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Our cruise started in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where we flew from Miami on an overnight flight. Since we had already seen Buenos Aires, we didn’t plan on some time on our own before we sailed, and went straight to the port from the airport.

Olà, my friends! (yes, the same familiar hello as in Hispanic countries). As you can see on the map of Brazil below, our northbound itinerary followed all of the Atlantic Coast of Brazil, starting south of it in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and ending beyond to the Caribbean. The 4,366 nautical miles we covered included two ports-of-call in Uruguay (Montevideo and Punta del Este), five Brazilian cities (Rio, Búzios, Salvador, Natal and Fortaleza), and the famed Devil’s Island in French Guiana, to end in Georgetown, the capital of the independent country of the Island of Barbados.

This cruise was quite a change from most of our previous ones, since it involved a relatively young country, whose history, like North American countries, is fairly recent. Compared to ancient civilizations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, whose roots go back thousands of years, we felt like getting acquainted with a new teenager instead of a seasoned grown-up. From a travel, nature and architecture photographer’s standpoint, our best photo op, of course, was the outstanding and spectacular natural setting of scenic Rio de Janeiro, in addition to the endless miles of luscious sand beaches, stretching for mile after mile, through one state after another.

Rio de Janeiro - Guanabara Bay and the Sugar Loaf seen from Corcovado Mountain

For us, the highlights were the visit to Rio de Janeiro, including Corcovado, the mountain where the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer towers over Guanabara Bay; the demonstration of capoeira, the traditional Brazilian combination of martial art, dance and gymnastics, in Natal; and Devil’s Island, the famous site of the old French penal colony in French Guiana.

Our first stop in Uruguay, its capital of Montevideo, was not memorable the first time we saw it several years ago, so we didn’t even bother getting off. Next, our Captain decided to skip our second stop in Uruguay, Punta del Este (which is really just around the corner from Montevideo) because heavy winds prevented the safe operation of the tenders needed to take us ashore since the ship was anchored and not docked at a pier. So on to our discovery of Brazil.

Thanks to the best lecturer we’d ever had on any trip -- the most remarkably knowledgeable and articulate John Freedman --, Brazil’s African origins and Portuguese history came to life, and we really looked forward to his lectures on the seven at-sea days. Actually, between the lectures, movies, daily trivia games, swimming, socializing, eating and drinking, I hardly had time to read more than three books on my iPad (poor thing, right??!!) We even became friends with John and his wife Tina who live in California, and our dinners together led to more fascinating and informative exchanges. John is a practicing part-time anesthesiologist, whose main passion is traveling and lecturing on cruises. What a life, right? On a more mundane note, we also had the funniest and best – and oldest -- Cruise Director of all of our past cruises as well, whose talents and energy were delightful and enjoyed by most everybody due to the small size of our ship. Especially during our daily sea-day sessions of trivia. The questions often were real challenges, even for our rather educated and sophisticated group, and we moaned, and groaned, and yelled and boohed, and applauded, but mostly laughed a lot since none of us took them too seriously.

Rio de Janeiro - Christ the Redeemer, symbol of the city, if not the country of Brazil

For those who like statistics, Brazil (Brasil in Portuguese) has the longest river in the world (the Amazon, before the Nile) and the largest rainforest, and is the world’s 5th largest nation and 4th largest democracy. Its population of almost almost 202 million represents half of the population of South America, 81% of which live in Atlantic states along the coast, and 40% of its total population is of African slave ancestry. Like most of South America, Brazil’s main religion is Catholic, due to the influence of Portugal which is eminently Catholic.

