When we arrived in the Insignia room just before 12:00, the others in our group had already left to board a tender – so that we were among the last to board. We squeezed into two of the few vacant seats. [Insignia tenders are small, holding only 100 people; there is no upper level.] When we had a close look at the water surrounding the tender, the water was definitely not ocean; to us, it looked like the “muddy Mississippi.” En route, we could see lots of tall buildings ahead on the shore. Within 15 minutes, we arrived at the dock in Belém.
Belém, capital of the state of Pará, is in northern Brazil, and is situated on Guajará Bay, part of the Amazon River delta. Our ship had already advanced from the Atlantic Ocean about 80 miles up the Para River. The city’s climate is equatorial, with an average temperature of 80 degrees and an annual rainfall of 86 inches. (It might have rained an inch in places while we were onshore!) In 1616 the fortified settlement later called Santa Maria de Belém (St. Mary of Bethlehem), consolidated Portuguese supremacy over the French in what is now northern Brazil. The city has mainly profited by trade, first the sugar trade; then rice, cotton, and coffee, followed by rubber. Today, valuable exports include (among other things) metals, Brazil nuts, and pineapples. In the market by the pier, people come very early each day for fresh fruit and fish. The fish are from the river, not from the ocean.
Onshore, our guide, Raissa, led us to our bus. Although it was very large and double-decker, our group sat on the top level only, in about the front half of the bus.
First, we visited a 17th-century Baroque church, Santo Alexandre (St. Alexander), the former Jesuit complex. The façade of the church is white with four stories, with the fourth level being a tower on each side of the church. Inside, we found it to be very dark, with dark wood and poor lighting. Except for the new, comfortable seats, the interior is of dark wood with no color visible on walls or ceiling and few decorations except for sculptures.
Early writings indicate that at the end of the 17th century, the college associated with the church had a library of 2,000 books, painting, and sculpture workshops. Connected to the church now is the Museum of Sacred Art. Started in 1998, this important cultural museum is the first of its kind in the Amazonian region. Considered Brazil's most important museum, the Museum of Sacred Art is home to more than 300 pieces of sacred art.
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| Fort Presépio |
Leaving
the Museum, a short walk (in the rain) brought us to Presépio Fort, a
17th-century fortress that served as the original hub of the city. Out on the patio are original 19th-century cannons
that were used during Belem's wartime past.
The main attraction at the fort is the Encontro Museum, which recreates
the history of the Tupiunambá Indians prior, during and after the Portuguese
settlement. All signs here were in
Portuguese, as they had been at the Museum of Sacred Art. However, we found the pictures on the wall
very interesting. Two appeared to show a
tribe practicing cannibalism. One, which
was a photograph, showed a priest blessing some natives, who wore no
clothing. Other pictures also showed the
natives with no clothing.
Next,
we visited the Teatro da Paz (Theater of Peace), located in Belem’s main
square. This Opera House remains a bold
testament to the city's former rubber fortunes. Inside, in the main room, we sat in the large,
rear balcony. Looking up, we could see more
balconies at several levels. Our guide
explained how opera attendees had been seated according to their social status,
with the highest strata of society being the rubber barons. Middle class and working class people had
their own seating sections/levels. At
the top, servants could attend, standing because no seats were available for
them! This 19th-century Rococo building
was recently restored to its original glory, and once hosted such famous
performers as Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), a Russian prima ballerina of the late
19th and early 20th centuries. (She is
most recognized for the creation of the role “The Dying Swan” and, with her own
company, became the first ballerina to tour ballet around the world.)As we came back to the entrance of the theater, though the door we could see torrents of rain coming down. We laughed because we could also see an umbrella vendor near the door, trying to catch the eye of any interested buyer. Actually, earlier that day, our guide had advised us to carry umbrellas, but this time she had told us that it wasn’t necessary. However, after a few minutes, it was only sprinkling, and we walked to our bus.
Since we had not been standing in one place for long at a time, Sally had told Jesse to leave the backpack (which is her folded-up stool) on the bus. However, by this time, she was feeling tired from not getting enough sleep last night and from her back beginning to hurt from too much standing. Therefore, we stayed on the bus at our final stop, which was to the Jewel Museum, formerly used as a prison until just a few years ago. The state’s first jewelry collection, which began in 1999, is housed here.
Soon, we arrived back at the dock and were ushered immediately onto a tender going back to the ship. We continued to feel chilled for several hours from being wet from rain and then sitting in the cold air-conditioning of the bus.
Within 15 minutes of being back in our cabin, Sally was asleep – until Jesse woke her an hour later for dinner. In the café, we ate seafood stir-fry, which was excellent. Although Sally (unlike Jesse!) has been resisting dessert most of the time, tonight she couldn’t resist brownie & ice cream. After dinner we danced for 30 minutes, this time with at least three or four other couples.
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| Map of Brazil |
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