Regent Mariner Circumnavigation of South America January - March 2013
Buenos Aires to Rio De Janeiro
Feb 16th and 17thWe were back in Montevideo for a day after departing Buenos Aires where about 500 passengers disembarked and a like number embarked for this 12 day leg of the cruise. Most of the crew now know us by name.
Uruguay has been of interest to us for some time as the result of articles we read in travel magazines, etc. It is known particularly for its beaches. While the old original section of Montevideo is slowly being renovated, it is far from complete and still has a problem with petty crime. At least four passengers experienced this first hand, but the vast majority had no problem and enjoyed their time in the city. The new part of the city and especially the beaches were attractive and inviting.
One interesting thing about Uruguayans is their love of mate which is most easily understood by clicking on the previous link. It is commonplace to see men and women sipping from their cup made from a calabash gourd using a bombilla (special straw).
We took an all day tour via bus to the resort city of Punta del Este on the 16th which gave us a chance to see the country side which is lightly populated with many vegetable and livestock farms. The following day we anchored off the coast of Punta del Este, but because it was Sunday most of the nicer shops were closed and we decided to stay aboard the Mariner.
Feb 18th This was a day at sea on our way to Rio Grande.
Feb 19th Unfortunately the winds were too high to dock in Rio Grande and the port had no facilities for unloading tenders, so the day was spent anchored in a very industrial area. The city is situated on a sandy beach which stretches for 155 miles!
Feb 20th We anchored in a pretty harbor near Port Belo and were transferred to shore by tenders. This started out as a small fishing village, but has undergone massive growth in the past 10 years and the beaches to the north are lined with high rise buildings which host throngs of tourists from elsewhere in Brazil as well as Argentina and Uruguay. We participated in a tour to a nearby newly constructed resort area and rode a cable car through an area of preserved rain forest. The trip included amazing views of the surrounding beaches and resort development. The area is extremely clean, modern and crime free.
Feb 21th Our port for the day was Santos which is one of the largest ports in Brazil. It is located an hour's drive (in good traffic) from Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil. After some thought we decided to stay aboard the ship. It turned out the traffic was horrible and the tours lasted much longer than anticipated as a result of immense traffic jams. The shoreline of Santos contrasted from beautiful high rises on the out skirts as we approached the center city to river front shanties as we neared the port area.
Feb 22nd Ilhabela turned out to be a little jewel of a town. We anchored and it was just short tender ride to shore. It was easy to walk through the little shopping area which was very clean with friendly shop keepers. We sat for some time at a small park and watched a couple of girls having a fun time dashing through alternating geysers of water shooting up from the ground. We sat on a bench where they had left their back packs and cell phone and concluded this is a very safe spot with no crime to worry about.
Feb 23rd Paraty turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. The fact that we were there on a Saturday and it was very crowded with local tourists was part of the problem. We were anchored about a 40 minute tender ride from the dock and one of the tenders had mechanical problems which meant there was a long wait for the tender in both directions. We visited at high tide and the town is designed such that sea water flows into the streets. In addition to making walking about the village a bit difficult it seemed to us the sewers were overflowing and the smell was a bit much. The village itself was very small and quaint.
Feb 24th We were anchored for the day off one of the Ilha Grande islands which had beautiful beaches. We were both being bothered with allergies, so we stayed aboard the ship.
Feb 25th & 6th We could not have asked for nicer weather for our approach to Rio De Janeiro early Monday morning. It deserves its reputation as one of the top sail-ins in the world! We participated in two tours on the 25th. The first was a trip to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain on a cable car. The views were breath taking. We then continued on along the famous beaches of Rio back to the dock. That evening we attended a Samba show which can best be described as loud and very long. We arrived at the venue at about 9:30 PM and spent the first 30 minutes watching a lady bounce a ball with her feet, knees and head as the dancers moved through the audience while a photographer photographed them individually with the 600 or so guests crowded into a rather small and seedy theater. Then came 2 hours of loud music with dancers, acrobats, and other assorted entertainers accompanied by incredibly loud music. After about 15 minutes we started looking at our watches anxiously waiting for the end.
Rio marked the end of the third leg of our cruise and a bit over 500 passengers disembarked with a like number of new passengers arriving for the final leg which will include a 1000 mile trip to Manaus on the Amazon River. We felt we got a good feel for Rio the previous day and just stayed aboard the ship. There is a lot of construction underway in the city in preparation for the World Cup in 2014 and Olympics in 2016.