Trivia: the course of the Amazon river, which originally flowed east to west, was reversed to flow west to east by the subterranean pressure of the Andes Mountain Range

It can be best described as being of mixed racial ethnicity (African, Portuguese, Amerindians – the indigenous people --, and the many different shades of black/brown of mulattos) as well of mixed racial inequality (with striking and ubiquitous contrasts between spectacular wealth and dire poverty, practically side by side or on top of each other); but also a profoundly musical society, emotionally engaged, and oozing life energy (which they call axe, pronounced ashé). It quickly became obvious to us that Brazil is very different from neighboring Argentina, whose colonial history and temperament, culture and language all hark of Spain and the Conquistadors, and also has large chunks of population of Italian and German ancestries. You might have guessed that there is no love lost between Argentines and Brazilians.

Rio de Janeiro - Headless Christ the Redeemer, seen from the back and below

Because of its huge surface area (3,288 million square miles), Brazil’s climate varies greatly from region to region, and comprises four main zones: the north and northwest, including Amazônia, are characterized by high humidity and heavy rainfalls; the center from east to west, including the cities Brasilia and Salvador, is hot and humid summers (which are the opposite months of ours since they are in the southern hemisphere) with cold dry winters. The southern tip of Brazil, which includes Rio and São Paulo is subtropical humid, cold winter and year-round rainfall. The fourth zone exists because of the existence of a desert, a narrow diagonal strip starting from NE Brazil, along the Atlantic from Fortaleza to Natal, and extending SW as far south as the latitude of Brasilia. The Brazilian state in that area is called Cearà, phonetically related to the Sahara desert of North Africa. By the way, we saw a film on board called “The House of Sand”, with the famous Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro, which takes place in that desert. I can guarantee you that, after seeing it (via Netflix), you will never look at a sand beach the same way again!

Trivia: Ten nations have a common border with Brazil: Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Guyana (English), Surinam (Dutch) and French Guiana

Brazil was officially discovered, by accident, in 1500 by the Portuguese Pedro Cabral who was trying to find another route from Portugal to Asia without going around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. He went west, hoping to get to India on a westbound course, … and the first land he came across was Porto Seguro, in the modern northern State of Bahìa. In the mean time, Columbus, whose ambition to explore the same part of the world was turned down by Italy and Portugal, went to Spain for support, and you know the rest of his story. The first settlers gave Brazil its name (Brasil in Portuguese) after the indigenous paubrasil tree, sought after for its valuable red dye.

Favellas on the hillsides above rio de janeiro

This “new” land had been inhabited for over a millennium by very sophisticated, semi-nomadic societies of indigenous people who lived mostly in Amazônia, the central and northwestern part of current Brazil, along the Amazon river, rich in life-sustaining fish and wild life. The first European who actually set foot on this new land was the Spanish Vincente Pinzòn, who disembarked on the northeast coast of Brazil four months before Cabral. However, he was regretfully unable to claim this land for Spain because of the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal, assigning to the former everything west of the meridian situated three miles off the Cape Verde Islands, while everything east of it would belong to the latter.

In 1500, the King of Portugal was João III, and the Portuguese Empire was at the height of its colonial and mercantile power. Too removed from this “new land” to oversee it himself, he divided it into 15 capitanias, or captaincies, arbitrary and horizontal slashes of land along the coastline, entrusting them to the donatàrios, the aristocrats and minor gentry expected to develop and govern the capitanias. The system didn’t work all that well, and the land became under the King’s direct control in 1548, when he assigned a Governor to represent the Portuguese government in Salvador, current capital of the State of Bahia.

Pedro I, nicknamed “The Liberator,” was the Lisbon-born founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. He took over the “new land” in 1821 for his father João VI who was too busy in Lisbon dealing with a revolution. When his father and the Lisbon politicians decided to permanently annex Brazil, Pedro I took side with the Brazilians. He refused to return to Portugal and declared Brazil’s independence in 1822. In 1831, burdened with scandals at court and political unrest, Pedro I abdicated in favor of his son, Pedro II, who was five years old at the time. After three regents ruled the country for 10 years, Pedro II became Emperor at age 15. A brilliant man, who was nicknamed “The Magnanimous,” he was the second and last ruler of the Emperor of Brazil, reigning for 58 years. After 300 years of colonization by Portugal, Brazil became a republic in 1889, The United States of Brazil.

