Sailing around the World ( Presently in Recife, Brazil )

A Lady
Stephen Hyde
Sat 5 Mar 2011 23:48
SATURDAY   5th  MARCH   2011  
 
Ohhh my goodness, it was piddling rain when we woke up, and to think of all the clothes we have hanging on the rails, 
anyway, they will dry out during the day, 
A poor start for the Carnival, but, that blooming but again, it eventually stopped and Skipper along with Aileen  ( first mate )  
slipped ashore in the semiridgit and decided to walk the 4 km to Recife centre where we could view the Carnival proceedings, 
 
We walked along the boardwalk beside the river , which was on our right hand side, the tide was flat out, so lots of mud with
hundreds of birds foraging for worms and other little creatures that live in these conditions, 
Step by step, along we go, side by side and inch by inch, you know the way you look at the ground, your shoes, then along 
the distance still to go and think, " Why am I doing this" especially in this heat, not to mention the long traffic jam on our left,
But, at least we are moving faster than the traffic,  some comfort in that, 
 
Eventually we reached the centre of town, well nearly the centre, but, certainly where all the crowds had gathered, we stopped
and gazed at the mobs of people and the noise was horrific, huge trucks parked one behind the other all along the side
of the main street and totally crammed with musicians and jazz bands of one kind or another. 
Then there were all these beautifully dressed humans in uniforms of vibrant colours and usually wearing bright furry hair or hats,
all part of the parade that was just about to begin. 
 
We got sucked along with the crowds, it was like flowing with the tide, and reminded skipper of the time we were swept out
of Strangford lough in the Mc Millans " Moody " with a massive ebb tide many years ago, No control of where you were going,
and praying to the gods that all will work out well in the end. 
 
And then we got handed little bags, skipper put his into the pocket and later the " First Mate " asked what he had done 
with his " Condom "   ........ What condom,!   the one you were given a while back by the girls standing across the street. 
Ohhhhhhh my Gawd, is that what they were,  and burst out laughing, 
Well , at least it is an indication of what has to come for some.   Be Prepared for every eventuality.
 
The " First Mate" does not like crowds and was clearly uncomfortable with the current situation, so we decided to slip off
down a side street , across a couple of bridges, one of which had a gigantic " Rooster" 30m high parked in the centre. 
The river was low and dirty, but full of speed boats ( river cowboys ) all viewing the proceedings. 
Around midday or shortly after, we managed to grab a taxi and left the heaving crowds to themselves and headed to
the comforts of the " Recife Shopping Mall " approx 10km to the south of where we were ........
 
We had a great lunch there, skipper with his "steak and rochford cheese" and the first mate with her chicken, 
this was followed with coffee in the Book Shops cafe, along with some healthy helpings of chocklate cake,,, yum, yum, 
Ohhhhh, to die for stuff, 
 
We spent the afternoon wandering around the place, and it had some fantastic things and deals, but we kept our hands
in our pockets most of the time, Skipper struggling to control the " First Mate "
The place had a very pale collection of customers, a very different type of clientele to what we have generally observed
in Brazil, and no shortage of spending power here.
 
Early evening, say around 7pm, we got a taxi back to the Marina, and made our way out to the boat in the semiridgit, 
which we had to bail out first, there must have been some heavy showers around here as the rib was almost 1/2 full of water. 
Back on board we could hear some of the other sailors talking on the radio,  It seems they did not really have 
a great day,  The lack of the balcony viewing did help, 
 
Later , we had an email from " Daniel Hearsum " making some good suggestions for the parade in Olinda, 
Hotel " Pousada De Quatros Cantos " on rue prudente de morais.......................(.but our plans may be already in place.)
However, he says.................good for views, good for food and good drink,   what more could one ask for !
Daniel was our shortist surviving crew member, just 5 days back in Fiji to Tanna,   
 
Skipper decided to have a nice big G&T on board and do an early Blog while everything was fresh in the memory.
one with a really groung up lime ( done with a Garlic crusher ) to give that extra whomph,
 
Thats it for now,
 
Signed:-   Stephen  Hyde,  ( Skipper )