Busy doing not very much
Embarkation day is always a bit of a faff. One of those “hurry up and wait” kind of days when a good deal of patience is required because we are not in control of what happens and simply need to go with the flow.
Luggage needed to be out by 9am and thanks to the slight jetlag which remains, we were up and about to have a relaxed get up and still be able to get our act together in good time for that.
Breakfast has been good here, with some “local curiosities” which I have enjoyed and appreciated. Firstly, the little pots of jam which included the usual strawberry and one whose name I didn't recognise, Guess which one I chose yesterday? It tasted good, but of a flavour I didn't recognise, so when Lukas, our delightful young waiter introduced himself this morning, I asked what fruit it might be. “One moment” he said, “I will bring the fruit with your coffee”. Sure enough, ten minutes later, he steps up with a caffe latte in one hand and two peaches in the other! I hadn't recognised it as such, but on second tasting this morning, yes, of course that's what it was! (Thank you Lukas)
Another curiosity at breakfast time is the range of fresh fruit on offer. Yes, the obvious bananas and apples, but also guava, papaya and passion fruit. And the passion fruit were like no passion fruit we had seen before! The size of grapefruit, they were mouth puckering sweet-sour and rather delicious!
Our transfer to the ship wasn't till noon, so we spent the morning reading and catching up with one or two things. I enjoyed watching another Strathmore Artist Workshop, this series being one of multi media drawing. There is something soothing about watching an artist complete a drawing from start to finish and this was the perfect time to view such a thing.
Having checked out of the hotel and ready to embark on the next part of our adventure, as if by magic (hah!) we were transported to the port and found ourelves boarding Regent Voyager . Of course, there was more to it than that, but this is no place for all the gory details!
The welcome was warm, the champagne was chilled and our suite was lovely.
The port area of Rio was not as efficient as we might hope, resources being stretched by three ships turning around on the same day. We felt fortunate to be on board Voyager and watched as the adjacent MSC Armonia was prepared ready to set sail.
To the other side was the bright white structure we later found out to be the Science Museum. Quite a landmark, wouldn't you say?
With the sun setting and the MSC ship departing, we thought it was time we got ourselves ready for the evening. With drinks planned with friends and dinner to look forward to, this was no time to be standing out here watching ships, was it?
So farewell Rio. thanks for the blast of heat we needed to recover from the damp and dreary winter we've had at home. Everyone we've encountered here has been charming, the staff in the hotel delightful and thankfully, having heeded all the warnings about staying safe. we had no problems - but then neither did we see any evidence of needing those precautions. Tricky, isn't it?
Anyway on to our first port of call tomorrow: Buzios. It's just around the corner frm Rio so not much of a journey. As I write, we seem to be just pootling along at a gentle pace. Well, after a such a delicious dinner, that’s perfectly fine with us! Goodnight from Brazil!