Once the Portuguese had a foot in Brazil in the early 16th century, they realized that the exploitation of sugar, cotton, tobacco and mining was the source of great wealth, there for their taking. Because the native Amerindian population could easily outsmart the invaders since the formers knew the territory and the latter didn’t, they managed to avoid being captured. This caused the invaders to turn to Africa to procure the slave population they needed to work their very labor-intensive plantations. And so they did, using the Archipelago of Madeira, off the coast of Portugal, as a destination for the slaves obtained in western Africa – almost half of them died during the “death marches” to the coast -- before putting the survivors on slave ships to cross the Atlantic.

Rio de Janeiro - City center and Guanabara bay from Corcovado Mountain

Trivia: when the Portuguese settlers were done with colonization and deforestation, the indigenous population of Amerindians had been reduced to 200,000 from the original five million at the time Cabral discovered Brazil

This slave route and trade started in 1538, with massive shipments of African human cargo, not only tolerated but initiated by African warlords who traded slaves for guns and other items with Portugal. This trade remained active to bring slaves not only to Brazil but also to the various European colonies, such as Dutch and French, in the Caribbean. The abolition of slavery in Brazil was a peaceful process which occurred over several years in the 19th century. First, when Pedro II, the Portuguese Emperor in residence in Salvador and an abolitionist at heart, freed his own slaves in 1840. In 1871, children born of slaves became free, and in 1885 all slaves over 60 became free as well. Finally, the import and export of slaves was outlawed in Brazil in 1850. But it was only in 1888 that Princess Isabela, one of the two daughters of Pedro II, single-handedly campaigned for and won the abolition of slavery, promulgated by what is now referred to as “The Golden Law.”

The terrain and climate in Brazil being very similar to those in west Africa, the slaves adapted fairly well, bringing with them their traditions, customs, foods, beliefs, music etc. To placate the Catholic religion of the Portuguese, the Africans managed to mix their own deities (called orishas) and practices with the Catholic rites and rituals. The resulting mixture is what is called Candomblé, the Afro-Brazilian religion which is still alive today. All of the above contributes to making African influence be almost palpable everywhere in Brazil: you can feel it, hear it, see it and taste it at all times and everywhere.

Brazil has 26 states, plus the capital city of Brasilia, in the Federal District of Brasilia, similar to our Washington in the District of Columbia. Far removed from every other city, Brasilia has the reputation of being an island of its own, totally centered on the government and not much else, whose residents looked down upon the rest of their vast country.

Trivia: The written Portuguese language looks very similar to Spanish, but its spoken version sounds much more fluid, like French

Rio de Janeiro - Entering Guanabara Bay at dawn

So our adventure really started in two days in Rio de Janeiro, sailing into Guanabara Bay at dawn. We took a tour on the first day, which took us to the city of Petròpolis, in the inland mountains, only 42 miles from Rio, with breathtaking views of the jungle and the mountains all around. Because of the cooler temperatures of its 2,600ft altitude, Petròpolis was chosen by Emperor Pedro II to build a palace, used as a summer retreat for himself and his large family until the republic was formed in 1888. At which point is was only used for private events since all state affairs took place in Rio. It has now become a museum, open to the public. Known as “The Imperial City”, Petròpolis is known for its Crystal Palace, an orchid greenhouse built in France and subsequently dismantled and transported to Brazil (talk about making one’s life complicated…!); its cathedral, St. Peter of Alcântara, with eight stunning glass windows built in French neo-gothic style; and its famous Quintandhina Palace Hotel – named after a near-by river --, a popular resort overlooking a lake and the mountains. Next to it was a no less popular and large restaurant, where we had lunch along with another 200 Brazilians on their Sunday best, celebrating this day of rest with family and friends.

