Recife, Brazil

Wednesday, 21 Dec 2011 – Thanks for the e-mail responses that we received so far.  It’s nice to know that some of our family and friends are following our blog.

This was definitely NOT a relaxing day.  This was one of those days when anything that could go wrong, did go wrong!

We sat our alarm for 6:15 AM and requested a wake-up call for the same, as a backup; however, we both woke early, and by 6:15, we were leaving our cabin for breakfast.

We boarded the shuttle buses at 8:15 AM for a short ride to the terminal, where our tour buses were to be waiting; however, one of the shuttle personnel requested that some of our group board a second shuttle, which did not make our tour guide, Dee, very happy.  There were two shuttle drop-off locations.  To make a long story short, the second shuttle dropped eleven of us at wrong location, and it was 10:30 AM by the time we were able to rejoin our group and start our tour.

In spite of our late start, we still managed to see most of the sites planned for the tour.  We started with a drive along Boa Viagern Beach, where we could see some of the reef offshore.  Brazil has the second largest reef in the world following that of Australia.  Then our minibus went on to the main area of Recife where we visited the Francisco Brennard Cultural Park, built 500 years ago, and visited the Golden Chapel.  We stopped at the Casa de Cultura, an ancient jail; and the Marco Zero, which was the site on which the city of Recife was founded.  Then we strolled on the Born Jesus Street, where the first Jewish quarter and first Synagogue of the Americas were established.  Upon completion of the tour, while boarding the shuttle, one of our group fell through one of the street grates and scraped his leg, though his injury seemed to be minor.

It had been a very hot, very humid day, and we tried to keep in the shade as much as possible.  This was probably the closest we have ever been to the equator.

After boarding the ship, we stopped for a short snack and rested a little while before dinner.  After dinner, we returned to the cabin to call it an early night – FINALLY!