We only had a ½ day in Maceio and made the most of it. Population of 1 million, Maceio has some industry, including a large petrochemical complex, but is mainly known for its beaches. About 250 km. of beaches stretch north and south of the City. Beautiful sand and clean beaches. Indeed the city appears quite clean, even in some of the less developed areas. There are plenty of modern towers, usually on the beaches. It is popular with wealthy Brazillians f...

Met a couple from Miami (he Cuban, she Ecuador) at a taxi stand and jointly negotiated a tour of Recife and Olinda. Price was significantly less than the ship tour price. The driver's English was not great but, with our partner's Spanish, we got along fine. We had stops at several Recife sites including the main market, Republic Plaza, Justice Palace, Governors' Palace and numerous bridges. Recife has a Dutch heritage from the several decades in the 1600s t...

This is our longest cruise - 50 days. Friends ask - what do you do for 50 days. Nearly 30 of those days involve a port of call. We will usually go ashore and explore the town or take a tour. Port presentations the day or 2 prior help orient us, along with maps and highlights available either on board or on shore. The days at sea can be surprisingly full. We usually have early coffee in the room with breakfast at around 9:00. Phyllis will the attend a coo...

Arrived at our first stop in Brazil today - Belem. We actually tendered in to the port of Icoaraci and were shuttled to Belem (1 hour). Belem is the major city at the mouth of the Amazon. Crowded, messy, highrises and slums. We walked to the elaborate Theater, built in 1878 during the golden days of the rubber economy. We then walked through local busy shopping streets to the Ver-o-peso, a huge outdoor/indoor market with everything from fish to vegetables,...