Rio de Janeiro - Statue of Christ the Redeemer

We spent the next day with Brazilian friends we had met on another cruise two years ago in S.E. Asia. They were kind enough to take us around in their car on a tour of Rio, including Corcovado and the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana, with their respective tile patterns covering their boardwalks. Corcovado (meaning hunchback in Portuguese) is the famous 2,300-ft mountain on top of which stands the no-less famous 100-ft statue of Cristo Redento (Christ the Redeemer). Its extended arms preside over the awe-inspiring Guanabara Bay, the various neighborhoods – wealthy and favellas all mixed and adjacent to each other -- and beaches littering the Atlantic coast of this very large city (486 square miles), with a population of 6½ million people. I sighed with relief when I found that, once arrived at the end of an electrically-powered train ride up the mountain, visitors no longer have to climb the 223 steps leading to the observation deck with the statue, because they were replaced recently by an elevator, and then an escalator all the way to the very top. Our friend Luis showed us a photographic trick, of a headless statue (I’ll let you figure out how it was done!).

Rio de Janeiro - Famous wave pattern of the Copacabana boardwalk

We miraculously found a parking spot in front of the Copacabana Palace Hotel, which allowed us to walk along the famed boardwalk which reminded me of the Promenade des Anglais in Cannes, and its equivalent in Nice. They then took us to their condo up on one of the many hills, a lovely gated community (adjacent to a favella as is customary in Brazilian cities), where they escape from the worse heat of Sâo Paulo, the largest Brazilian city with 11½ million inhabitants, farther south, and their permanent residence. A city, I might add, which was not included in our itinerary.

Rio was first discovered by Europeans on January 1, 1502, and mistaking the amazingly wide Guanabara Bay for the mouth of a river, they named the place Río de Janeiro, or “River of January”. In 1763, Rio became Brazil’s capital when it replaced Salvador as the seat of the Portuguese Vice-Royalty. In 1808, the Royal family and the court abandoned Lisbon for Rio, making it the capital of both Brazil and the Portuguese Empire. It became the capital of the fledgling republic when Brazil gained its independence in 1822. It remained its capital until 1961, when Brasilia, a brand-new, modern city, started from scratch in the middle of nowhere, became the country’s political and economic center. However, Rio obviously remains its cultural and entertainment heartbeat.

One of the many gorgeous beaches in buzios

The next day, and a very short sail away (108 nautical miles), took us to the lovely resort town of Búzios (which means “shells” in Portuguese), a host of a second or vacation/week-end home for wealthy people from Rio who prized its 23 beaches, as well as its closeness to the capital as early as the early 1900’s when the need arose (even then) to get away from its frenzied pace. However, this very small town became a tourist destination in 1964 when Brigitte Bardot, who was then dating a Brazilian actor, bought a house there. A bronze statue of the French actress can be seen – and is photographed ad nauseam – on the beach boardwalk, just a few yards from where we were docked at the small local pier. A tour in an open tour bus, took us to a series of stunning beaches, which were great photo ops.

After two days northbound at sea, we arrived in Salvador, the first colonial capital of Brazil, in the state of Bahia. The fourth largest city in Brazil after Sâo Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, Salvador has an upper city, where the colonial buildings were located to avoid flooding, and a mostly commercial lower city which hosts the huge indoors Mercado Modelo, offering all local-made items by various artisans and artists. A modern outside elevator connects the upper and lower cities. Salvador is the poorest part of Brazil, and its population is mostly all shades of black/brown, with 80% of the residents of favellas of all cities being from the Nordeste, or Northeast.

