DAY 48-BROKE DOWN IN SANTOS

BROKE DOWN IN SANTOS

                                             Yep!  We're still in Santos today.

               It was yukky, low overcast, hazy, and humid all day with high of only 79F.
What Happened to the Ship:
        Remember I said yesterday afternoon at 2:30 we had an electrical failure and were without any power for 15 minutes.  At sailing time last evening the Captain announced that it was caused by a failure of the ship's emergency generator.  It is a "no-go" piece of equipment so has to be fixed before we can leave.  Just like on the airplanes I flew, if a piece of equipment begins with the word "emergency" then it is required prior to departure.  She stated that the ship's engineering staff in conjunction with headquarters in Miami were working to fix the problem.  Our stop at Ilha Grande has been cancelled.  That is the 4th port we will have missed on our cruise.  She said we would be remaining overnight in Santos and also today.
        Rebecca and I ran into the Captain prior to dinner last night so I questioned her more.  She said they would be trying to lease a backup emergency generator, put it in a container, and load it on board today.  That way we could continue while they repair the ship's generator.  No word so far this morning on any progress.  I expect she will be making a PA sometime this morning or noon at the latest.
        They would not let people off the ship last night.  We were talking to a group of Brazilian business men at the bar and they were not happy as wanted to go into Santos for dinner.  I later found out reason.  The cruise terminal was closed and there was no shuttle service from the ship to it anyway.  That info probably should have been included in PA so passengers would know reason for being restricted to the ship.  The excursion desk quickly arranged more tours for today here.  One is an 8 hour tour so know we will not be departing before 8:00 pm today, if then!  There are also shuttle buses to a shopping mall downtown and to another location, not sure where that is.
        We are doing our normal morning routine and on way to fitness center.  I am considering taking the shuttle into Santos.  I just loooooooove to shop!
        It's 2:30 pm.  After we returned from working out this morning the ship's internet was not working.  Oh, no!  We had lunch and I took a laptop to the cruise terminal to finish this post.  Not working there either.  Decided not to take shuttle to the mall today.  By time I just returned to ship, our internet was back up.  Yea!
        Captain's update at 11:00 am did not sound very optimistic.  I'm afraid we will be spending tomorrow here also.  If so, there may be a passenger mutiny.  We are still smiling and even starting to laugh at what is unfolding with this cruise.  This is not close to typical of a Regent cruise.  I feel bad for the staff and crew.  Anyway, she said she would update us again this evening.  Passengers are to be back on board my 8:00 pm.
   
Ilha Grande, Brazil
Historical/Background Info:
        ***Even though this port of call has been cancelled, I thought I would include this information and even put the link for the photos I took here back in 2012.
        This is an island just off the coast of Brazil about 120 miles south of Rio de Janeiro.  It first housed a leper colony and then a top security prison for some of the most dangerous prisoners within the Brazilian penal system.  The prison was closed in 1994.  The 75 sq mile island is now a popular tourist destination noted for its rugged, rain forest terrain and for its over 200 beaches.  Most of it is in the Grande State Park with the rest of the island subject to stringent development restrictions.
        Ilha Grande’s rainforest is one of the richest ecosystems in the world.  It holds some of the largest remaining populations of many endangered species.  There are no roads and motor vehicles are banned on the island.  Population of this island is less than 5000.
Link to photos taken in Ilha Grande 2012.

https://goo.gl/photos/2HupJ6nNaan9fUqx6

What We Did Today:

        Guess I have covered our activities today already.  This evening we plan on cocktails then dinner in Compass Rose.  I should comment on our dinner last night.  We requested Chef Michael prepare veal parmesan.  Here it is.

Not enough marinara sauce but after getting a side of sauce it was very good.  Saw Chef Michael at lunch in La Veranda and he apologized saying he did not supervise the preparation last night.  Heck he has hundreds of people to take care of.  He is soooooo nice.

Way too much for my lunch in La Veranda.  Roasted turkey with some cranberry sauce, pork parmesan, steamed veggies, and a taste of the veal stroganoff.  That's bad thing with a buffet.  You want everything!
        Cocktails followed by dinner in Compass Rose is plan for tonight.  Debating two entrees to choose from:  roasted crispy duck ala orange OR roasted black Angus beef prime rib.  Show is a return of the flautist, Suzanne Godfrey.  Will probably pass again on her show.
        I am going to post this now in case we lose internet again.  I may come back later this evening and edit it if we get update from Captain about our generator issue.
        

