Paraty to Rio / Tango to Samba nights
As the Crystal Serenity saddled up close by Paraty, the Portuguese colonial town, purportedly named for a local swamp fish (which one I pondered ..can I get a taste?) we admired the rising sunlight reflecting off the golden hued seaside village. Did I say gold??...more about that later..
Breaking up our day between island hopping on a schooner in the am and historical walkabout the town in the pm - that's one way to immerse ourselves in this part of yet unfamiliar coastal waters..
trying to judiciously get the best out of our crystal shipboard credits, I signed us up for a Paraty islands excursions aboard Mar-e-Ceu or 'sea and sky' schooner
nothing like the natural light sweetness of freshest pineapples
the morning was unfolding swimmingly as we lapped up the pristine and hardly inhabited shoreline feeling as grateful as the fishies being fed by schooner crew
The Mar-e-ceu schooner took us to three different spots amongst a plethora of praia choices dotted in the vicinity...all of calm waves & gem colored waters
idyllic beach to languish in ..let the waves erase all traces of vexing imprints ...soaking up morning rays
After the relaxing sail & beach sampling, we hopped on the ship's tender in early afternoon to see the historic village of Paraty which appeared quite mesmerizing in the distance. Like a lot of places, it was the discovery of gold that first brought the settlements, the mansions & religion. Later, sugar cane and cachaca ( the sugar cane derived spirit) made popular by Brazilian drink caipirinha became widely traded.
...alas, this truly is a two horse town.. charmingly thus ...but bewarned ladies, the description cobblestoned streets do not depict the streets justly. Here, we are talking about not worn stone pavement but a smattering of boulders lined almost haphazardly throughout this entire village. Flooding, I learnt later is quite prevalent as the tides come & go here
The sandy stone laid streets were referred to as 'pes-de-moleque' meaning 'street kids' feet...no kidding, I suddenly regretted not breaking out my yoga-toe gripping footgloves..lol
There is a distinct feeling as you walk through here that it's a time capsule of an era gone by. Indeed, as history will tell, after slavery was abolished so went the coffee plantations due to lack of free labor. The jungles began to reclaim the footpaths. It wasn't til the road engineers made connections to Sao Paulo & Rio that the place came alive & later a UNESCO site in 1966...why not, bring on the touristy dollars!
Requiring refuge from the blazing hot sun and punishing stone blocks, I was relieved Tom finally settled on a place to lunch. Neat spot with some local music on offer - Paraty 33 Bar&Grill
here many colorful flotillas beckoning tourists for a tour of the praia ...as was our venue for the morning
Santa Rita church built by former slaves in 1722 - fine example of Portugal colonial architecture & design...nearby were abandoned jails, galleries, and boutiques to loiter about
Before the gold ran out in the 1800s, many a mansions 'sobrados' were built with the trappings of success.
For fans of Twlight Breaking Dawn, the movie's honeymoon scene of Edward and Bella was filmed in Casa em Paraty beach house. Can be rented :)
The locals call this place 'pa - ra- CHEE' or 'river of fish'... never did find the fish to taste...well, time to get aboard, ate a proxima!
Next port of call Ilha Grande (Big Island)...we took it upon ourselve to see if getting around this idyllic island on our own can be fun..and it was. Linking up ad hoc with fellow shipmates from the long pier of its main town Vila do Abraao (pop of about 2000) we shared a motor boat to Lopez Mendes .. then the hike. Now that was a bit unexpected, but luckily most of it was in shade and quite navigable with sandles. Took us about half an hour & thus made for an exciting approach when I glanced the expansive powdery beach as we neared the clearing. Whew, just reward!