Salvador - Church of Sao Francisco off the main square in the Pelourhinho neighborhood

However, Salvador’s claim to fame comes from its being steeped in Brazil’s colonial history, whose heart is in the upper-city neighborhood called pelourinho, whose large central square is surrounded by cobblestoned streets, and lined with 17th- and 18th-century palaces and baroque churches. Around the Square can be found the Catedral Basílica, the Afro-Brazilian museum in a lovely restored pink building, the famous Church of San Francisco, and an imposing 17th-century government building. Among the many and more 365 churches in the State of Bahia, one finds in Salvador its most famous and striking: Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, the Church of our Lord of Bonfim. Its fame is due to its alleged miracles performed on wounded and injured people. In testimony to that healing power, two rooms in the Church of Bonfim are “decorated” with the plastic replicas of all the limbs allegedly saved in that church, hanging from the ceiling. A somewhat gruesome sight, but important to the indigenous Catholic people.

Salvador presents a fascinating blend of old and new, and is at the heart and soul of Brazilian music, of African and Portuguese origin, as well as modern dances like the samba or bossa nova. Such music and dance permeate all Brazilian cities during the famed Carnival, which starts on the Catholic Ash Wednesday, five days before the start of Lent. This signals for one and all the breaking down of all barriers, religious, political, social and economic. John Freedman, our lecturer, called this short-lived free-for-all “the great equalizer.”

Natal - Centro de Turismo, an old prison turned into an indoor native art market

After a day at sea covering the 546 nautical miles which separate it from Salvador, we arrived at Natal, our next port-of-call. Renowned for its spectacular beaches and vast sand dunes, Natal was established on December 25, 1598, and became a Portuguese settlement whose landmark is the Forte dos Reis Magos (Fort of the Magi). Because Natal means Christmas in Portuguese, they so named the new settlement. Its location made it the primary venue for unloading slaves in the 16th century since its being the farthest east on the South American continent, it is the closest point to western Africa. There are few sites or historic buildings in Natal, except for its 19th-century penitentiary which was converted into the Centro de Turismo, where the former prison cells were turned into stalls to present a showcase for regional arts and crafts.

It was, however, the site of one of our most memorable experiences on our cruise. We took a tour which treated us to the Saturday morning practice cum demonstration of a local club of capoeira, the Brazilian combination of martial art, dance and gymnastics, combined with music played on traditional instruments such as the berimbau. It comprises mostly low moves, sweeps, flips and cartwheels, used mainly for self-defense but not attacking.

Natal - Capoeira ceremonial dance of African origin (Adults)

The origin of the word capoeira is controversial. The most accepted version is that it originated in Angola, where the word "kapwera" is the Bantu verb meaning "to fight." Capoeira was brought by the slaves who called it a game, to protect themselves against reprisals and punishment if they officially used it to defend themselves against their owners, which they were forbidden to do by law.

Escaped slaves gathered and established primitive remote settlements called quilombos, which grew, attracting more fugitive slaves, Brazilian natives and even Europeans escaping the law, and some became independent multi-ethnic states. (The movie “House in the Sand” takes place in such a settlement.) Life in a quilombo offered freedom and the opportunity to revive traditional cultures away from colonial oppression. In this multi-ethnic environment, constantly threatened by colonial attack, capoeira evolved into a martial art focused on war. See my reference to the movie “House in the Sand.”

In modern Brazil, capoeira has become a national activity, for want of a better word (sport?), of which they are very proud. These clubs are run by mestres, or masters, adults volunteering their time and energy to teach young people who would otherwise head for trouble through crime and drugs. There are such clubs, groups or schools in many countries around the world, from Ukraine to the United Kingdom, Sweden to Turkey, etc. They have a strict code of honor and behavior, and parents eagerly support them. Those young people, now including girls, exuded joy, energy, passion; even two little twin girls, about 2 years of age, insisting they wanted to join their adolescent father performing on the floor. Altogether a great photo op!

Trivia: French Guiana as well as Barbados are two time zones west of Natal, the farthest east point of Brazil (beats going to Asia!)

