2/6/2013 - Guest blog for Vitoria Brazil - written by JT Giesbrecht

At first blush Vitoria looks like all of the other Brazilian ports we entered.  However, we did two things differently this time and it completely changed our perspective.  We joined Phil and Bonnie for a 3 plus hour taxi tour and started to understand the power of the Brazilian caipirinha.

Phil takes great pride in setting up taxi excursions by utilizing firm finger pointing at a map and decades of getting exactly what he wants for the right price.  All the while speaking English louder and louder for the Brazilians to understand.  Once Phil acquired Danielo's service we proceeded to cram our 6 bodies into a tiny cab. 

Our first stop was Metropolitana Cathedral in the center of town.  It was brightly lit by the sunlight transferring its rays through magnificent stained glass windows.  Our next stop to Palacio Anchieta was quite uneventful and only a block away, however, Phil insisted in his impeccable English that we have Danielo drive us there.  Next, we were taken to the ruins which must have been in horrible condition as they were closed for remodeling.

Penha Convent is a convent located in Vila Velha and its just on the other side of the second highest bridge in Brazil.  Other ship mates who took "official quadruple the price excursions" were told it was a "1" on the scale of terrain one must tackle to get to the top of the convent.  Let me assure you that it should have been given a 4 of 5 rating and we even had to take a breather mid-way to the top, not to mention, carefully watch each step due to the uneven stairs.  After we took in the beauty and scenic landscape around us we crossed paths with Ava, a fellow ship traveler.  She has what appears to be serious Parkinson's disease and looks to be in her late 80's.  she was determined to climb the remainder of the way to the top with nothing more than the stair railing.  We were all moved at her determination and passion for life in spite of the obstacles she faces.

Our final stop was to a chocolate factory and the highlight occurred when Phil decided it was completely acceptable to intently stare at Sharon's breasts while we were having our picture taken.

Once we parted ways with Bonnie and Phil we had 2 hours to explore the rest of Vitoria on foot.   

While deciding where to go we met an Israeli man in a drugstore who spoke broken English.  He told us not to go past a particular street because it's dangerous but then he decided to take us down that very same street and dump us off at a hole in the wall sidewalk bar.  We were greeted by the owner with big beers to share, our first real caipirinha, and free fried pork skin.  The pork skin was so sinfully delicious that we just had to place an order for more.  In the meantime, a local non-English speaking proceeded to chat it up with Jesus and in a matter of 4 minutes he had given us his email, phone number, and address.  In return I told him numerous times how we were going to "make love to his ass" but used more colorful verbiage.  He just grinned in delight.  He sent us on our way with a taste of his disgusting shot and warned us never to mix beer and caipirinhas.

By this time we agreed it was time to go back to the boat since we had learned never to be late (which includes being 15 minutes early in their book).  On our way we ran into some young crew members who told us the captain extended our time on land by 3 hours.  Of course we chose to do what any self-respecting traveler would do.....drink more caipirinhas and beers while hamming on the locals.  This is where I met a 90 year old local named Paul who spoke fairly good English which he had picked up from years of working on ships.  He gladly shared his grey gun powder sniffing agent with us and we blindly followed his lead. 

At this point we stumbled our way back to the boat and did our best to look 'normal' for our set 8pm dinner party. 

The evening was topped off by enjoying a Filipino show in the large showroom.  We thoroughly enjoyed watching many of the Filipino crew members share their culture and talents with the audience.  In fact, our drink server from the dinner hall was dressed as a woman and he looked so tickled to share this side of himself with the guests.

In closing, there were 3 life lessons taught to us during our stay in Vitoria:

1.  Someone is always worse off than you but it doesn't they can't live life to the fullest.  Remember this the next time you say "you can't do something"

2.  Don't drink caipirinhas unless you are ready for the consequences.

3.  Love yourself no matter who you are.