No way! this used to be a leper colony & prison (til'94) wow...a pirate's lair I could imagine due to its poximity to Brazil's Costa Verde, where Spanish galleons heavy with South American gold on return voyage to Europe would have been enticing targets. But upon closer survey of the map, yes its remoteness in centuries past would liken it to other such locales : Alcatraz, Devil's Is., Robben Is., or St. Helena
Back at the landing or 'pouso' after our visit ..waiting for agreed upon pickup...hints of this island's darker history does make one give thanks to modern day globalism. Signs of harsher ancestral ties are etched on the weather worn faces... but we were met with the spirit of a fun loving ppl and friendly helpfulness :)
Local caipirinha cocktail on offer...very delicious.. aka pinga, caninha .. all good, IMO lime was essential ingredient
Back to Vila do Abraao ... the Crystal tent offers return tenders, but we're not yet done, the sun is still sky high and we'd like to take another short boat taxi to renowned Lagoa Azul.
Met up with more passengers ..so off we go to discover the rumored spot for best snorkeling around these parts.
Soon after we pulling into the lagoon, three large party type schooners with hoards of tourists hitched up their anchor and left. Good! Just our boat left plus smaller private vessels...that was fortuitous.. calmer and quieter although some remnants of their litter did seem to meld with the organic seaweeds and plant refuse.
All in all, waters were pleasant and beautiful but on careful inspection, not AS pristine as I had imagined
Special guest nights were great additions to formal evening in regular dining room - we were treated to the company's senior engineering officer from Croatia. Below carnival night :)
Still the best dining to be found for us was Nobu Matsuhisa on the Crystal - can't beat the delectable seafood creations
We of course partook in all samba & tango dance lessons hosted by Bev & Curtis, still the ship resident dance pros... they claim to remember us from 4 yrs ago! (ha yup..such good acting, thou much apprec..lol) And as serendipity will have it after a samba lesson, we reconnected with a couple from my teen years ..now living in HK. To the right is the talented cruise director, Gary Hunter (great hillbilly impersonations)
Onwards to docked at Buzio. Now this is a stop with a bit of cosmopolitan flair and nomadic charm..a good place to kick back and sample local foods, then plan an invigorating walk up the hillside to beaches of Osso or Azedinha
We started by taking a local trolley for overview of this once quiet fishing village
Busio, dubbed the St. Tropez of S.America is a little town but endowed with 27 beaches along its perimeter, all with crystal clear waters in varying shades of turquoise
like other parts of the harbor towns, Buzio did not escape much of this continent's history of being the preserve of pirates and slave traders back in the 16th century.
Original inhabitants were Tamoio Indians who befriended the French and allowed them to harvest Brazilwood to take back to France.
Buzio is one fun shopping port... many interesting craft boutiques are lined along Rua das Pedras stone street. One interesting find was the Alecrim store that featured very fine hand made jewellery, handbags and sandals from the golden grass 'syngonanthus nitens'. It is a plant from the wet grasslands in various regions of Brazilian Cerrado. Harvested between Sept-Nov. The stems are of a bright golden hue...beautiful & are environmentally sustainable
Buzio is known for its plentiful Bs ( beach, bikinis, brigitte bardot..lol) The 50's film star's bronze statute is a photo spot used as Bardot used to holiday here helping to convert the humble fishing enclave to an upscale resort town with lively night life and bar scene
.Above is the view from wooden plank stairways of Azedinha beach - lots of buzz
Earlier trolley dropped us off on other end of the town. We decided to make our way to Ferradura beach. This was before Azedinha ( a local fav per recommendation of a ship passenger who was native to these parts). Being a Saturday, the both places were pretty heavy in beach chairs... The hike there and observing the differing landmarks along the way was the most fun
the ship tenders operating throughout the night til midnight to allow the guest to experience Buzio's renowned nightlife...but after an entire day of exploring the town & two of its popular beaches on foot, it was mellow time .. from our balcony to admire the nightscene offshore
Arriving in Rio - our last port of call on this segment of Crystal Serenity. No question in our minds, this IS one of the world's most beautiful ports! As James Bryce wrote "It is hard for man to make any city worthy of such surroundings as Nature has given to Rio"
dubbed "river of January" by the Portuguese colonists when they sailed Jan 1, 1502 to the large beautiful Guanabara Bay and mistook it for the mouth of a river
We first rode the cable car to Sugar Loaf (Pao de Acucar) which affords marvelous views of Guanabara Bay and the islands below
Our lunch stop in a traditional Fogo de Chao 'fire of ground' Brazilian steakhouse, type of gaucho method of roasting meats over an open fire ...delicious churrascaria ...yum ... but we were missing the sunny weather and eager to take on the other side of Rio's twin peaks - the Corcovado
as our tour bus sped along, it looked still promising ..
