St. Patrick’s Day was a Sea Day and Dee insisted we all go to Daniel’s Port talk on Rio.  DanielEdward is our Cruise and Travel Director and port talks are his specialty.  This was the best port talk I have ever heard.  Dee was especially proud of it. She put Daniel on to the material, as it had special significance for Holland America.  It was all about the Seleron steps, and how their creator, the artist Jorge Selaron had made them his life’s work, and how a HAL passenger created a memorial to him, after he was murdered and was lying in a pauper’s grave.  Dee knew the passenger, you see, and put Daniel in touch with her.  He certainly did her proud.

The next thing you know, I was booking us a Black Tie Van to take us to see the steps, the memorial, and, of course have a good Brazilian BBQ lunch.  That done, we all had dinner and enjoyed Irish soprano Emer Barry.

That green enough for you?  Marilyn always told us Barry was an Irish name. ‘tis.

Next morning at the crack of ten, we met our driver, Arlindo, and were off to the Sao Joao Batista cemetery to see Selaron’s grave. 

There are a bunch of Holland America tiles in this version, and in the original, as the idea caught on and a number of passengers, and even HAL itself, donated them.  If you are going to Rio, you really need to watch Daniel’s talk,  (See below) but here are a few of Selaron’s own words to get you thinking:

Dee bought a couple of red roses and we laid them there and went to lunch.  Dee made a stop for some typically Brazilian soft drinks she likes, called Guarana.  Guarana is like gingerale with just a bit of fruitiness.  Try it if you are ever in Brazil.  While she was making the purchase, I started to feel nauseous, which isn’t easy when you haven’t had breakfast or lunch.  I sent in word that I needed some fizzy drink and out came a lime tonic.  The restaurant was Marius, and it’s quite a fancy one.  I didn’t see much of it except the inside of the bathroom and the patio.  It was looking like I had met a norovirus or some such.  I ended up taking a taxi straight back to the ship, while the others did a drive by of the real Selaron steps.  They have become quite the tourist attraction, but the neighborhood is dodgy to say the least.  A drive by is enough.

I went into voluntary quarantine for a couple of days, though all the action was done by 5pm.  I slept like a log for about 32 hours, and had a nap the afternoon of the 19th. 

By the 20th, I was myself again. We were docked in Armaceo dos Buzios and I didn’t even go ashore.  We have a lot of ports in Brazil.  Michelle Montuori was on stage that night.  I swear the woman is everywhere you cruise.  She says she’s the best in her price range.  Likely true.

Back at Sea on the 21st, I still didn’t do all that much, but I did go to Daniel’s port talk on Fortaleza and Recife, which was excellent, again, as was the Oi!Brasil talk in the afternoon.  This cruise is a very good education.  It leaves me barely enough time to catch up with work.  Emer Barry was back on stage and she was absolutely excellent.

On the 22nd we were in Salvador da Bahia, where I did get off and go to the market. I bought a bit and had a coke with Dee and Wells, watching some Brazilian Martial Arts Dancers.  On the way back to the ship, I met Emer Barry, with whom we were having dinner that very night.  Small world, or small port. She was a delightful dinner guest and no one was onstage, so dinner went rather long.  This is a great cruise.

Daniel posts his talks at www.danieledwarduk.com but at the moment, the web site is broken and not delivering.  He promised me he’d look into it, but a Cruise and Travel Director doesn’t get a lot of free time, so bear with him.