DAY 47-SANTOS, BRAZIL

        It has been overcast all day which is keeping temperature down.  87F at 3:30 pm.

Today we are in the port city of Santos.  80% of the goods produced and consumed in Brazil pass through this port.

Historical/Background Info:
        Santos is Latin America’s largest seaport and is 60 miles from Sao Paulo, the capital and largest city of Brazil, with a population of over 21 million.  Santos has a population of 420,000.  Exporting coffee in the early 1900’s gave rise to the city and is where coffee prices were once set.  There is a Coffee Museum here which I will be touring today.
Gonzaga beach is a curving stretch of white sand lined with hotels and condos.  Light crude oil was discovered offshore here in 2006.
        Brazil is the largest country in South America and was Portuguese.  So unlike the rest of South America, Portuguese is spoken here not Spanish.  Brazil is the 6th largest country in the world.  It is larger than the 48 contiguous States.  When I used to fly from DFW to Sao Paulo, half of the flight was over Brazil.  I primarily flew into Buenos Aires but also spent several months flying into Sao Paulo and Santiago, Chile, to break up the routine.  I knew a few words in Spanish and Portuguese, just enough to order dinner at restaurants mainly.  But I would end up speaking Portuguese in BA and Spanish in Sao Paulo.  They did not like that at all.  You see the Argentines and Brazilians do not get along too well.  Anyway, our layover hotel in Sao Paulo was a very nice Renaissance hotel just off the main street, Paulista Avenue.  One of my favorite restaurants in the world, not for the food but for the ambiance, was not far from the hotel.  I would love to take Rebecca there some day.  That’s why I wanted two nights in port here.  We would spend the night in the Renaissance and go to this restaurant.  Sorry to digress.  Sao Paulo is the 3rd largest city in the world by land area, population and density behind Tokyo and New York City.  The metro population is over 21 million with another 12 million in urban area.  As a side note, Sao Paulo hosts the world’s largest gay pride parades.  I was there on a layover one year and it was very wild to say the least.
        Sao Paulo was settled by the Portuguese in 1554.  For the next two centuries it was a poor and isolated village.  Gold then sugar cane helped to expand it to city status in the 1700’s.  Brazil gained its independence from Portugal in 1823.  Coffee production then became the major factor in the growth of Sao Paulo.  From 1869 onwards railroads began to connect Sao Paulo to the port of Santos and other railroads connected interior cities to Sao Paulo.  Coffee was the economic engine for major economic and population growth here.  Slaves were used in the coffee plantations until 1888 when slavery was abolished.  Today Sao Paulo is a huge cosmopolitan, melting pot city, much like any in the world.  The Portuguese and blacks interbred back then so there are what are called mulattoes, blacks, and whites in Brazil now.  Sao Paulo also has a large Asian population.
What We Did Last Night:
        We had a lovely dinner in Compass Rose with Susanne Peters joining us.  We enjoy her company and have some interesting conversations.  We did not go to the show to see the English comedian/pianist.  Instead we had an after dinner cocktail since we skipped dessert.
What We Did Today:
        I was up early at 7:00 am as I had a 7:45 meeting time for my excursion, "Highlights of Santos".
I will let the photos tell you about that tour.  It was not one of the best ever tours.  The bus was super nice however.  Only problem is it took a lot of time boarding and unloading at each stop.
        I was back on board by 12:45.  After a washing my hands we headed down to Compass Rose for a bite of lunch.  After that, I started with transfer of photos from camera to laptop.  Then I have to write captions on them in Picasa before syncing  them to the web.  Then I can come up with a link to put on the blog for you to view.  In the middle of this process the ship lost all electrical power for 15 minutes.  That's a first!  Then I had problems getting internet back.  It was my fault as I had to restart my laptop to get connection back.  So now I am working on the blog again.  Enjoying to boats of all sizes passing by the balcony today.  Big cargo ships, nice yachts, and even 4 guys in a rickety row boat.
        BAD NEWS AGAIN!  The ship had another case of the GI bug so we are back to all the restrictions.  They normally have wash clothes in all the public toilets to dry your hands with.  I think this is classy and certainly very nice.  They have removed them again so now they have tissue paper to dry hands.  Just try using Kleenex to dry your hands!!!!  Does not work!  Try it.  So no more canapes during cocktail hour and no more serving ourselves at buffet.  I DO like someone serving me at the buffet.  Takes a lot more ship manpower to do it all over ship.  No more salt or pepper shakers on any tables.  Waiter has to come do it.  It is a royal pain in the butt!!!!  We shall survive as did it over two weeks previously.  We heard last night (whispered in our ear by a management person) that these restrictions would be going back into effect today.  So I went into a toilet and grabbed 5 wash clothes.  I hate the Kleenex and now have my "stash" of wash clothes.
        We will be sailing at 6:00 pm for the next port at Ilha Grande.  Be there tomorrow morning.  This evening we will have cocktails in the Horizon Lounge before dining in Compass Rose restaurant.  We have asked Chef Michael to prepare veal parmesan again for us.  The show tonight is the final production show of this cruise segment which will be ending in Rio de Janiero on Friday. This is an amazing show, "Cirque Rock n Roll" featuring the specialty dance couple with the Jean Ann Ryan cast.