riding up the cable car we passed broad swath of urban forest - Tijuca rainforest and national park. Now how about doing a guided hiking tour of this lushness to take in the glorious Rio topography & seaside views... must investigate for next trip here :)
Note to self: Morro da Urca /Sugar Loaf & Parque da Catacumba
extensive white sand-etched shores of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches ...would that we had time to loll away a few hours on these legendary hotspots..lol...its not to be on this trip
...alas, the fogs and clouds at the higher altitudes of 2,310 feet up the mountain (Corcovado meaning hunchback) were rolling in as we climbed up to view the 125 foot tall statue of Christ the Redeemer.
the statute's outstretched arms measure 75 feet across. Completed in 1931, it was designed by the Parisian sculptor, Paul Landowski, and financed by 'passing the plate' in the city's many churches
The Sambodromo - site of The Rio Carnival, the world's biggest party festival held every year before Lent, 40 days before Easter. Its a wild 5 day celebration with 2 million people per day on the streets. The first festival of Rio date back 1723. Note right pic - hillside sprawling favelas (origin referring to trees commonly found in Bahia region)
A quick sampling of Rio has given us many more ideas and plans on how to better appreciate this Cidade Maravilhosa, to soak up its flamboyant & vibrant energy upon our return, hopefully within the next 5 years :)
Breaking up our day between island hopping on a schooner in the am and historical walkabout the town in the pm - that's one way to immerse ourselves in this part of yet unfamiliar coastal waters.. 
...alas, this truly is a two horse town.. charmingly thus ...but bewarned ladies, the description cobblestoned streets do not depict the streets justly. Here, we are talking about not worn stone pavement but a smattering of boulders lined almost haphazardly throughout this entire village. Flooding, I learnt later is quite prevalent as the tides come & go here
Before the gold ran out in the 1800s, many a mansions 'sobrados' were built with the trappings of success. 
Next port of call Ilha Grande (Big Island)...we took it upon ourselve to see if getting around this idyllic island on our own can be fun..and it was. Linking up ad hoc with fellow shipmates from the long pier of its main town Vila do Abraao (pop of about 2000) we shared a motor boat to Lopez Mendes .. then the hike. Now that was a bit unexpected, but luckily most of it was in shade and quite navigable with sandles. Took us about half an hour & thus made for an exciting approach when I glanced the expansive powdery beach as we neared the clearing. Whew, just reward!
Back at the landing or 'pouso' after our visit ..waiting for agreed upon pickup...hints of this island's darker history does make one give thanks to modern day globalism. Signs of harsher ancestral ties are etched on the weather worn faces... but we were met with the spirit of a fun loving ppl and friendly helpfulness :)
Local caipirinha cocktail on offer...very delicious.. aka pinga, caninha .. all good, IMO lime was essential ingredient 
Back to Vila do Abraao ... the Crystal tent offers return tenders, but we're not yet done, the sun is still sky high and we'd like to take another short boat taxi to renowned Lagoa Azul. 
Met up with more passengers ..so off we go to discover the rumored spot for best snorkeling around these parts.
like other parts of the harbor towns, Buzio did not escape much of this continent's history of being the preserve of pirates and slave traders back in the 16th century. 
.Above is the view from wooden plank stairways of Azedinha beach - lots of buzz
The Sambodromo - site of The Rio Carnival, the world's biggest party festival held every year before Lent, 40 days before Easter. Its a wild 5 day celebration with 2 million people per day on the streets. The first festival of Rio date back 1723. Note right pic - hillside sprawling favelas (origin referring to trees commonly found in Bahia region) 
