March 11 - Day 67 - Townsville Australia

My plan for Townsville was to get a haircut and visit the Aquarium, which was advertised as the largest aquarium in the southern hemisphere.  I LOVE aquariums so was very excited.

I got up and ready early to get off the ship but surprise!  It was raining.  So I opted to give it some time before walking to the port terminal and taking the shuttle bus to town. 

The rain did stop, leaving the weather very hot and humid.  Think NOLA in August.  It was a fairly short walk to the cruise port and that's when I started to be impressed.

As we walked into the small, new terminal, we were greeted by volunteers wearing pink shirts.  Most appeared to be retirees and they all seemed very excited to have us visit.  Screw the Corona Virus, they are trying to convince ships to dock in Townsville rather than the larger, more popular Cairns (which is closer to the Barrier Reef).  They rolled out the red carpet, literally.

The terminal was filled with comfortable chairs to use while using the free WIFI, along with more than a dozen artists and vendors selling their wares.  Everyone was friendly and cheerful and prices were good.  But, I just looked and headed to the shuttle bus.  The bus was great and easy to get on and off which means a lot when almost half the passengers use a cane, walker or scooter.

After a short drive to the center of the downtown area I hopped off and looked for a "pink shirt lady" but didn't see any.  Instead I saw Michael - a guy wearing a blue shirt and a name tag.  I asked about the ladies since I'd been told they'd be meeting our bus to give directions.  Michael laughed and said "Oh, they forget about us Blue Shirt Boys!"  And sure enough, as I looked around I realized that the male counterparts of the ladies at the port were here to help.

Michael pointed to a place where I could join the line waiting for another shuttle bus to the aquarium.  After a brief wait I snagged the last seat on the small free bus.  On the way to the aquarium the driver gave us information about the town of 200,000 people.  A town who relies on mining, cattle and a large military base and to a smaller extent, tourism. 

Most of us got off at the aquarium.  Some opted to head back downtown.  It actually was walkable, just a couple of miles but given the heat I was happy for the bus.

The aquarium was lovely.  Older and not as large as many I've been to (Atlanta comes to mind) but it wasn't too crowded, had a lot of volunteers and staff members to answer questions.  The best part, from my perspective, was that there were a lot of places to just sit and watch the fish.  Most of the other visitors were from the ship so it was a bit like a private tour.

I spent a couple of hours alternating wandering around and reading about the different fish and just sitting and watching the fish.

I went out to catch the shuttle to the shuttle and waited.  A bus pulled up and I was hopeful but it was a HAL shore excursion arriving.  I timed my trip perfectly. 

After about 15 minutes the driver of the bus walked up and said hello.  I told him I was considering hijacking his bus to get a ride back to the ship.  By then there were about a dozen of us waiting.  He stepped away and pulled out his phone.  A minute later he came back, apologized for our wait and said a bus was on it's way.  A few minutes later the small bus arrived to take us back downtown to catch the large bus back to the ship.

I really wanted a haircut but I know hard it can be to get a seat on the last few shuttles back to the ship and didn't want to risk it.  Instead, I went back and did a bit of window shopping in the port terminal.  I ended up paying $20 AUS for a reversible hat.  I even got to take a photo of the lovely woman who made it.

Bottom line, Townsville wins the prize for nicest, easiest to navigate port and friendliest locals.  Everyone I spoke with was friendly and helpful and seemed genuinely pleased to have us there.  It was a lovely little town and the views as we sailed away were stunning.  This is someplace I'd like to come back and spend some time.  Plus, I checked housing prices and it looks affordable to live there.  Always looking for options for places to spend a few months.

And now, here is where the photos should be.  Yes, they had WIFI in the port but all seats were taken by other passengers and crew.  And it's way more important for crew to be able to catch up with family when we're in port.  Patience is a virtue.  I'm not so virtuous.

Wednesday January 15--Recife Brazil.

Not much internet or phone time today. I'm hoping to clean up the blog and add photo captions when we get to Rio in a couple of days. In the meantime, here are some photos from the ship and Recife.

