2/1/2013 - Finally entering Belem, Brasil and the Mystery Couple: Written by guest Blogger Tracy Giesbrecht

We were so excited to finally enter Brasilian waters which meant we were only ten days away from Rio and Carnaval!  Our ship’s travel advisor, Daniel, had encouraged us all to peruse this large authentic Brasilian market during our short stay in Belem.  All we had to do was get a ride on a tender from our ship and then take a free shuttle from the port into Belem which was 45 minutes away.  

Port area

Let’s just say that nothing went according to plan.  Our ship couldn’t use our own tenders, thanks to the Brasilian government, and the Brasilians didn’t supply enough tenders for our passenger requirements.  This put us hours behind schedule and by the time we arrived at the port we only had 2.5 hours before we had to be back on the Mother Ship.  This left us no time to wait for the shuttle into Belem.  

you tell me what that is

These set-backs actually turned into a positive experience for our group as we decided to simply explore the port area.  We entered the ‘very local market’ which had more underwear for any size person than I’ve seen in all Victoria Secrets combined.  A bit deeper into the market we saw raw cuts of beef, chicken, fish and numerous unidentified animals.  Many of the cuts of meat were hanging on a hook out in the open with their tendons and cartilage in tact.  Our next stop was a local grocery store to buy champagne for our upcoming Sunday Funday on the boat.  This leg of the trip took longer than expected since this was our first experience with ‘reals’, Brasilian money (pron.: /reɪˈɑːl/) and trying to communicate with very little understanding of the Portuguese language.  

cerveja

We rounded out our short stay by drinking large ‘cervejas’ for $1.50 each, trying to obtain intermittent free internet and using what would become the norm for Brasilian bathrooms.  The typical bathroom entails a door that is very difficult to lock if it locks at all, no toilet paper and lights which turn off automatically 5 seconds after you have sat on the toilet.  But this can all be forgotten when a food vendor knocks on your door and hands you a baby roll of toilet paper in a dirty plastic bag.  Thus began our experience with the generous and kind people of Brasil. 

Back on the ship our curiosity was piqued by a 'mystery couple' who sat near us almost every night for dinner.  We guessed the woman was in her late 50's to early 60's and the gentleman was probably early 50's.  The mystery was surrounding their relationship status and why they were on the boat together.  It was perpetuated by his never-ending wardrobe of sequenced vests, flashy shoes and shark skin suits.  Did he like women? Was she paying his way?  Did that mean he had to sleep with her?

Stay tuned to find out what we know about the mystery..............