21. Fortaleza, Brazil

Fortaleza, Brazil

This is day 13 of the cruise already. Just to show you how time flies.

During the last few days we attended destination presentations given on board to be better prepared when we do get off the ship for a visit. Not only did the lecturer talk about Fortaleza but also about the marine life around us. From whales to penguins to birds, to mammals, the Southern Hemisphere has its’ own wild inhabitants.

Carol has already booked a penguin tour in the Falklands; I passed on that tour.

Skyscrapers of  Fortaleza In the Rain

So we are off the ship to explore the city of Fortaleza. It is my first visit to a city in all of Brazil. What will it be like?  How will the people be different from the rest of the world?

Time to find out!

Cathedral

To start with, it rained. We needed to take a shuttle to the port terminal and then another shuttle to the city proper, dropping us off near the Cathedral. Well, not close to the Cathedral but a few blocks away.

Many Stunning Stained Glass Windows

The Church itself was typical, lots of stained glass windows, very Catholic, very ordinary in many ways but yes, it was a big Church, a Cathedral. Carol liked it, she likes to visit churches, as for me?  Meh!

Graffiti Everywhere

Now Which Is My Electricity Wire?

The city of Fortaleza has many ‘skyscraper’-like buildings built close together in what seemed to be a random pattern. Graffiti was on almost every surface that could be reached. Wires to carry electricity, cable TV, or what not, were strung between poles. All the wires were bunched together, to me it looked like being in India when it came to the wiring. My impression was a slovenly looking town.

 A few blocks away from the cathedral is the ‘famous’ Old Mercado.  A large city block filled with small shops full of schlock. We bought nothing. The Mercado is a tourist attraction (old jail?) but the sellers of the articles, the small shop owners, have really no clue as to what tourists are looking for. Totally out of sync with what the demand of a New Yorker or worldly person could be, they offered items Made in China for sale. Sorry it was really bad.

Multi-Level New Mercado

The same happened at the General Mercado, a more modern building near the Cathedral. I tried to buy a short sleeved shirt and walked up and down all the floors of this market. It’s impossible to find good merchandise, no matter how much I tried. They just don’t have it. All the clothing I looked at was cheap looking, baggy and totally unattractive. It is amazing to me to see so much stuff spread over at least 6 floors of 3 football-sized floors without finding at least ‘something’ useful, something attractive.

Sorry Brazil, my first impression was not a good one. I hope it gets better after Fortaleza. I so hoped to find a nice town, especially since the presenter of the destination presentation showed us the potential of the area. I guess since the presenter was Brazilian he wore rose colored glasses.

Quite a Bit of Trash Around But Not Seen Here

I sat for a while just outside the store, waiting for the rain to subside. People, lots of people were milling about and I felt a certain ‘resignation’ in their faces, in their body language, in their way of living.

They are resigned to living like this. They looked to me like they were ‘washed out’.  No fight left in them.

Locals - Mid-Day

We were told there is Wi-Fi at the bus terminal but when they asked for my passport number and my email address, I passed on using their ‘service’. I don’t need Wi-Fi that badly.

Back on board we had time galore, we even had time to do the laundry. The machines are just down the hall from our cabin.

I was a bit bummed out for the rest of the day after finding this graffiti-laced town, full of barred windows and doors, narrow roads and decrepit looking buildings.

Tons of Trash

Why Brazil?  Why live like that?

We tried the early theater show and watched a magician, Michael Barron, who was very good. I could not figure out how he did any of his tricks.

VERY well done, Michael, bravo!

Then we went for a later dinner but it did not work for us. The lineup to the Bordeaux dining room was way too long. Almost like on the first day of the cruise. What gives, what is going on? So we went to the buffet upstairs instead.

Back in our cabin, we watched a movie on TV about a woman in the early days of NASA, a mathematician, who experienced the discrimination going on at that time. I believe it’s called “Hidden Figures”.  A GREAT movie.