Hello, again.  It's Sunday, January 20 and I'm on the ship - with internet access!  So here's
the story of my day in Recife.

I met another passenger, Carole, who’s from Ft. Lauderdale.  We decided
to go on shore together. As in other ports, you have to take a bus from the
ship to the port terminal.  If you haven’t cruised
before, imagine getting off a plane on the tarmac and then taking a shuttle bus to the terminal
(which happens in a lot of international airports.)  

Happily, unlike my experience last year on the Zuiderdam, they had lots of buses and no delays. 
It helped that we were the only ship in port. From the terminal HAL provided shuttle buses to
go to the culture center in the middle of Recife, about a 15 minute drive away.

While standing in line for the shuttle, a taxi driver offered his services.  Carole and I agreed that $50
USD for three hours was a bargain and would be more fun than just taking the shuttle.

Aday (I’m going with a phonetic spelling here), our taxi driver, suggested we first
go to the town of Olinda, a UNESCO Heritage Site.  We stopped first at a collection
of shops near a church and and an amazing view. Carole bought a handmade t
able cloth and I paid about $10 for a cane (both decorative and functional).  We also
watched a capoirea performance that a few men were doing for the ship’s
shore excursion group which arrived shortly after we did.

Carole shares my view that while churches are lovely, we’ve seen enough for this lifetime, at least
as a tourist destination.  Instead we took in the view and took some photos. As we walked along to
another viewpoint, there were more small shops with tourist trinkets for sale.  I was thrilled when
Carole said she wasn’t much of a shopper and wasn’t interested in more shopping. Plus, after
about 45 minutes we were both sweating buckets (it was about 89 degrees) and my face was
getting a bit sunburned.

Back to the taxi, Aday took us for a drive through the very hilly streets (think San Francisco)
lined with colorful houses.  Because of Olinda’s UNESCO status there are restrictions on the
community to maintain the “look” of the town. No apartments, just houses.  And the houses must
maintain the traditional colorful paint colors.

We then drove back to Recife.  From the descriptions of the shore excursions I thought Olinda
was a bit of a drive from Recife but it’s very close, perhaps 15 minutes.  I saw a stand selling
“cana caldo” or sugar cane juice. Carole had tried sugar cane but not the juice so I asked Aday
if he could arrange for us to have some.  No problem.

On the drive through Recife, Aday explained that Recife is known as the Venice of Brazil
because of the numerous canals.  That may be a bit of a marketing exaggeration unless you
consider the olden days of Venice when the canals smelled of sewage.

About communication.  Aday spoke Portuguese along with a bit of English and a bit of Spanish. 
We seemed to do best when I spoke to him in Spanish and he answered with a mix of Spanish
and Portuguese.  Carole was very trusting that we were not plotting to sell her body parts.

We went to the Cultural Center which was originally a prison.  The name is a bit misleading
since it is really an indoor tourist market.  Since this was the drop-off point for the ship’s
shuttles, the place was crowded with cruisers.  We told Aday we didn’t want to shop but he
insisted we go inside because we could get the sugar cane juice there.

Aday realized quickly that I struggle a bit on uneven surfaces.  Sometimes I forget to
put the WD-40 in my ankle joints and when they’re stiff I tip over fairly easily.  He was
great - keeping an eye on the ground and warning me of broken pavement.

We finally found the juice bar amongst all the tourist crap shops.  But, no sugar cane juice.
Back to the car we went. Along the way, Aday talked to everyone.  He’s been a taxi driver
here for over 30 years and seems to know everyone. He was passing the time of day
but clearly was asking about where to get the juice.

Sure enough, just up the street from where our car was parked was a lady selling
sugar cane juice.  After getting us in the car Aday went to buy our juice. So cold, so
refreshing with half a lime squeezed in.  Perfect.

Next we wanted a place to get WIFI.  We asked Aday for someplace cool that had
WIFI and cold beer.  He knew just the place. We drove back to Olinda, past a large
zoo, and he took us to an open air restaurant, facing the beach.  We chose Bohemia,
a local beer, which arrived in a bucket of ice.