Fortaleza - The old and the new from the Museum of Contemporary Art

After an overnight sail over 263 nautical miles, we wound up in Fortaleza, the capital city of the northeastern State of Cearà. With a total metropolitan area population of 3.6 million, Fortaleza is the 5th largest city in Brazil, and will be one of the host cities of this year’s World Cup. With its 16 miles of urban beaches, lined with modern skyscrapers along busy boardwalks, it is a haven and playground for many tourists from Europe as well as other parts of Brazil. We had a very busy day in Fortaleza, in humid heat which ended in a downpour toward the end of the tour, the first rain since our departure. Though founded in the early 1500’s, Fortaleza was a small town of no importance until Brazil’s independence in 1822, when it quickly developed into one of Brazil’s largest ports, shipping cotton to England. We unfortunately saw it on a Sunday, when everyone seemed to be at church or at home. But we were told that the day before, thus a Saturday, the city was swarming with crowds getting ready for the excitement of the Carnival. At our advanced age, we were all relieved to not have been part of the traditional frenzy.

Fortaleza - Walkway to the Museum of Contemporary Art at the Cultural Center of the Dragon of the Sea

Our visit to the Centro Cultural Dragâo do Mar (Cultural Center of the Dragon of the Sea) was the highlight of that day. This modern and round structure houses the Museum of Contemporary Art, a history and anthropology museum, a planetarium and a cinema and theater venue. The outside walls are covered with indigenous paintings depicting elements of the African slaves’ ancestry and beliefs.

Our shoppers had a lovely time in the Mercado Central and another Centro de Turismo, also occupying a former prison for the same purpose as the one in Natal. The quirkiest attraction was the Ponte dos Ingleses (Englishmen’s Bridge), built in 1920 by… Englishmen, modeled on the piers of Brighton, in southern England. There again, the bridge marked a distinctive and invisible line separating the rich neighborhoods on the left of it, from the poor on the right, as if drawn with pen and ruler.

Trivia: Fortaleza will host the 2014 Miss Universe contest (I already have my airplane ticket, don’t you?)

During the afternoon of the next day, our ship transited from the southern hemisphere to the northern one by crossing the Equator. This was the occasion for our most creative Cruise Director to invite all the passengers to a hilarious ceremony to celebrate this event, after which we all received the following certificate, which deserves careful reading:

We rested for two days at sea to cross the long 1011 nautical miles stretch of Atlantic ocean between Fortaleza and French Guiana, meaning we left Brazilian waters and sailed northwest towards the Caribbean. Having anchored, we used tenders to go ashore, on a gorgeous sunny, though very humid, day.

French Guiana (called Guyane in French), whose capital city is Cayenne, is the only French-speaking country in South America. It was first discovered by French explorers in 1555, then was taken over by the Dutch in 1565. A French colony was established in 1643. In 1764, France sent 15,000 settlers to French Guiana to populate and exploit the land with their slaves. Unfortunately, 13,000 died of malaria, dysentery and yellow fever.

French Guiana - Salvation Islands, group name of Devil's, St. Joseph and Ile Royale islands

Contrary to what tourists and travel literature states, however, the term Devil’s Island is a misnomer, since Devil’s Island per se (Île du Diable) is only one, and the smallest of what is called Îles duSalut, or Salvation Islands, which comprise three distinct islands, very close to each other. The main one is called Île Royale, 9 miles off the coast of mainland Guyane (French Guiana), is inhabited and receives all the visitors to the area. It currently offers one hotel, and a fascinating museum with the history of the “Affaire Dreyfus” as it was called at the very beginning of the 20th century. On it stand the ruins of the former French penitentiary for hard-core criminals. The controversial penal colony was in effect from 1852 to 1953 when it was finally closed.

