R and R CruisinTogether

 Punta del Este, Uruguay is a very high end tourist destination.  According to our guide you must have lotsa, lotsa money to live here.  It is a resort town on a peninsula with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Rio de la Plata on the other side.  We visited the very interesting Ralli Museum, one of five Ralli Museums in the world, which feature Latin American artists.   We also toured the Casapueblo (shown above) which was the home of Carlos Paez Vilaro who  was a   Uruguayan   abstract artist, painter, potter, sculptor, muralist, writer, composer and constructor.  Most of all, he was an "Influencer" who's influence had real life changing results.  His early artwork depicted the hazardous working conditions in factories and evolved into helping Africans seek freedom in their own countries.  Pictured above is the "Hand Sculpture", La Mano, which depicts man emerging into life.  I took this photo near the beach.  W...

  This is perhaps the coolest public sculpture we've ever seen.  It is a flower powered by solar energy.  It opens with the sunrise and closes with the sunset.  Buenos Aires is the most cultured city we have visited in South America.  With a population of 14 million people, it is another progressive Latin American city covered with trees and public parks while also calling itself a city of immigrants.  The architecture is beautiful with a variety of styles and influences.  Argentina is famous for its beef, malbec wine and dulce de leche ice cream.  There are many steakhouses, tango clubs and public murals painted by local artists.  We ordered coffee at San Telmo Market.  In Argentina, it is served black and strong.  Ruth is shown below at the market. Soccer and horse racing are the two most important sports in Argentina.  We visited the Hipodromo Atgentino de Palermo racetrack which has over 1400 stalls and a seating capacity o...

 Candombe is a rhythm unique to Uruguay.  It tells the history of Uruguay beginning with the African slaves who were permitted to congregate with their native tribes and celebrate their traditions on Sundays and holidays as long as they were outside of the city of Montevideo.  Candombe is all about the rhythm of the drum.  The tribes began their celebrations by calling one another with drums.  Candombe has evolved over 250 years and the Candombe troupe who entertained us tonight is the most important unit in the Uruguay Carnival parade.  Carnival began this week in Uruguay and will be celebrated for 40 days. Today has been our funnest day so far.  Ruth Ann and I sat in the front row of the performance and toward the end we were presented with Candombe jackets and invited to dance with them.  I sashayed over to the drummers and was also invited to play their drums.  Exciting for me!  They even gave me a nod of approval with my abbreviated...

 Bananas are available in many different varieties including my favorite, the plantain which must be cooked.  Our ship spent two weeks cruising the coast of Brazil.  As I've written more than once, the coastal cities are beautiful with white sand beaches that seem to be never ending.  The food piques our curiosity as much as anything and provides a "taste" of the culture.  We wish we could have visited the interior of Brazil.  There are many native villages that remain protected and much of their land cannot be entered without government permission. Since much of the population is multi-racial it seemed to us that racism is not an issue.  However, we have discovered that the Europeans still hold the keys to the kingdom.  Without Affirmative Action or DEI programs, citizens of European descent continue to control the socio- economic structure of Brazil.  There are very few black physicians and other professionals since those of European descen...

 Itajai is the busiest shipping port in Brazil with thousands of shipping containers stacked everywhere.  From, Itajai, we traveled to the capital of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis.  Pictured above, is a man who made a delicious lime flavored drink made with pure sugarcane.  He is pushing the sugarcane into a grinder to extract the juice.  We were in awe of a 150 year old tree in a public park and visited the public market where fresh fish, meat, vegetables, spices, etc. are sold.  We enjoyed local fish with a shrimp sauce along with local potatoes.  Brazilian wine crossed my lips for the first time and was quite good.  Our guide, Larissa helped make a delightful day for us. The tree             I have offered travel quotes and love song lyrics at the end of my blogs.  I collect love songs and offer snippets of lyrics because as The Marshall Tucker Band Sang; "Heard it in a love song, can't be wrong"

 We are still in Brazil.  Santos is a major shipping port in South America.  I have written about the beauty of the cities we have visited and Santos also has beautiful beaches and parks.  Every city has its urban ghettos.  Pictured, is a slum in Santos which is typical of the cities we have visited in Brazil- substandard housing hanging on the side if a steep hill. Our scenes of Brazilian cities have included and today our guide told us, that many men go shirtless and women scarcely cover themselves not only at the beach but also in residential neighborhoods because it is so hot and humid.  Brazilians are generally unconcerned with body shape.  Instead, they are more interested in comfort along with the character of their friends and the kindness of strangers. All the beaches we have seen have extended for miles with people everywhere.  Many families spend the day at the beach especially on weekends.  A tradition when beachgoers see a lost c...

