 foot waves, we're told. Some are suffering, but we're still enjoying the wonderful cuisine - and walking lots, so that we don't roll home!
Monday, February 2, 2009
All aboard! ... ?
Well, here we are on the Carnival Splendor - at last! We were due to board at 1.30 Saturday Afternoon, in Fort Lauderdale, but spent the next 8 hours shut in a shed with 1200 others! Somehow, there was a bomb alert, so we waited ... and waited .... and waited, knowing that those on board ahead of us were eating a delicious lunch and drinking champagne - while we sat on a floor and waited hours for water! We're luckier than some, though - 500 or more people tried to board without a Brazilian visa and were turned back - if they get one in Miami today, we'll meet them in Barbados on Wednesday.
Eventually we made it on board the Splendor at 9.30pm - so tired that we didn't unpack until after lunch on Sunday. But it's worth it, now that we're here. our stateroom is roomy and bright, with a glass-fronted balcony so that we can see the world go by - yesterday we saluted Samana Cay where Colombus first landed in 1492, and San Salvador, his second island stop. If the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria "sailed the ocean blue", they were luckier than us so far - the Caribbean is a very gloomy sea so far, but we hope that it will be sunnier in Dominica tomorrow.
The Captain's cocktail party tonight - John resplendent in evening dress, of course - and we'll join new friends there ... sharing a corner of concrete floor with strangers soon develops friendships! Fortunately the ship is so big that there's LOTS of walking, so we hope that that will counteract the superb meals we're eating ... we'll see. We've heard of fires in Victoria - hope all is well for all of you.
Eventually we made it on board the Splendor at 9.30pm - so tired that we didn't unpack until after lunch on Sunday. But it's worth it, now that we're here. our stateroom is roomy and bright, with a glass-fronted balcony so that we can see the world go by - yesterday we saluted Samana Cay where Colombus first landed in 1492, and San Salvador, his second island stop. If the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria "sailed the ocean blue", they were luckier than us so far - the Caribbean is a very gloomy sea so far, but we hope that it will be sunnier in Dominica tomorrow.
The Captain's cocktail party tonight - John resplendent in evening dress, of course - and we'll join new friends there ... sharing a corner of concrete floor with strangers soon develops friendships! Fortunately the ship is so big that there's LOTS of walking, so we hope that that will counteract the superb meals we're eating ... we'll see. We've heard of fires in Victoria - hope all is well for all of you.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
That's LA for ya!
Safely arrived in LA, in awe of the QANTAS service- it truly couldn't be faulted! After arriving at the Sheraton (luxury, to use up the Agoda points from our Japanese trip in 2007) we headed for Union Station to make the bookings for our train trip in 7 weeks time, using the wonderful Dash buses, which go every 5 minutes, and cost a quarter (25 cents) no matter where you go.
Union station is a delight, built in 1939 in Art Deco style, and completely unchanged since - this COULD be because they haven't got around to it, if it's anything like the service we received!
Eventually, though, we headed to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, one street away. This Mexican area is the original site of Los Angeles, and bursts with life, colour and music. It's a wonderful place, which we visited briefly last time we passed through LA, on a train, and couldn't resist revisiting.
As we headed back downhill, everything began to happen - A U-Haul truck screamed around the corner beside us, followed by four LA Police cars, 3 police motorcycles, an LA Police helicopter low over us, and news helicopters. Everyone was talking about it, and it was headline news on TV that night and the next day ... as a Mexican schoolbus driver told us ... That's LA for ya!
Union station is a delight, built in 1939 in Art Deco style, and completely unchanged since - this COULD be because they haven't got around to it, if it's anything like the service we received!
Eventually, though, we headed to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, one street away. This Mexican area is the original site of Los Angeles, and bursts with life, colour and music. It's a wonderful place, which we visited briefly last time we passed through LA, on a train, and couldn't resist revisiting.
As we headed back downhill, everything began to happen - A U-Haul truck screamed around the corner beside us, followed by four LA Police cars, 3 police motorcycles, an LA Police helicopter low over us, and news helicopters. Everyone was talking about it, and it was headline news on TV that night and the next day ... as a Mexican schoolbus driver told us ... That's LA for ya!
Mexican for lunch, Japanese for dinner - and then we slept ... for twelve hours! We were thoroughly refreshed then, though, to set off around LA on the tourist trail again. Macy's was first, as it's attached to the Sheraton - however we didn't stay long as it was so lonely - never have we seen a store with so few customers. We wandered the streets for a while, lunched at Ralph's, a 'fresh food market' that we'd love to take home with us, particularly the roast dinner bar, then back onto the Dash.
This time it was down to USC and then back to the Downtown area with the bus full of red-clad teachers, heading for a rally to protest against the imposition of compulsory 'furlough' days without pay, imposed by the Californian government as a cost-cutting exercise. We avoided the rally and headed for the Central Library (all six storeys of it) and then back around the streets, with a lengthy visit to an antique bookstore where John found a soulmate in Leonard, the proprietor ... LA was fun, because of the people we met.
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