After 30 minutes or so of enjoying the view and connecting with folks at home, it was
time to go back to the ship.  Before leaving the restaurant, the family at the next table
stopped to say hello as they left. The youngest girl, about 10, was very anxious to say
hello but very shy.  Her teen age sister was much more confident in trying out her English.
Laughs and smiles all around as we exchanged greetings.

Getting us to and from the restaurant involved crossing a busy road.  No problem with
Aday as our guide. He confidently stepped in front of a large truck, waving for him to
stop for us.  That driver then waved to others coming. Four lanes of traffic stopped to
let the tourists cross. No horn honking, just friendly smiles and waves.  Living in SE Asia, I
got used to stepping into traffic and trusting that they’ll stop for you but I always
chose a motor scooter to step in front of instead of a truck.

Since we’d gone longer than the agreed upon three hours, I renogotiated the fare with Aday. 
When we got back to the ship I said “You said $70, right? Here is $90 because you took
such good care of us.”  He took the money and kissed my hand. Then, as he got our
purchases out of the trunk, he gave each of us a hug and kiss.

What a stellar day.  We did what we wanted, in comfort, at our own pace.  For less than
half the price of a tour. Carole agreed it had been a splendid day and that a cold shower
was going to feel great.

The rest of my day was quiet.  I was pooped and just took a shower, went to trivia,
had dinner at six, watched a movie and crashed.   A perfect day.  

When I visit a new place I always ask myself if I’d be willing to come back for an extended stay. 
Yes, I’d definitely go back to Recife. Beautiful beaches, very friendly people, colorful city and
good prices.                                                                                                                                                                                       

View from the restaurant in Olinda.

Excellent icy cold local beer with a great view.

One of the sculptures for Carnival

The indoor craft market in Recife (and called the Culture Center) used to be a prison.

The main hall of the "culture center".

A boat on one of the canals in Recife.  This one held a bunch of passengers from my ship, on a shore excursion.

Lots of canals means lots of bridges.

Downtown Recife.

Lots of high rise buildings.  Many look like they could use some repairs.

Fruit stand in Olinda, a UNESCO Heritage site and a suburb of Recife.

Olinda is known for the colorful buildings.

Olinda was quite hilly, with cobblestone streets.

Sometimes paint and sometimes tile to decorate the houses.

A restaurant with Recife in the background.  Taken in Olinda.

Most of the high rise buildings are apartments.

View of the ocean from Olinda.

Can you see the butt end of my ship?  That's the Amsterdam on the right.  I'm not sure if the "butt end" is the correct nautical term, btw.

One guy was selling this decorative net.  I put it against a piece of green fabric to make it easier to see.  I want to research how it's done to see if I can learn how. 

The famous Aday, who was a most excellent guide and host.

Live entertainment in the cruise terminal.

My new friend Carole.  I met her at tea one day.  We each gave the elevator speech of who we are/where we're from.  Carole described moving to various states so I asked if she was a serial killer on the lam.  Luckily, she thought I was funny and not nuts.  A couple days later, she joined me for lunch.  I recognized her but couldn't remember the context, which happens a lot because we're all meeting literally hundreds of people.  How embarrassing when, half way through out meal, I blurted out "Oh, you're the serial killer!".  That got the attention of a lady passing by.

One of the perks of the cruise is a custom stationary.  I may have to change my name.

Notice the difference between the two key cards?

This is Alfred.  He kindly went along with me making a big deal about moving from 3 Star Mariner to 4 star.  (I told him I had expected the Captain to show up at my cabin with balloons, champagne and confetti.  Sadly he was busy that day.)  That means I've cruised 200 days and now get free laundry service and a variety of discounts, plus priority boarding.  On a 7 day cruise being a 4 Star would be a big deal because there would be so few on board.  On this cruise, more than 800 passengers are 4 Star and above.  5 Star requires 500 days on board.  I don't know what it takes to be in the President's Club.  Unless I win a big lottery, I'll be a 4 Star for life.