 With a 360 degree view, it was difficult to choose this as our best photograph from atop Sugarloaf Mountain.  There are many beaches and public parks in Rio De Janeiro.  Residents and visitors fill them with activity.  Carnival is just over a month away and Rio is already making preparations and having parties for perhaps the most famous Carnival in the world.  Rio De Janeiro is a beautiful city!  Brazil, as we have discovered in many other progressive countries, has free education (a minimum entrance exam score is required for university) and health care.  Private health care is available for those who want and can afford it.  Brazilian citizens are more concerned with the needs of the many than the needs of the few and uplifting their entire society.    There is a walkable garden on the side and near the top of Sugarloaf Mountain.  In the garden is a statue by Carlos Vergara and a quote about his artwork on the side of this mount...

January 24, 2025- We're in Rio for two days.  This city is amazing!  The beaches include Copacabana, Ipanema and many more with tens of thousands of scantily clad young people posturing and enjoying the young life.  We rode in an open air Jeep through Tijuca Rain Forest-with 4000 hectares, the only urban rain forest on earth.  It was deforested in the 18th century during the Portuguese exploitation of Brazilian resources.  It was reforested in the late 19th century by eleven slaves who planted 400,000 trees.  They were rewarded with a statue a century later.  We learned today and were already aware there are two temperatures in Brazil- hot and hotter.  We saw a coati on our tour today also known as the South American raccoon. We enjoyed dinner again last night with our new friends from England and Germany who experienced their formative years during and immediately after World World II.  We share their extreme concern about the parallels betw...

 Brazil is huge!  It is the world's fifth largest country.  We have been cruising the coast for a week and end with two days in Rio De Janeiro on Friday and Saturday.  Today we anchored in the bay of Buzios which is a resort town made famous in the 1960s by Brigitte Bardot.  That's me and Brigitte below.    Buzios is an upscale vacation destination with its beautiful beaches, shopping and nightlife.  We walked the shoreline with the cobblestone streets next to us.  The shopping was plentiful with lots and lots of bathing suit and flip flop stores.  We are again on dry land during the day so we are unable to experience the Brazilian rhythm of the night.  Our lunch was in another buffet style restaurant which seem to be extremely popular in the cities we have visited in Brazil.  After one selects and places the desired dishes on a plate, the plate is weighed which determines the cost.  From our experience, food and clothing ...

 Today we docked in Salvador-the capital of Brahia, Brazil.  The City of Music comes alive at night with a wide variety of live bands and rhythms.  We visited during the day so we did not see any bands but percussive pulse was strong with drums. Nearly half of the inhabitants of cities we have visited are multiracial with a mix of mostly Native Brazilians, Africans and Europeans (Portuguese).   Salvador has over 50 miles of public beaches and an Afro Brazilian culture in this city of 2.4 million people.  We're both a bit under the weather which prohibited a formal tour.  We walked to  Pelourinho  which is a World Heritage site of colorful colonial buildings and cobblestone streets.  One street is dedicated to fabric stores with sewing and stitching visible through the windowless openings. “Travel is  fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” – Mark Twain

 Brazilian food has been quite tasty with exotic fruit from the Amazon rain forest, many different varieties of potatoes, bananas and spices. Racife is a city of more than three million people and has beautiful public beaches for as far as the eye can see.  Our port-of-call today was the capital of Alagoas, Maceio.  Maceio has more than 50 miles of public white sand beaches.  Brazilians flock to the seashore on Sundays.  Along with the pre-Carnival celebrations in Racife, there must have been well over 100,00 people in the area we visited next to the coast.  There was live music and dancing everywhere.  There were percussion ensembles, New Orleans type marching bands and Brazilian combos throughout the neighborhoods near the beaches.  We visited a museum housing giant puppets for the Carnival parade. This photograph was taken in Olinda which is a World Heritage site of the original settlement in Racife.   We like to graze on local food a...

 This photo shows a small portion of the largest outdoor market in South America, Ver-O-Peso. Another day at sea and it is a fight to restrain ourselves from eating too much food.  It seems there is tempting food everywhere all the time on board this ship.  Tonight's dinner included a delicious dessert of "Floating Meringue".  Our dessert critic writes; Ile Flottante- A Floating Island of French Meringue, Pink Praline, Creme Anglaise.  This is a modern presentation of a classic delectable French dessert (talking to you Bill and Debra).. When we dine we have discussed our favorite Cincinnati chefs, Julie and Jose along with cooking weekly dinners for our family.  Our discussions have also included our financial advisor Jeff and his assistant, Michele, who helped us reach our goals to make this trip possible.  We think back over the last 25 years of Ruth Ann's practice and recall all the good work and important friendship Steve and Sandy provided for us....

 We have dined twice with a delightful couple in their mid-eighties.  Alfred and Ingrid have been married nearly 60 years and tell great stories.  They have traveled to nearly every country on earth.  He is from England- She is from Germany.  One of their best stories was their reply to my inquiry about how they met.  For their first date, after meeting on a Saturday night, Alfred asked Ingrid to accompany him to church the next morning.  Even though Alfred was not a regular at church, it seemed a safe date to offer a young woman he had just met the night before.  After the service, she accepted his invitation to lunch.  Alfred was smitten and wanted their date to last forever so he asked her to walk with him to the cemetery.  As my old best friend Doug (rip) used to say, "I guess you had to be there".  The story was simultaneously funny and heartwarming with many more details than provided here. Since this has been a day at sea, Ru...

