Best Laid Plans

By this time, we should have spent a couple of days in the Brazilian ports of Punta del Este and Rio Grande. However, as we are discovering, there are no guarantees in sea travel. High winds and rough seas prevented us from docking at Punta del Este, and at Rio Grande, another cruise ship was docked at their one and only dock and the port authority wouldn't let them leave because of the weather. So...we had two additional days at sea that weren't planned for.

It didn't bother us because we are still onboard for four weeks, but for people on this short 12-day segment, it was a disappointment.

We are far from the icebergs and glaciers. This morning it was 30 degrees centigrade as we walked our three miles around the deck. We came in drenched but happy we managed to finish. Steve is now at a i-pad movie class (which is way outside the box for him) and I am going to music class in a short while. Life at sea is never boring!

Because of the unplanned days at sea, the Captain has turned on all engines and we are getting into Santos/Sao Paulo 12 hours earlier than initially planned, so we will have some extra time in that city. We don't have anything planned, but have found that we love to just wander around a city and pop in for the odd big beer whenever we see a place that catches our fancy. Because Santos is Brazil's largest coffee exporting port, we may have to sample the various coffees as well.

We continue to be both delighted and dismayed with our fellow passengers. We have met some very very nice people, some very interesting people, and some downright nasty people. I guess that's just life for you, although you would think being on holiday would cheer up even the crustiest people.

Food continues to be a daily pleasure. Dinner last night was prepared specially for our table....leg of lamb, four vegetables, and for dessert, a Salzburger (? - I forget the second word) which was baked meringues that looked like the mountains, with berry coulis and a custard. Yum Yum. Our pants are still zipping up, although it is getting a little more difficult.

And on that note, I will say adios as it is time to go to lunch. Hopefully my next posting will be a little more interesting after we visit Santos.