 They moved the Seven Seas Society party into the Observation Lounge yesterday due the thunderstrom.  Ice carving of a dolphin.

                                                                Bananas Foster

                                                           Chocolate fondue for fruits

                                                  Ice cream with lots of toppings.

                                                                Dessert petit fours

                                                 Boat yesterday in Porto Belo

                                                  Inside the cruise terminal

                                                                  Today's  4 hour tour

 This is the Santos fresh fish market.  Time is 8:30 Sunday morning so I'm sure business will pick up soon

                                                           Guarding the car

                                     Just like Chile, their utilities are above ground.

                                                          Beach will be packed later today.

 Today was 2 1/2 hours of tour and 1 1/2 hours fo getting everyone on and off the bus at the stops.

 First stop at the Orchidarium.  What it actually seemed to be was a very poor excuse for a zoo.  I never saw any orchids but then I did not waste a lot of time in here.

              It did not open for 15 minutes so I took some other photos while waiting.

                                                                 It finally opened

                                                          Good luck with Portuguese reading.

                                                        Obviously an owl

                                                                Parrots

                                 Plaque with all they victories.  This team is most successful in the world.

                                                            Trophy room

                                              Not much activity on Sunday morning

                                                Not much activity on Sunday morning

                                                    Houses on hillsides

 This is the old "Coffee House" (now the Coffee Museum) where coffee was traded in early 1900's.

 Looks like stained glass, right???  Look again at right end of window.  Just a covering!

                                                            Wiring nightmare!

                                            Ship was buzzed by this gyro copter

                      "Poppers"--Our jalapeno poppers (jalapeno stuffed with cream cheese.

 We had to take a shuttle bus from ship to terminal then change to our tour buses.

                                              Very nice double decker bus.

                                                      Security at the cruise terminal

 I usually sit in very back of the bus.  Usually no one back there but me so I can flop sides to get photos.

 Port of Santos is largest in Brazil.  It is huge.  Built in early 1900's and now kind of dirty.  Lots of grain silos which load the grain for export on ships.

 It has been overcast all day.  Not good for photo taking but sure did keep temperature down.

                   There were several canals built back in 1905 to prevent flooding of the city.

               Thousands of these trucks which carry the containers to and from cargo ships.

                           Some new looking apartments.  Notice the slum area in front of them.

                                                               Early fisherman

 Driving along the long beach now.  Pedro, the guide, said the park in front and along the beach is largest in the world.

                                                                      Aquarium

                                                                  Note wires

                                            New high rise condo still under construction

                                                       Had to have a photo of a church

                       Vendors with carts on their way to the beach just a block from here.

                                                                 Tucan

                                                                 Mini monkey

          This is upside down parrot.  Impossible to take photos through the fences so I left.

 Next stop was at the soccer stadium of the Santos Football team.  They call soccer, football.

                                         Pele, probably best ever player in the world.

                               I saw this picture so ran and got Eddie.  His last name is Zito.

                                                            The soccer field.

                                                     Hospital built in early 1900's.

                                       There was a market open on Sunday morning.

                                                       Coffee Museum photos

                                                  Looking up at domed entrance way

                  I'm assuming this was used to plant coffee.  Signage was in Portuguese.

 Again I did not spend much time in the museum.  It was hot in there, and besides, I do not enjoy museums.

                                      This is actually the entrance to the coffee museum

                 View across the river today from our balcony.  Taken with telephoto lens.

                                                     Think I see a condo I might buy!