French Guiana - St.Joseph's Island from Ile Royale

Île St. Joseph was meant for political prisoners, such as Alfred Dreyfus, and Île du Diable (Devil’s Island proper) was for solitary confinement. Access to the latter is no longer allowed, and was/is practically physically impossible because of violent currents and high winds. They hosted (if such a word is tolerable for a prison which was renowned for its inhumane treatment of prisoners and isolation) such people as Alfred Dreyfus, of Jewish heritage, who was convicted in 1894 of leaking military secrets to the Germans, and sentenced to life imprisonment and solitary confinement. Although he was ultimately exonerated thanks to the relentless efforts of his wife and brother, as well as the intervention of the writer Emile Zola, his story was one of the most shameful blemishes in France’s history since he was innocent all along. It remains so to this day. Another famous inmate was Henri Charrière, a hard-core criminal who became the subject of the 1973 movie “Papillon,” based on Charrière’s autobiography. By the way, the islands have hills, but no cliffs as they are depicted in the movie. The cliffs were filmed in Jamaica, to accommodate the director’s vision!

French Guiana - Children's cemetery for the penal colony on Ile Royale

The hike up a long and steep hill, in very hot and humid tropical climate, was a bit strenuous, but the view along the path were gorgeous, surrounded by lush vegetation and wild life of all kinds. Visiting what is left of the former penitentiary left a lot for your imagination to envision, especially the hospital, the maternity (for the female members of staffer’s families), and the cells.

Trivia: The cliffs shown in the movie “Papillon” don’t exist on the Salvation Islands. The movie was filmed in Jamaica to satisfy the story’s needs

After another day at sea, we finally arrived at the end of our journey, in Georgetown, the capital of Barbados. We joined our last tour to see the sights of the city before going to the airport for our afternoon flight back to Miami.

Barbados was the first stop from slave ships bringing their human cargo to the Caribbean islands from Africa. The first Portuguese explorers arrived in 1536, and gave the 34km long island its name from the trees they found there, i.e. fig trees with aerial roots which they called “bearded trees” in Portuguese. Barbados was fought for by many European nations: the French, the Dutch, the Portuguese, even the English. By 1660, Barbados had become England’s richest colony. Wanting to expand, they ventured north to what is now the Carolinas, and the African slaves brought their language, or “gullah,” with them.

Barbados is the second richest country in the Caribbean region. Its politics and economy are stable. Slavery was abolished in 1807, and female suffrage granted in 1942. The first Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation, Grantley Adams, was born in Barbados, educated in Oxford, and is one of Barbados’ national heroes. The Georgetown Airport is named after him.

The Gun Hill Signal Station, in the parish of St.George, provides a marvelous panoramic view of the entire island. The finest of a series of signal stations built in 1818, these stations sighted ships approaching Barbados and signaled to each other in warning of the approaching vessel. They were also used to warn of slave rebellions on the island. The signal station was restored and landscaped by the Barbados National Trust and now houses a collection of military memorabilia, such as a 400-years old cannon..

Trivia: The term “Caribbean” comes from the Caribe tribe who preceded the colonialists, which means “to eat flesh.” (I only eat fish when in the Caribbean)

How can one go to Brazil this year and not mention… the World Cup! Brazilians are as fanatical about soccer as Americans are about baseball or football. However, we heard many comments from various local tour guides about that famous/infamous event. You probably are all aware of the many demonstrations which have been taking place in several Brazilian cities, protesting the exorbitant amount of money spent for this event (as well as for the 2016 Olympics) while the school system and health care situation in their country are in a shamefully inadequate state and the cause of great unrest.

On a lighter side, the World Cup gradually became the butt of never-ending jokes from all the occupants of our tour buses: when he’d point out a new facility or structure under construction, the tour guide would add with great confidence: “It’s not finished yet, but it will be for the World Cup!” After the 3rd or 4th time, the passengers jumped it before he finished, bellowing out the refrain: “… but it’ll be done for the World Cup!” Anything for a laugh to compensate for the shock of obvious third-world signs of poverty or neglect. We didn’t blame the locals for protesting.

Tchau, my friends. (No kidding, the same as in Italy, just spelled differently!) The time had come to give up the hard life of the cruising world and return to reality. So we did, happy to share yet one more adventure with you all.

Travelogues

Travelogues

BRAZIL, FRENCH GUIANA and BARBADOS

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