Our ship sailed over the equator while we slept last night.  We experienced a wonderful tour in Belem', Para today with our driver Fabio and our guide Magma. The highlight of our tour was the largest outdoor market in South America, Ver-O-Peso.  Since Belem is a port on the Amazon River as well as the Atlantic Ocean, we sampled fruit, nuts, vegetables and herbs from the Amazon Rain Forest and dined on river fish at lunch.  We very much liked the Amazon fruit, acai, by itself, in chocolate and in ice cream.  There are an abundance of parks in Belem.  I took the photo of the toucan at a bird park.   Our guides are both natives of Brazil.  Besides the obvious advantages of a private guide, the best part is getting to know them and dine with them while experiencing their culture.  Despite living 3600 miles from each other as well as the language and cultural differences, we have much in common like our love of music.  Magma shares our apprec...

 This was a French penal colony for 100 years until 1953, where convicts went to die of disease or harsh conditions as 75% died within their first year.  We have each seen prison cells (from the outside of the cell!) so we will not tender to this 35 acre island. My most recent post worried our family that we are not enjoying our journey.  Quite the contrary, we are walking an hour every morning and working out at the fitness center 3 times per week.  We have danced, played scrabble, dined with other couples and we have each finished a book.  Our travel consultant gave us good suggestions for future excursions.  I believe it is important to not only record the positive experiences but to also write about the unfavorable accounts, as well.  I tried to add a bit of humor to make them more pleasant to read and recollect.   “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The...

Most Caribbean Islands are now self governed but the European domination and exploitation cannot be overlooked when visiting.   We arrived in port at Dominica yesterday and spent today in Barbados.  I was unaware until yesterday that Dominica is not the Dominican Republic.  Dominica is mostly undeveloped and covered in rain forests, waterfalls and one boiling lake.  On the other hand, Barbados has a vibrant tourist industry and is home of the coconut pie.  These were our first two shore excursions and they were less than satisfactory.  We were in 20 person buses and visited three sites on each island.  It felt like we were riding around in a bus full of white people viewing the natives through the windows like we were riding through a zoo.  We are accustomed to experiencing the local culture when we travel through custom/small group tours conversing with locals, enjoying their cuisine and listening to their music.  In our first bus, ther...

 One more day before we reach our first port in Roseau, Dominica.  These days at sea have allowed us to organize our stateroom, read and relax.  The meal offerings are rated the best in the sea cruise industry.  After gorging the first day, we have settled into our usual routine of light breakfast and lunch followed by a moderate dinner with the weekends allowing more caloric intake.  The food is a culinary delight and good wine flows freely on our all inclusive cruise along with good beverages for those who choose to remain sober.  This reminds me of our granddaughter, Caroline.  Shortly before our departure, we were viewing photographs on my phone when she looked at a photo of me and said, "No offense Grandpa, but you look plump".  I replied, "I exercise regularly and try my best not to get fat but there is so much good food and wine".  Old Soul Caroline ended the exchange with "A Life Well Lived".  I write this story with the utmost r...

 It took awhile to get used to the pitch and roll of the ship and find our sea legs.  Sea Band Nausea Relief has been very helpful.  It is a wristband which operates by applying acupressure on each wrist.  There are no children on this ship but there are plenty of hearing aids, including mine.  It feels like we are on a floating old folks home as we seem to be two of the youngest on board.  However, when I looked closely at myself in the mirror........ perhaps I look older than I feel. One of our favorite bands, Over the Rhine, published a tune called Earthbound Love Song in which they sing; "Some questions cannot be answered   Who's gonna bury who   We need a love like Johnny   Johnny and June"  When they played for our 40th wedding anniversary, Linford Detweiler said traveling on a bus with his wife and musical partner, Karin Berquist, with only one sink gave new meaning to that song about Who's gonna bury who.  We have only one s...

  Travel, of course, requires and/or teaches one patience and flexibility.  We departed Cincinnati two days earlier than scheduled to escape the winter storm which cancelled all flights.  Otherwise, we would be waiting to fly to Brazil to board the ship.  As it is, after spending two days/nights in South Beach, we are now on board.  Our anxiety has subsided significantly as we have met fellow travelers.   We sat beside a couple from Portugal at dinner last night, Anna and Duarte.  We thought they must know our friend, Rachels's husband, Phillipe, who is from Ourem, Portugal.  However, they are from the Azores Islands which is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean about halfway between Lisbon and New York.   Tonight, we are in a Celebration with Kool and the Gang before we depart tomorrow.  Kool and his Gang make me think of a funk band I played in back in the 70's.  We played Kool, Commodores, Ohio Players and many other funk bands, ...